Criterion Channel works without VPN in India guess they need it only for sign up. Criterion offers a whole lot more than Mubi with TCM classics and extra features/ movie shorts thrown in.
The apps are available only in the US and Canada App stores. So, even if you use a VPN to sign up, I guess you still need a US-based App account to get their iOS/Android/Android TV app.
Yes! Based on what I am told, there is no geographical restriction once you've signed up. But, Vimeo is not as refined as Netflix and tends to run into buffering issues from time to time (It was there in the initial days and also during the recent COVID-19 lockdown).
No doubt! Criterion Channel has depth. The library currently has
2100 titles including shorts and documentaries. Unlike Netflix, where I still cannot figure out the list of titles leaving Netflix, Criterion Channel clearly shows the list of titles expiring by the end of the month as well as
new titles added this month. Further, it has the advantage of curated collections. It would be great to explore all (available) films of a director, for instance. I see only two downsides. First, unless you prepare a watch list, you can suffer from selection paralysis. Second, it would be the digital equivalent of 'Hotel California'. You can sign up at any time you want, but you can never leave

.
Last time I asked them, they were in no hurry to launch CC in India. When they do, the downside is that the library available here would be different from whatever is available right now in the US. I hope they launch it soon though at an attractive subscription rate.
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Mubi's primary selection is more 'inde' (at least in the World section). It does a good job of introducing me to new directors I might not have heard otherwise. The overall experience isn't always great, but it quenches my curiosity.
- This 30 includes shorts and documentaries, some of which are good. If not for them, would I have known about the Sudanese film industry ("Talking about Trees"), the Chinese Anti-Rightist cleanup of 1957 (Wang Bing's 9-hour epic "Dead Souls"), the issues at Brenner pass ("The Border fence")?
- Apart from this, we get fresh titles from time to time - "Ema", "Beanpole" and "The Portrait of a Lady on Fire" recently.
- Of late, I see many popular/well-known English titles making their way into the 30 ("Tootsie", "Sicario", "Bottle Rocket", "Super Bad" right now). On the one hand, this is good because it frees me for a day. On the other, it is taking the place of some other new film I might have explored.
The addition of the library is a welcome relief for people like me. They have added more films to the library compared to the launch date. Mubi Library does have some content that is not available on CC - Lav Diaz and Krzysztof Zanussi as far as I know. The rest of the stuff comes from whatever was in their 30 a while back. At least, there's no pressure of watching anything before the expiry date
Is Mubi better than CC? I don't think so. But, it sure can help us tide over until CC officially launches in India and even then, can serve as a complementary service to CC.