SerpApi.Org
For some time now, I've been using Disney's Movies Anywhere service to congregate all my digital shows and movies under a single umbrella. As a digital media locker, Movies Anywhere is a convenient solution that ropes in my disparate libraries from across Apple iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play/YouTube, Fandango, Microsoft Movies & TV, Xfinity, Verizon Fios TV, DirecTV, and a number of other digital storefronts.
The problem, however, is that not all major studios and companies are on board with Movies Anywhere. While the likes of Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate Films, and Google are all participating members of the initiative right alongside The Walt Disney Studios itself, two major players are notably absent: Paramount and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios.
This raises an obvious problem, as an all-encompassing personal media locker can't be considered complete without the likes of Paramount and MGM on board, considering the vast number of intellectual properties they respectively own in the media space. To my surprise, the solution was to turn to none other than Apple, which itself features a media locker solution right within its Apple TV service -- a locker that isn't locked out of Paramount or MGM.
The Apple TV app makes for a good media locker
Similar to Movies Anywhere, but with support for more services
For the longest time, I simply had no idea that I could use the cross-platform Apple TV application as a full-blown media locker. Indeed, additional services can be brought into the fold by navigating to the Connected App section of the Apple TV app's settings page, providing granular control over which platforms can and can't appear within Apple TV's main library.
Unlike with Movies Anywhere, Paramount+ and MGM content appears within Apple TV, right alongside Prime Video et al. Surprisingly, I'm even able to connect Bell Fibe TV to Apple TV, which is an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service based in Canada. All together, my access to content -- both paid and streaming-based -- is consolidated right within the confines of Apple TV.
...Paramount+ and MGM content appears within Apple TV, right alongside Prime Video et al.
The other benefit to relying on Apple TV as an all-in-one media locker is that it integrates well not only with the Apple ecosystem, but also third-party ecosystems. Naturally, Apple users will benefit the most here, especially the ones already subscribed to the Apple TV streaming platform to begin with. That being said, the Apple TV app is also available to download across not only Android, but also Windows.
With all this in mind, and as someone who is interested in the likes of, say, Paramount's Scream 7 and MGM/Amazon's Project Hail Mary, Apple TV is proving to be a better media locker option than Movies Anywhere for my individual needs. I still like Movies Anywhere and plan on continuing to use it for the foreseeable future, but Apple TV slightly takes the cake with its additional support from major studios and its slick integration with the Apple ecosystem, all while maintaining cross-compatibility.
