Print
FeedbackComputers & Technology
By Darryl Budge
Video-on-demand: spoiled for choice
Australians now have four low-cost streaming services to satisfy their appetite for on-demand TV and movies. Most offer free 30-day trials (15 days for Quickflix) but all are priced well under the minimum $25 per month for Foxtel pay TV.
| Streaming VOD Australian service |
Monthly Price (no contracts) |
Top Content (as of early April 2015) |
Required net speed (megabits/sec) & quota |
| Netflix.com ~1500 titles vs. 6000 on Netlix USA. Best interface. To watch 60hrs UHD content requires 4K TV or player with 'HEVC' |
$9 = 1 SD stream $12 = 2 HD streams $15 = Four 4K UHD streams Streams = no. of devices allowed |
Show exclusives: House of Cards, Marco Polo, Sense8 (which are all UHD titles). Orange is the New Black, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Movies: Roadshow Entertainment, Beyond Distribution, ABC and Disney |
Requires min. 0.5Mb/sec 3 Mb/s = SD (1GB/hr ) 5 Mb/s = HD (3GB/hr) 16 Mb/s = UHD (7GB/hr) UHD needs 4K TV/player with HEVC decoder. Unmetered on Internode, iiNet, Westnet, Adam, Optus |
| Stan.com.au Partnership of Fairfax & Nine Entertainment. Has Ch. 9 TV + movies, and a PIN-lockable large selection of titles for kids. |
$10/month Max. 6 devices & 3 streams at once |
Shows: Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Community S6, Transparent, Mozart in the Jungle, Dig, Lost Girl S4 & 5 Movies: James Bond licks, Lego Movie, LOTR-based licks. Studios: MGM, Sony, Roadshow + Nine, SBS, ABC |
Auto quality adoption: 2.5 Mb/s (1 GB/hr) for SD (480p). Min. 3.5 Mb/s (1.5GB/hr) for HD (720p). Min. 6.5 Mb/s (3GB/hr) for HD (1080p) All ISPs count net quota |
| Presto.com.au Partnership of Foxtel & Seven. SD only but the most movies of all the services. |
TV $10/mth Movies $10/mth Both $15/mth Max. 4 devices and 2 streams at once |
Is similar to Foxtel Play. Covers most movie studios, plus Foxtel and Seven content, but not hits like Game of Thrones, Veep, nor Foxtel’s new release movies |
Needs min. 3Mbps Only SD ofered = 1.3 GB/hr Unmetered quota on Bigpond or Foxtel Broadband ISPs. |
| Quickflix.com.au Streaming package + pay-per-play (or season) for under 1-year-old titles. (Also has DVD post-back service from $13 p/month, with no late fees) |
10/month Max. 6 devices & 3 streams at once. “Premium” new release movies are $6 each. “Premium” TV is $3 per episode. |
“Premium” Shows include: The Walking Dead, Orange is the New Black, Game of Thrones, Scandal, Mad Men, Veep , Orphan Black. “Premium” Movies: Before I Go to Sleep, Fury, Guardians of the Galaxy, The November Man, Maleficent |
Needs min. 3 Mbps Max. 6 devices & 3 streams at once. 1.5 GB/hr for SD 2.5 GB/hr HD (5Mbps) All ISPs count net quota |
HOW TO WATCH:
(1) A computer browser (tip: connect PC to TV via HDMI cable);
(2) Download service's app on your smartphone or tablet via its app store;
(3) Google Chromecast (plugs in TV HDMI port, controlled via Android or iOS app);
(4) Some services support Apple TV, some smart TVs or set-top boxes or Blu-ray players, Fetch TV box, Telstra T-Box, and Xbox and PlayStation game consoles.
See each website's 'help' section, and compare the offered TV shows, movies and the supported devices via this website: compareozstreaming.com. TIP: On Netflix, control quality and view stats with keyboard shortcuts Control+Alt+Shift+S, or +L.
summary: For movies, try Presto, while Stan and Netflix offer more TV content.
NEXT ISSUE: What does 4K Ultra-High-Definition and the HEVC codec offer•