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Free 30 Day Trial @ Stan.com.au - Save $10

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25/1: Stan has officially launched. Start your 30 day free trial today (please be aware a credit/debit card is required upon trial sign up). You will need to cancel your trial before the 30 days expires if you don't wish to continue the service for the $10 a month price, otherwise your card will be automatically debited

So it looks like we might finally be getting something similar to Netflix based in Aus. The site claims they will have fully functional Android and iPhone apps, allowing streaming to TV via Chromecast or Airplay.

Looks like they'll have a decent range of TV shows, movies and kids shows available for $10/month, with no ads and no lock-in contracts and currently a free 30 day trial if you pre-register your interest.

This could be a decent alternative to Getflix if they have enough relevant content. Will be interesting to see how it progresses if nothing else. Maybe just an attempt to compete prior to Netflix's arrival?

Gizmodo overview

Great article following a hands-on with the Beta platform (thanks to flaminglemon)

From an email following sign-up:

Get ready to watch thousands of hours of TV and Movies on Stan with unlimited access for only $10/month. Stan will be the home of Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad and all of the other amazing content already announced. Stan will also have the complete collection of Bond films at your fingertips including Skyfall, the highest-grossing and most critically acclaimed Bond film ever. The legacy of Bond spans five decades and has delivered us 6 charismatic men - Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore, George Lazenby and Sean Connery. Just like the spice girls, there is a Bond for every taste.

Huff Post has named Golden Globe nominated Transparent as “The Best Show of 2014”. See this and other highly anticipated shows like Better Call Saul and Mozart in the Jungle first on Stan.

Stan will be bringing you award winning TV like Ray Donovan, Nurse Jackie, The Good Wife and Fargo. Settle in on the couch with new and classic blockbusters like The Hobbit, Channing Tatum in 21 Jump St, The Rocky Franchise with Sly Stallone and Robocop.

And let’s not forget the kids. Stan has the kids covered with Dora The Explorer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Octonauts and iCarly. The dedicated kids zone means you can set up individual profiles to make sure the little ones aren’t watching Basic Instinct!

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    • +1

      There is no blocking by Netflix..use getflix and get on with it :)

  • +1

    So we rego only for updates? this service isn't actually online yet is it? There seems to be a login page with voucher input prompt. Am I suppose to receive an email after registering?

  • +1

    Thanks OP. Definitely has my interest. I'd be happy to support an Australian initiative if it meant we had good pricing and a fantastic catalog. Now I'm hoping the interface is useable…

    • The guys from gizmodo had a look at the beta version and said it's a very slick UI reminiscent of the Netflix main screen. Hopefully it's functional too.

      • Did they include any screenshots of it? I didn't see any so I would assume they're keep it a secret for now.

        • Nope. And they were asked not to disclose any content they saw other then Breaking Bad, but that was a couple months ago so we know about some additional content now.

        • @jason07: Based on what the article includes, it definitely seems like it's heavily influenced by Netflix's design, which is good. I hope it's not AS clogged up as Netflix though, sometime's it's hard to find new shows because of the amount of spammy tv shows on the screen.

  • Currently OS and trying to sign up but I'm getting "Sorry, Stan is only available in Australia!"
    How long do we have to be eligible for the free trial?

    • Not sure mate. I'd say it will stay available until they get a decent customer base, or at least until launch in late Jan.

  • +2

    You can find out a little more about Stan by clicking on their help or other links at the bottom of their page. http://help.stan.com.au/hc/en-us

    There are some FAQs about streaming quality and supported devices. The link to their Ipad app is also in place from this page allowing you to view the app with screenshots.
    https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/stan./id948095331?ls=1&mt=8

    • Thank you, and welcome newly signed up OzB member. Are you associated with Stan or just interested like the rest of us?

  • +1

    Thanks OP, signed up with 24 email addresses.

    • Haha. Two years worth? Hmm, wonder if they'll block by one per household or CC? Time to pull out VISA debit gift cards if so. Or just add a suffix to the number on your address. ;-p

      • +1

        You'd be surprised how many dwellings are on my block.

        • Well if there are vacant units/apartments perhaps, but then it'd be wrong and really suck if someone moved in and wanted to get a trial but was excluded.

    • +3

      Haha nice. Assuming the free trial is the first month only, be sure to let us know how you go watching 24 screens at a time ;-)

  • Can I access this on my Xbox One or via Chromecast?

    Edit: Looks like I can use Chromecast, but no mention of Xbox.

    http://help.stan.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/203479794

    There really needs to be an app' for both the Xbox 360 & One for me to commit.
    BTW, thanks to you OP. I've signed up for the trial.

