Streaming: Steph Nash
Watching your favourite shows can be an expensive pastime but there are clever ways to keep costs down
It’s the end of an era for CDs and DVDs. So long, 10-disk box set. Farewell, plastic CD stand. Technology and minimalism are now going hand in hand, so if you want to want to listen to a fresh track or watch a new blockbuster, you can now consume your media directly from your TV, laptop or smartphone. It’s easy and remarkably efficient. But it can also become seriously expensive.
Something for everyone
TV and movie buffs know the pain of having to sign up to each and every streaming platform for fear of missing out on the latest release. There are three major video streaming platforms: Netflix, Stan and Foxtel Play. If you’re into niche genres such as reality TV or car docos, you might also want one of the other platforms, such as Hayu or Amazon Prime. And then there’s music. Spotify can get you almost everything but if you like Kanye West and Taylor Swift you’ll need Apple Music too.
Netflix has its own “Originals” – a range of new TV series that are exclusive to the platform. Netflix hosts award-winning shows such as The Crown, Stranger
Things, House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, which is a big standout for viewers.
Stan, on the other hand, has whole seasons of classics such as Friends, Seinfeld and Breaking Bad, plus a new exclusive deal with America’s Showtime network, which means the much anticipated release of Twin Peaks. It also hosts a range of new exclusives including Billions,
UnReal and Younger.
Foxtel Play is the only place in Australia where you can legally watch Game of Thrones and some HBO programs.
A Netflix subscription costs $11.99 a month to watch on two screens at the same time. You can pay a bit less for one screen and for standard quality only, or a bit more for ultra-HD streaming and up to four screens. Stan costs a flat $10 a month for up to three screens at the same time. Foxtel Play has a different fee structure, with a range of packages with different price tags. The minimum price, for shows on the lifestyle or documentary networks, is $10 a month. If you want to go the whole hog, with all packages including sports and movies, it would cost $104 a month.
A subscription for the three platforms costs a minimum of $28 a month. Each platform has something going for it, and before you know it you’ve become a culture vulture and your subscription and data costs have soared. But we’ve come up with a few tips to minimise the cost of your streaming experience.
Change the way you stream
How you stream affects your data usage. When you’ve got a smart TV, it can be really nice to watch your favourite show in ultra-HD – but do this for long enough and it could mean serious consequences for your broadband bill.
The amount of data you use streaming a video depends on its resolution (or viewing quality). The higher the resolution, the more bandwidth (or internet speed) required to download the video. If your broadband plan is less than 100GB a month, you risk surpassing your limit if you’re streaming and downloading high-definition video content. The below table shows the data required to stream Netflix, Stan and Foxtel Play at low-level and high-level resolutions.
As Joe Hanlon, editor of WhistleOut, says, the difference between the two settings is huge. If you’re on a
plan smaller than 100GB a month you’ll have problems if you regularly stream in high definition. Switching to a lower-quality setting can drastically improve your data usage – that is, if you can bear the pixelation. If the pixels get to you, try watching from your smartphone instead (using wi-fi, of course).
“Low quality is about 500MB per hour whereas high definition is around 1.5-3GB per hour. It’s a pretty big difference and it’s the same for all services,” says Hanlon. “If you’re watching it from the TV in your house, you probably will notice it as it gets a bit blocky. But you can still save quite a lot of data if you’re happy to put up with the lower quality.”
To change the resolution, go into your settings and change the resolution or quality for all videos. Most platforms have an automatic or default resolution setting. Netflix and Stan’s automatic setting means your stream will go up and down in quality depending on your bandwidth. Where possible, the platform will try to stream at the highest quality, so if you’re conscious about your data it might be a good idea to switch to a lower setting.
Don’t set and forget
The most annoying part of the exclusivity of each network is that once your favourite series concludes, you might find yourself paying attention to other shows on other platforms and still paying for the platform you’re no longer using. Hanlon has a genius hack to fix that problem: switch off the platforms you’re not using. It might sound incredibly obvious, but did you know that you could pause your monthly payments without closing your account?
“There are two or three shows that I love on Stan so I turn it on, leave it on for 10 weeks and turn it off again. And later in the year if there’s something else I want to watch, I’ll turn it back on to watch them and then turn it off again,” says Hanlon.
“Some months you might have a $50 bill paying for all the services and another month you might have a single $10 Netflix bill. So don’t think of it as an always-on media service. It works like a pause. They don’t delete your account information and you don’t have to sign up again – it just pauses the payment, so you’ll still be able to watch stuff up until the billing cycle ends.”
Free alternatives
If you’re happy with the programs and movies that you watch on free TV but just wish you had more viewing freedom, then there are free streaming services:
9Now, tenplay, Plus7, SBS On Demand and ABC iview. The major television networks have their own streaming platforms via mobile app and smart TV app. These allow you to watch their programs in your own time. Catch-up TV is great if you’ve missed an episode or you’d like to re-watch part of your favourite show. These platforms, most notably SBS On Demand and ABC iview, also host a long list of movies. Sure, you might not get a new-release blockbuster but they’re a good option if you like nostalgic titles and foreign films.
If you’re on less than 100GB a month you’ll have problems if you regularly stream in high definition
Crackle. Most smart TVs have the Crackle app. Highlights include Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and The Bold and the Beautiful. It also has an extensive list of 1990s throwback films. Cartoon Network. If your kids love Foxtel’s cartoons, you’ll be delighted to know you can watch a range of full episodes for free online. CartoonNetwork.com.au/ videos hosts regular full episodes of Ben 10, Adventure Time, The Powerpuff Girls and Steven Universe. Popcornflix. If you’re up for a B-grade movie marathon (or you’re just comfortable with low standards when it comes to film), this is where you can watch movies you’ve probably never heard of.
Nab an unmetered deal
If you’re a TV or music junkie, there are ways that you can stream to your heart’s content without impacting your broadband bill thanks to the unmetered streaming deals available with certain internet service providers (ISPs) and telcos. Optus is the big one for being able to stream music and video content without it impacting your mobile data limits.
If you jump on a plan that includes a new phone of $100 or more, you get unmetered Netflix, Stan and ABC iview – not to mention unrestricted limits for Spotify and Google Play Music. There is, however, a strict rule for video streaming: it can only be streamed on a mobile device. You can’t use Chromecast or AirPlay to cast your mobile stream to your smart TV, so consider that before you jump in. For broadband and TV streaming, Telstra and Foxtel are your go-to for unmetered deals.