First of all, I'm actually a returning user after not being around for over a year. I'm surprised that there isn't a breakdown thread about premium at this point already.

The membership boasts a 20 percent discount on new cards for the 1st 10 days upon release [wasn't this already a thing before premium or was it 15percent?]. Assuming the 20 percent is calculated the way it is now for the current new years promotion sale. The amount you save in tokens will vary depending on your loyalty level/ collection size tier bonus. if we take the yearly cost of premium of 59 dollars or 60 if you want to round it up, that's about 550 tokens if we just use the 50 dollar token package and x2 of the 5 dollar packs as a direct means of giving the membership some kind of value in tokens. As a result, in order to get your money's worth out of your membership, you need to buy enough cards to save at least 550 tokens within a year using the 20 percent discount.

Now as mentioned earlier, I am a returning user and as a result, the current 2019 new years sale is a good way for me to see if premium is something suitable for me since it a year's woth of cards at a 20 percent discount, which is sort of simulating a premium. After going through the cards, I've only bought about 35 cards from the sale. Based on my tier discount, 20percent only saves me 3.5 tokens per card which totals 122.5 tokens saved after reviewing a years worth of cards. I do plan on buying some more cards tommorrow like maybe 10 more, but then that would just put my savings at 157.5 which isn't even close to 550 tokens needed to get my money's worth out of a membership if I were to get one for a year. Maybe I'm just too picky about my cards and premium isn't worth it for me.

So all in all, would you guys also agree that premium is only worth it for folks that have certain buying trends?

@X_true

The membership boasts a 20 percent discount on new cards for the 1st 10 days upon release [wasn't this already a thing before premium or was it 15percent?]

No, just the opposite in fact.

With Premium you get an extra 20% of the newest cards if you buy them within 10 days of their release. Without it you do not get, and never got, a discount on newly released cards - indeed cards were (and still are) excluded from almost all special offers for the first 45 days. I am not sure how long a card had to be released for before it could be offered with a discount via the preview push system but even if there was no built in delay you could not be certain of getting a discount on any particular card. With Premium membership the inital 10 day discount is guarenteed.

So all in all, would you guys also agree that premium is only worth it for folks that have certain buying trends?

This is correct. In general Premium membership is not worth the cost unless either you buy a lot of the newly released cards per year (for triple diamond that means more than 200 or so, for lower level members the number is a bit lower but still large) or if you think that access to the 4k resolution is worth the extra cost. The discounts on the VR shows and a couple of other ***** things may tip the balance in borderline cases,

From a saving perspective, I would say premium membership is not worth it, especially if you use the best discount offers during a year. It is about *early* discounts, i.e., if you cannot wait )))))

The true benefit for me is access to the 4K quality. as long as you have the respective high end equipment.

The true benefit for me is access to the 4K quality

Personally I find that 4K resolution is worth the expense alone. Moreover, discount is very good - and the Joker Card I did get (being a subscriber during first week of offer release) was also quite a big incentive in order to get a Premium membership.
I am therefore very happy of my choice - and, also, I now buy more cards than once, due to discounts and to better quality of video images and of performances.

The true benefit for me is access to the 4K quality. as long as you have the respective high end equipment.

...which means that getting Premium is a leap in the dark, because you don't know if its any good till you've got it.

You can regard Premium as a paywall to the top quality, though the cost is less if you are planning to spend a lot anyway.

I cracked and paid up, because I wanted to see if 4k was worth it, reckoning that my PC should be able to take advantage of it. I worked out the cost, based on my buying habits, and bought it. Now my slow internet connection is bunged up every night reloading cards.

My view is that the extra cost is worth it, if you want to run it on a PC that can do 4k vids and you want to see iS clips at their best. To my eyes, the quality difference between 3k and 4k is similar to that we saw when VirtuaGirl went 720p to 1080p. It's startlingly sharp, though, of course, you get used to it. 3k clips start to look a bit soft.

I see instead a big difference from 3K to 4K, both in crispness and detail quality.

I see instead a big difference from 3K to 4K, both in crispness and detail quality.

Especially on a 4K display.

To check if 4k video is viable worth using on your PC, try downloading a 4k video from the net.

The image might not look any better on your screen because the resolution is too low or there are other image quality issues. Or, the video might stutter or fail altogether, because the cpu or the graphics card can't hack it. Or you might not see any difference because your glasses are grubby or your eyesight shot.

If any of the above apply and there's nothing you can do about it, Premium isn't worth it unless you buy most, if not all, cards. I had to fix all of the above problems, for which a sharp intake of breath was required when I realised the cost. Cleaning my glasses was the only cheap bit.

Note that, even if the 4k vid looks good, if cpu usage is high (say over 40%), you may still have problems with iStripper Premium, because the clips have to be decoded. No doubt more technical minds than mine can offer more detail. And don't forget that 4k needs more disk space.

Yes there is a big difference from 3k to 4k...but that should not be the question. The question is the difference between crystal clear plus and 4k..since the crystal clear plus shows are the only ones that can be downloaded in 4k. There the difference is less noticeable. And yes, I have a 32 inch 4k dispaly.

I will say that the size of a show has a big difference between crytal clear plus and 4k. I just deleted one of Angel Sway's shows in crystal clear plus that was 1.4 gb. The new 4k download was 2.1 gb.

