Popcorn time was/is pretty much the pinnacle of it so I'd say they got pretty close to being better than the streaming services.

There also exist a lot of centralized pirate streaming sites with huge catalogues that give you HD content right from your browser, and many of them feature players that give users more control in playback speed, video quality, subtitles etc. in an arguably better manner than any legitimate streaming service.

Popcord time created resillient dustributed video service, with no hosting costs. It is technologically superior to anything all those billion dollar companoes have ever created.

Not that resilient in the end, since it is mostly shut down.

I think when Netflix says they are 'resillient', they mean server failures, not armed SWAT and carpet bombing.

I never actually used Popcorn Time. What made it so great?

It was as easy to use as an official streaming service is, with integrated subtitles downloads in the background (from open subtitles), links to trailers and critics sites (it also pulled a lot of metadata from different sources).

Popular movies were always on top of the list because the default sorting was by seeders and these movies would load instantly

At the time it was the best streaming experience existing, paid or free combined.

[edit] oh and install was just dropping an all-in-one app somewhere on your computer and launch it.

Why "was" ?

Mostly the GUI, which is reminiscent of Netflix, and also the torrent client config. You hit play button on a video poster image, client sequentially downloads blocks of videos until the buffer outruns the download rate (this is the main difference from other clients which can’t/don’t download blocks sequentially), then it autoplays, pausing for more buffering if needed, with one click.

I don't know. You have to put up with popups from streaming sites, sure - adblocker only stops most of them - but in general, playback is just fine and I can find most movies and shows.

The allure of Netflix is simply legality, but for selection it is a step backwards from a decent streaming site.

Yes. It’s a major step back in terms of selection. And more to the point, it’s continuous major steps back every year, even compared to itself from a few years ago.

Part of what people don’t seem to remember is that one of the benefits of iTunes was its huge selection. Netflix is becoming more and more like BandCamp, not iTunes, in terms of selection. I don’t go there to find something to watch anymore. I only go there if I want to watch one of the few things worth watching on it.

There is currently no legal video platform for watching all the things. (And that’s ignoring the DRM crap.)