HIDIVE

People need to understand that this is an extremely new iOS app and a new streaming service in general. It’s legit but has a way to go and that’s to be expected. VRV has offered this as part of it’s service as a dub alternative to crunchroll’s sub library ever since Funimation got stingy and backed out within like a year of their deal. With Funimation being such money-grabbers, it’s this or nothing. So the fact that they’re actually keeping their word and bringing a primitive port of the app to both iOS and PS4 is great news to me and I’ve been waiting a while. Expect the library to be small but gradually grow. Expect the app to need work and likely receive it (hopefully.) I’ve kept up with this company and I’ve seen first hand that it has a way to go to compete with Funimation, but I’m grateful someone’s trying.

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Sentai has licensed some great shows, and I have to admit it disappoints me for both the dub quality and because of the execution on this app. I understand there are restrictions and limitations on their ability to deliver on the former, but there is almost no excuse for the latter. While other apps allow you to jump forward or back in 10 or 15 second increments, that option is missing. Additionally, the progress/scrub bar is situated in such a way that it activates my menu bar. I have noticed another issue as well: some multiple-season shows are not accessible under the "season" menu and have to be located individually. Oddly enough, the first season shows as "Season 1" and the second season shows as "Season 2", so I think it might be dirty data causing the seasons to not be grouped together (likely because the titles are slightly different between the seasons). Lastly, why put a help section with an "About the App" tab only to direct the user to go to the site? Why not load the app info within the app? The app feels like a beta that has not fully baked and it causes a lot of frustration as a result.

I subscribe and usually watch HIDIVE stuff on my PC, but they had the app advertised on the site today, so I decided to try it out. People are right that it does not include all of the content. Right now, the currently airing series that I am watching, Senryuu Girl, is available on the app, but one that I watched last season, Bloom Into You, is not (I can watch either on my PC right now). I cannot imagine why since BIY was HIDIVE exclusive in North America. Anyhow, the app seems fine other than that. I’m not going to give it anything too low because it is nice to have at least have some other option besides my PC. The service isn’t that bad, they just need to keep working on improving it.

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So this app “works” but feels very rough around the edges. I have the iOS subtitle settings at the recommended default and half the time the subs are reversed, with the second line of text displayed before the first line in a sentence. It uses its own video scrub/seek bar which is virtually impossible to position at the exact spot you want because it doesn’t tell update and tell you what time you dragged the bar to until you let go. There’s no easy 10/15 second rewind button, which other apps have and is even baked into the default iOS video player. I had to redownload the app recently to reset everything because a recent update made it stay at the initial loading screen forever. When looking at a show’s episodes, swiping from the left edge of the screen doesn’t go back a view, it always opens the hamburger menu which is frustrating. You have to move your finger all the way up to the back button. What’s even worse is when you’re on the main home screen, the behavior is reversed! Swiping from the left edge when you have shows in your queue doesn’t do anything! You’d expect the hamburger menu to open this time, but it doesn’t! You again have to reach up to the top left to tap the icon to see it. All of these small bugs and design issues really add up and make the app a horrible experience to use overall.

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A great selection and lovely shows!!! yet the app is new and not ready in my opinion. This is a new streaming service for Sentai Filmworks. I LOVE their stuff. But this app simply isn't ready. Use their website on your computer. They don't even have all their shows on mobile! A simple slice of life PG anime I'm watching on PC isn't even on here. It's frustrating to be in the middle of shows and wanting to continue them on mobile yet they're not there. If there's an explanation, fine but the app's overall Ui is lacking and it can be annoying just to get to your queue. Plus many other small things that others have mentioned I'm sure. TLDR : subscribe through their website and watch on there till this is better.