Computers & Hardware > Apple Related

Background downloads - Amazon and Netflix

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Weaver:
Since I get overnight cheap rate downloads from AA at 1TB for £3.90 iirc, I start downloads of movies or TV programs from Netflix and Amazon overnights if I happen to be awake.

Unfortunately I have not worked out how to automate this, nor how to start such downloads on a timed basis, like a timed batch job. I have tried to think up various wild ideas about starting programs up on timers or blocking things with firewall rules or dns interference on a time-window basis, but zero progress has been made. I would be interested in any suggestions.

I have also repeatedly sent feature requests to both Amazon and Netflix for timed downloads.

Apple has perhaps already done the right thing themselves, because one can set up iOS uograde o/s installations to happen in the middle of the night, and I think you can choose the time window. I can’t remember though whether this controls the time of the o/s download though, or whether it just determines the time of the reboot. Does anyone know?

If I do happen to be awake, I have noticed one annoying thing. I start a series downloading in the iOS Netflix app, and then go off to some other app maybe to read something. When I do this, I discover later that the lazy Netflix app has not downloaded anything, no progress has been made. This is infuriating. Has anyone else noticed this?

I suspect it is partly Apple’s fault because of stupid design restrictions in iOS. There may be a good reason why Apple does such things, to protect users from buggy apps thrashing the cpu, making the battery life horrible. However, there ought to be a process whereby developers can get an exemption after a design review. I also read something about apps getting Apple system services to do background downloads on the app’s behalf, or some such, if I understood it correctly.

Anyway, there is no excuse in the Netflix case, because, at least sometimes, the Amazon app just gets on with it, downloading a whole series while I can get something done in another app. If Amazon can do the right thing, what is wrong with Netflix? Do you have the same experience? Does the Amazon download app always just worth, in your experience?
 

tickmike:
If you were using Linux I would look into setting a 'cron' job running for it.

Weaver:
Exactly. A cron job or an ‘at’ or ‘scheduled task’ whatever the later alternative command is (schtask?) in WinNT family.

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