My thoughts on My Movies Pro 4 app upgrade
Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2022 10:40 am
For anyone not aware, Chameleon Media Center works with Binnerup's My Movies Pro apps for iOS and Android. You can configure the app to point at each of your CMC PC's as if they were Windows Media Center PC's, browse your My Movies collection on your phone or tablet, and then when you find a movie to watch, from the app you can initiate playback to the CMC PC of your choice. Even if CMC is not running, this action will launch CMC, navigate to that movie, and begin playback. For this to work, it does require that you run the CMC Systray Service on your CMC PC's, as that will receive the commands from the My Movies app. It's a really cool feature that I'm sure many CMC users would enjoy.
The reason I'm mentioning this is because I keep getting notification emails from Binnerup that the new My Movies 4 Pro for Android app is half price through the end of the year, and that time is running out to upgrade. I had been ignoring these notifications until just a few days ago, when I decided to dig into the details to understand what's going on.
Note, I was not asked by Binnerup to post this info, nor am I receiving any compensation. I'm simply sharing my thoughts on the new app, and for those interested in using it, hopefully you can grab it at the discounted rate before the price hike.
I purchased the My Movies 3 Pro app over a year ago, and wrongly assumed it would auto-update to the new My Movies 4 Pro app for free. This is not the case, since it is a new, separate app, there is no free-upgrade path.
Binnerup is releasing My Movies 4 Pro as a new, separate app, and to use it you will have to purchase it. While the name is similar to the previous My Movies 3 Pro app, it is truly a new app and the only way to use it is to purchase it. Again. I think that is a cheeky way to continue earning revenue, but obviously us CMC users should all want Binnerup to stay profitable so that My Movies survives, and I understand their methods as an effective solution to monetize their existing user base.
Interestingly, they said that the My Movies 3 Pro app will continue to work, for now at least. It will not receive any fixes or feature updates, so at some point in the future it will stop working. Only My Movies 4 Pro will get app updates, for 3 years apparently, and then in 2026 they will release the next version that you have to buy again. So, if you buy now, you are basically purchasing 3 years of app access. The half price amount, $8, is good until tomorrow, then it jumps up to regular $16.
The new My Movies 4 Pro app does include new features that are not available in v3, including Movie Collections and Movie Lists plus lots more, so there are already several good reasons to consider upgrading, beyond the concern that the v3 will stop working someday.
So, is this a good deal? If you use the app, then yes. Binnerup is moving to a subscription model, and wants to charge $1/month, or $10/annually. If you subscribed monthly for 3 years, that's $36. And if you got the annual rate discount, that's still $30 for 3 years. So if you buy the app now for $8, you get full access without having to pay a subscription, and you are saving a lot of money versus the new subscription model. Even if you miss the Dec 31st deadline for the half price discount, the regular $16 app purchase price is still nearly half the price of the new subscription model if you used it for 3 years.
I don't know when Binnerup will stop selling the app and migrate to a subscription only model, but if you have any interest in using the app for the next few years, then I advise you to go ahead and purchase the app at half price while you can. That's what I did.
Note, in their emails Binnerup keeps calling it an upgrade that you're purchasing. I find it misleading - you don't actually have to own the current My Movies 3 Pro app to upgrade at half price. You are simply purchasing the new version at half price until New Years. Here's the link they provided:
Also, I'm not sure if the iOS version is discounted, but the advice above holds true - buying the app is much cheaper than subscribing later.
I'll post the email Binnerup has been sending me below, so you can see the info in their own words.
The reason I'm mentioning this is because I keep getting notification emails from Binnerup that the new My Movies 4 Pro for Android app is half price through the end of the year, and that time is running out to upgrade. I had been ignoring these notifications until just a few days ago, when I decided to dig into the details to understand what's going on.
Note, I was not asked by Binnerup to post this info, nor am I receiving any compensation. I'm simply sharing my thoughts on the new app, and for those interested in using it, hopefully you can grab it at the discounted rate before the price hike.
I purchased the My Movies 3 Pro app over a year ago, and wrongly assumed it would auto-update to the new My Movies 4 Pro app for free. This is not the case, since it is a new, separate app, there is no free-upgrade path.
Binnerup is releasing My Movies 4 Pro as a new, separate app, and to use it you will have to purchase it. While the name is similar to the previous My Movies 3 Pro app, it is truly a new app and the only way to use it is to purchase it. Again. I think that is a cheeky way to continue earning revenue, but obviously us CMC users should all want Binnerup to stay profitable so that My Movies survives, and I understand their methods as an effective solution to monetize their existing user base.
Interestingly, they said that the My Movies 3 Pro app will continue to work, for now at least. It will not receive any fixes or feature updates, so at some point in the future it will stop working. Only My Movies 4 Pro will get app updates, for 3 years apparently, and then in 2026 they will release the next version that you have to buy again. So, if you buy now, you are basically purchasing 3 years of app access. The half price amount, $8, is good until tomorrow, then it jumps up to regular $16.
The new My Movies 4 Pro app does include new features that are not available in v3, including Movie Collections and Movie Lists plus lots more, so there are already several good reasons to consider upgrading, beyond the concern that the v3 will stop working someday.
So, is this a good deal? If you use the app, then yes. Binnerup is moving to a subscription model, and wants to charge $1/month, or $10/annually. If you subscribed monthly for 3 years, that's $36. And if you got the annual rate discount, that's still $30 for 3 years. So if you buy the app now for $8, you get full access without having to pay a subscription, and you are saving a lot of money versus the new subscription model. Even if you miss the Dec 31st deadline for the half price discount, the regular $16 app purchase price is still nearly half the price of the new subscription model if you used it for 3 years.
I don't know when Binnerup will stop selling the app and migrate to a subscription only model, but if you have any interest in using the app for the next few years, then I advise you to go ahead and purchase the app at half price while you can. That's what I did.
Note, in their emails Binnerup keeps calling it an upgrade that you're purchasing. I find it misleading - you don't actually have to own the current My Movies 3 Pro app to upgrade at half price. You are simply purchasing the new version at half price until New Years. Here's the link they provided:
Also, I'm not sure if the iOS version is discounted, but the advice above holds true - buying the app is much cheaper than subscribing later.
I'll post the email Binnerup has been sending me below, so you can see the info in their own words.