I bought premium to get 4K cards. I would have been happy just to get the 4K for $60/year, but with the discount and my buying level the cost is negligible.

Yes there is a big difference from 3k to 4k...but that should not be the question. The question is the difference between crystal clear plus and 4k..since the crystal clear plus shows are the only ones that can be downloaded in 4k. There the difference is less noticeable. And yes, I have a 32 inch 4k dispaly.

I couldn't read the ruler in clip 8 of Practical Works in 3k, but in 4k it's no problem. This vital information alone justifies the expense of Premium.....aaaaargh!

@pantalone

"Practical Works" ? I cannot find this card. Model name?

"Practical Works" ? I cannot find this card. Model name?

Jia Lissa and Liya Silver....the latest duo. Just don't blame me for being a sad old fool.....

I was Buying Premium for discounted shows but only New shows are discounted, I am Very disappointed by this offer.

I was Buying Premium for discounted shows but only New shows are discounted, I am Very disappointed by this offer.

Well, it would too good of a deal otherwise :)

@Enchantress

Premium membership also unlocks the 4k resolution versions of the cards released in the last year.

Of course if you don't have and are not planning to get 4k monitors/equipment then this benefit is moot.

But if you do then the 4k cards are another reason to have the premuim membership.

HTH

Quick question on the 4K unlock.

Is that resolution unlocked only during the year you've paid for Premium, or is it unlocked permanently after one $59.99 purchase of Premium?

Thanks for any clarification on that!

Any 4K cards you download are permanently unlocked. However, if you don't renew you won't be able to buy more 4K cards.

From the day you buy it and it becomes active,
you have access to all of the 4K cards in the past as well as any new ones while you have your membership.
Access means
the 4K resolution is available to download after you purchase the card.
( some members thought it was free access, that's why I clarify it )


you Keep all 4K card you bought while you have the membership
once it Expires, you can't add any New Ones, but you Keep what you already have.

you Keep all 4K card you bought while you have the membership

A ***** clarification. I think that should be "downloaded" not "bought" as you can download the 4k versions of cards you bought earlier and you keep them as well as the ones you bought while a premium member.

I am not sure about what happens about cards I buy while a premium member but do not download in 4k but I assume that I would not be able to access their 4k versions after the membership expires. This is relevant to me as I am not in a position to play them so I will not download them until I get a system capable of relly benefitting from them.

Before anyone thinks I am *****, I am not, I just don't know what would happen and would be happy with what I expect to happen, even more happy with the alternative - though as I do not intend to let my premium membership lapse the point is a moot one.

@TheEmu good point actually. This is same for me my configuration does not really allow/require the 4K version so I do not download them for now.

J'ai des cartes téléchargées en 4k, d'autres en réalisation inférieure bien que cc+ et d'autres gagnées mais pas encore téléchargées.
Pourrais les obtenir en 4 k après mon adhésion Premium ???
I have maps downloaded in 4k, others in lower realization although cc + and others won but not yet downloaded.
Could get them in 4K after my Premium membership ???

I am not sure about what happens about cards I buy while a premium member but do not download in 4k

My Understanding is that If you Purchase a Card with CC + while you are a premium Member, that Unlocks the 4K resolution
Even if you Don't download in 4K.

I will have a Team member Verify, that this is Correct.

This is the Question:
While you are a Premium member, Does Just Purchasing a CC+ card Unlock the 4K resolution Even if you don't download it.
And you still retain the Ability to Download the 4K later after you Premium Membership expires.
OR
Do you have to Download in 4K in order to Unlock the 4K ?

Example:

I buy 10 CC+ cards while a Premium member, but Never Download them At All.
My Membership Expires.
Can I later Download them in 4K ?

The full shows with a 4k resolution that you have purchased during your Premium will remain downloadable in 4k after your Premium ends 👍

Seems like there is a glitch in the logic here...

What about the shows that may have a 4K version but that would have been purchased prior to be Premium member?

Je peux les télécharger en 4k pour l'instant (pendant mon abonnement)@Gorfa91
Après aussi je suppose.
Il semblerait qu'avec votre abonnement toutes vos cartes cc+ soient téléchargeables en 4 k . Cela me semble logique 😉
I can download them in 4k for now (during my subscription) @Gorfa91
After also I guess.
It seems that with your subscription all your cc + cards are downloadable in 4 k. It seems logical to me 😉

Seems like there is a glitch in the logic here...What about the shows that may have a 4K version but that would have been purchased prior to be Premium member?

Their 4k resolution is not accessible

Seems like there is a glitch in the logic here...What about the shows that may have a 4K version but that would have been purchased prior to be Premium member?
Their 4k resolution is not accessible

That seems like a disincentive to buy cards while non premium and is probably disappointing to long-term members who decide to go premium at a later date. Is that intended?

Seems like there is a glitch in the logic here...What about the shows that may have a 4K version but that would have been purchased prior to be Premium member?
Their 4k resolution is not accessible

Celine...check your post. With all due respect, I do not think it is correct.

It is my understanding that a purchase of premium membership entitles the member to download any card in his collection in 4k resolution if it was previously downloaded in crystal clear plus.

Please check and clarify. As Alkasyn stated, this would mean I would buy no shows for a while.