If you have multiple accounts for a streaming service, switching to the family plan offering might save some money:
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While I do sit in and enjoy a show or two at my partner’s family home, I will never get a subscription to Netflix. They host far too many anti-science documentares and have denied contracts with evidence-based documentaries. It is a concerning trend growing worse with their recent Goop deal with Gwenyth Paltrow, the queen of fear-mongering and health pseudoscience.
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I’ve found Amazon Prime has improved over the months I’ve had it. (It took an annual sub, it was cheaper) but at this stage the only things I’m interested in are The Man in the High Castle (I’m a Philip K. Dick fan) and The marvellous Mrs Maisel, which is a breath of fresh air after much of the pap that is served up on FTA TV, I still like Netflix, but take frequent breaks, and as for their doco section… well… lots of dodgy stuff but I wouldnt refuse to sub based on that, theres too much worthy stuff otherwise… Neil de Grasse Tyson, David Attenborough etc.
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For music I stick with Tidal Hi- Fi MQA. Tried Spotify and describing it as Low Fi would be doing it a favour.
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Interesting news, Foxtel users will be able to access other streaming services through their IQ devices. Do you think this will have much of an appeal or not?
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Only if you’re a dedicated Foxtel user. I’d say most Netflix users won’t bother signing up to Foxtel. Foxtel users who then sign up to Netflix are likely to dump Foxtel (I know several who have already, and who did it because it serves them better, not because it wasnt on the IQ box.)
Foxtel is still trying to be all things to all people, and its not going to succeed. I was quite prepared to sign up for a short term if they had created an app (Foxtel Now) for the AppleTV. But they didnt, so I didnt. Likewise many others. They lose a lot by being so limited in their thinking.
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Foxtel and Netflix in partnership?
Not necessary.
Possibly a strategic move to shore up paid streaming services, ahead of the likely transition of Free to Air Broadcast TV services to online only?
The Completion date for the NBN is fast approaching.
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How to double the streaming services you access for no extra cost
Many services have a fairly economical plan that is aimed at family use, you can have two (or more in some cases) devices running their content simultaneously. What if you can’t use that because you don’t have enough bandwidth or you are a small household who actually sit and watch the same program together?
Nobody said the second or third device has to be in the same house. Families and friends who maintain more than one household can easily share one account. You each have your own profile so viewing habits don’t clash.
Can’t really justify the cost of both Stan and Netflix? Each household subscribes to one and they share both.
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Yes, it works great for us with Amazon and also Netflix.
Of course you may have to consider what else is shared?
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Obviously account name and password, unless you use the same password for everything that shouldn’t be an issue. Your parents/children/siblings/whatever will be able to check your viewing habits. As if they didn’t already know. I am not suggesting this arrangement for passing acquaintances.
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Given our children are well past 21 and live 1,000+ km distant it can be very interesting. Perhaps more so what they might observe us oldies watching, than their more predictable diet of latest release action based products.
It still works for us.
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Parents retain the habit of wanting to know what their children are up to after they are adults - although it wanes somewhat in time. Children are the reverse, their want to not know what their parents are up to grows all their lives.
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Sort of big news to streaming content on Stan. Disney has removed almost all their content off Stan as the new Disney streaming service launches this week. This will be a big hit to Stan. Disney will be selling their service at $8.99 a month or about $89 a year if 12 months is paid for.
This means another handful of cash and another streaming service that users may have to pay for to get the content they want. It is also another drain on our economy as a foreign company pulls money from us to another Country. Streaming may be great for some but if you really like a film it may end up easier just to buy the DVD/BluRay and ditch the streaming, particularly as Streaming companies often vet their shows and remove some as they age.
I wonder how attractive Stan membership may be after this alteration to the content they have??.
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How much money was Stan really ‘keeping local’, while providing international content? I understand that it made a couple of Australian shows, but Disney films movies here from time to time as well - I don’t know that there’s much of a net drain on our economy.
I found the latest Choice review on streaming service missing the most important consideration - the number of content, how new they are and how popular they are. This is the thing that most people care most but I could not find it in the criteria.
It’s surprising to find Disney+ ranked as number 1 given their limited content.
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I too am puzzled why content is deemed irrelevant. I might guess why it is not part of the rating (but I could easily be wrong) but to say nothing at all about it seems odd.
You would think this would be explained in the “How we test” page but it isn’t, nor is it mentioned anywhere that there are web sites that catalog and rate streaming service content that you might find useful.
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It could be that content is in the eyes of the beholder. Personal choice for content can affect which streaming service is used…personal choice is difficult to measure.
A streaming service with high volume content, that no one wishes to watch may be not as good as a low volume, more watchable content streaming service. The later would score poorly compared to the other.
It is difficult to assess volume verses quality/watchabilty (as it is personal choice) which may be why Choice does not assess this parameter in its product review scoresl
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Hi @syncretic, with their what to watch score (35%). None the less Disney+ coming out on top? Don’t think I’ll be signing up soon!
How we test
What to watch score
How easy it is to find content that appeals to you, either by automatic suggestion or by manually searching.
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May be it’s based on
How to find the best TV and movie streaming service
That is why I thought there was no rating given to content as it is so subjective. I don’t see why this isn’t explained and the places you can find out what content is available could be mentioned.
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