I thought about this over the past few months as I saw repeated questions. A thread this week, convinced me to sit and type this up. Hopefully some find it helpful.

@Mona
@Wilson.Wang
@signals

Mod's, feel free to remove this if you don't feel its appropriate. You are also welcome to edit, correct, change, revise, reformat, this is you see fit.

And just to be clear to everyone, I have no relation to DVDFab other than I purchase and use their products. I do NOT speak on their behalf or otherwise represent them. The info I am presenting is based on my usage of DVDFab Downloader, now StreamFab, posts in the forums, and general knowledge.

NOTE: This first post is a little old and some of the information may be out of date, but it is mostly relevant.

FAQ

Does StreamFab screen record or download?
StreamFab downloads the audio and video files from the supported streaming services. It does not screen record or capture the movie during playback.

Is there a limit on how much I can download? If so, why?
Yes, there is a limit. It varies by streaming service, but generally 50 to 100 downloads per streaming service, per day, per FAB account. For more details see -> https://forum.dvdfab.cn/forum/softwa...n-on-downloads

NOTE: the PER FAB Account is important if you have a multi computer license on your FAB account. If you sign into StreamFab using the same FAB account on multiple PC's, the daily limit is spread across them. In other words, if the Amazon limit is 100 per day, logging into two computers with the same Fab account will not get you 200 per day.

The StreamFab website says 1080p and 5.1, I’m not getting that. Why?
StreamFab and other downloaders use a browser-based method to connect to the streaming services..

Due to the different DRM methods employed by the various streaming services, there may be limits on the maximum resolution video or audio available to a web browser for playback or if using a browser-based tool like StreamFab.

These limits will vary from service to service, hence the limit of 720p on some services like Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV+, etc. when using a web browser, Streamfab and some other similar tools, including stream recorders.

For a list of maximum resolution and audio StreamFab supports for each streaming service, see the first post of -> https://forum.dvdfab.cn/forum/softwa...-here-~updated

StreamFab is supposed to be able to download at 1080p or 720p from this streaming service, why is this movie such a low resolution?
While StreamFab is capable of downloading up to 1080p from services like Amazon and Netflix, and 720p from others, we’ve seen a few movies and shows which only download at 480p and 576p even though they appear to be available to stream at 1080p/720p using the service’s app on a device like Roku/FireTv/GoogleTV.

Looking further at this, the streaming service just doesn’t have a higher resolution version of the movie/show available to download via StreamFab or other similar tools. While I’ve seen this reported mostly about Amazon and Netflix, it's possible you might experience this on other services a well.

Example: For Netflix, Sony and Sony Studios like Columbia limit their movies to 540p and 480p. So while you can download other titles from Netflix at 1080p, for Sony movies you're stuck at 540p maximum.

What resolution video and audio will StreamFab download? Do I have control over that?
On the VIP Service Settings in StreamFab there are various options to determine the file format (MP4 vs MKV), Video Codec (H264 or H265), Audio Codec (EAC3/AC3 or AC3), Video Resolution (1080p or 720p), as well as the ability to download 4K HDR video from HBOMax on select titles.

Based on how those options are set, when StreamFab goes to download a movie or show, it checks what the streaming service has available for that title, and downloads a copy that best matches the options you have set. If a version that matches your settings isn’t available, StreamFab will download the next best version of that title.

How can I tell the details of the movie or show I’ve downloaded? In particular the bit rates, codec, etc.
I use a tool called MediaInfo It can show you a basic text view, but also a more detailed view. (I like View -> Basic or View -> Text View)

Is StreamFab lossy?
All streaming providers use compression so they use less data as they stream, which can help reduce buffering, accommodate for internet congestion, etc. This is lossy. But StreamFab downloads them from the Streaming services without changes. It doesn’t recompress, etc.

In other words, the movie/show exists in the streaming service in a lossy format, but StreamFab itself is not introducing any further loss.

Does StreamFab alter or re-encode the movie it downloads in any way?
No. StreamFab downloads the movie as it is presented by the streaming service. It does not re-encode it, change the bit rates or other audio or video parameters, etc.

NOTE: Due to DRM changes on the Streaming Service sites occasionally StreamFab has implemented a necessary workaround that does involve re-encoding after download for some, but not all, movies and shows. In such a case you will get a pop-up message alerting you to the necessary re-encode. Once FAB fixes its DRM routines, they remove the re-encode workaround.

You said StreamFab doesn’t alter the download, so what happens during the Processing or Remuxing stage?
I don't know the technicals of how StreamFab works, but... Per Wilson.Wang DVDFab Staff “Because of that the video and audio are stored separately on the server of streaming services, and they are encrypted (this is why StreamFab need take 3~5 mins to process the video and then remux the video).” https://forum.dvdfab.cn/forum/softwa...966#post399966

How can I be sure that the files aren’t being re-encoded by StreamFab?
On Windows, open Task Manager and go to the Performance tab. Watch CPU and GPU usage. If re-encoding is taking place, you’ll see one of them spike to near 100%.

If it's just remuxing, the hard drives will show high usage, but the CPU/GPU will only show minimal usage.

If its re-encoding, you'll see high CPU or GPU usage

Will StreamFab downloads look as good as my Bluray Rips?
In short, it depends. They will at least look and sound as good as if you are streaming directly from the service, assuming you can download the same resolution that the service’s streaming app on a device like Roku/FireTV/etc supports.

In other words. StreamFab Max 1080p downloads will look as good as streaming the movie at 1080p using a Roku/FireTV/GoogleTV device to watch it. While a StreamFab Disney+ 720p download will look like Disney+ 720p streaming on a Roku, there will be differences to streaming Disney+ at 1080p on a Roku, however if you can tell the difference depends on several factors (your eyes, your TV, internet connection, etc).

The long answer is that it depends on how you rip your discs, if you compress while you rip, and what or how much compression you use. If you use no or little compression when you rip your disc, the disc rip will look better. If you use a lot of compression, or adjust the resolution when you rip, they might look the same.

See also the next question/answer.

Why are my downloads smaller than what I get when I rip the movie off a disc?
Streaming services are at the mercy of the internet. If you look they will provide recommended internet speed to watch the different resolutions.
For example, Hulu's help article says:
[quote]For a consistent, quality viewing experience, we recommend that your internet connection is capable of achieving at least the following sustained download speeds:*

3.0 Mbps for Hulu's Streaming Library
8.0 Mbps for live streams
16.0 Mbps for 4K content
*Viewers may be able to stream at a reduced video quality with 1.5 Mbps[/quote]

Considering many 1080p Bluray discs can be around 40 Mb/s data rates and 4K UHD discs are 60-128 Mb/s data rates, fitting that much into a 3 Mbp/s or 16 Mbps "recommended connection speed" is obviously going to need to be compressed.

This compression from the streaming services impacts the file size and quality.

I downloaded the same movie from two different streaming services, and they are different sizes. Why?
The streaming services do not all use the same bit rates and codecs for the audio and video.

In another thread I used an example of the same Star Trek Undiscovered Country movie from Amazon Prime and Paramount+. The Prime copy had higher bit rate and better audio, and as a result also has a larger on disk size. For more, see -> https://forum.dvdfab.cn/forum/softwa...408#post403408

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