    • Without a windows phone app that also rules me out.

      It would be interesting to see their full content list because the few shows that have been promoted so far aren't really of interest.

  • +1

    Gotta love how on the iTunes page they claim they're world class. How? It hasn't even launched, they could fail.

    World-class has gone the cliched way of 'quality' and 'cutting-edge'. Every freaking security system is 'state of the art' and 'cutting edge' and it's just bull. Ruins it for marketing, have to then rely on Trademarked phrases and brands. Sucks.

  • -2

    Is it just me or is Jack Ryan a bit of a laugh for the web domain owner? http://www.whois.com/whois/stan.com.au

    Dibbsbarker Nominees?

    Whoever is running this company is either a larrikin or a real douchenbaggen. Turns out it's MelbourneIT proxy. The WhoIS page is now updated to say StreamCo.

    Anyhow what's so great about Breaking Bad and this new 'My Name is Saul' or whatever it's called. 'Calling Saul'. ;-p ah Better Call Saul.

    He was the lawyer I assume. Not that it matters, but how do we know it'll be as great as they say. First few eps on spinoffs are usually good and unless they get traction and explore a new path they seem to fail.

  • Oops. Ignore.

  • Is there a list of all their content yet?

    • +1

      They seem to be pretty secretive of what their content is going to include, I've only been able to find 8 shows confirmed. Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Nurse Jackie, Dexter, Transparent, Ray Donovan, Mozart in the Jungle & The Hobbit*. As excited for this as I am, I do worry that the catalog won't be as impressive as Hulu or Netflix. Here's hoping.

      *Source

      Edit: Here's an excerpt from the Sun Herald which lists a few more shows.
      Here's their Facebook if you want to keep up to date.

      • Entirely possible that because they are just starting out, their background 'example' images could actually be their entire catalog. I noticed that the background starts repeating the same images. Illusion of plenty.

        • I noticed that too. Guess we'll find out in a few weeks how good it is.

    • +2

      Here is something I found in another thread: http://paytv.net.au/2014/12/stan-vs-netflix-u-s-content-comp…

      • This annoys me greatly.

        They are doing Stan exclusives which means they are paying money for exclusively have something so Netflix AU can't.

        They are going on about Breaking Bad exclusives in AU… but US Netflix already had Breaking Bad.

  • N00b here.. does this OR any service provide a sports subscription? i.e. Football, EPL, Serie A, La Liga etc?

    or is this strictly for movies / TV?

    • +4

      This one is strictly movies and TV. Not sure if there are sports subscription services around.

      • +5

        It is a shame that. I was kind of wondering. If there was, I bet that would be the final nail in the coffin for the commercial, logo emblazoned, utter low class shXXtiness that is foxtel. No-one would have any reason to touch them, I think.

        • +2

          That, and a functional nation-wide high-speed internet infrastructure. I live 1 minute off the M1 on the Gold Coast, literally 5km from Movie World and Wet'n'Wild and I can still only get ADSL1… :-/

        • @jason07:

          That's nothing :) I live 5km from the Brisbane CBD. I've got a teltra major trunk going though my median strip in front of my house. And my suburb isn't even on the NBN plan at all.

          That said, I'm on optus cable, and have been for over 15 years. Pretty sad that from my perspective, nothing really has happened speed wise for me, and now with the new NBN plans, nothing ever will (eg the best I can hope for is just the hybrid cable NBN, which will actually result in more people on the peer to peer cable network…

          But in all seriousness, I do sympathise with your ADSL1 though. Ouch…

          :)

        • @Mobe1969:

          I DREAM of cable! It took me 3 hours to post this deal!

          Ok that might be a lie, but seriously, streaming sucks :-(

  • I take it that you can only register your interest at the moment, by putting in your email on the main screen, not actually register an account and login? Or does someone have a link to the actual registration? There is a login down the bottom for existing customers.

    • +1

      Correct, looks like just interest at the moment. But the way I read it is that this interest will give you first access via email notification when the actual sign on for the free month goes active. I'm expecting this to be in the next 2-3 weeks.

  • I'll be surprised if they include all the shows currently on their front page. But hope they could bring the surprise.

  • +1

    Looks pretty good, although more content would be good. Been using it for about a week now.

    Nice simple to use interface

    • How did you get access? Do you work for them? Or press?

      • +2

        I work for a company associated with them

        • Feel like sharing an anonymously posted link with some extra details or a fuzzy undercover screenshot…?

        • @jason07: Sorry not sure what i could send, i have the app and the invite was on internal email

    • I'm curious too. I didn't know they had actually started. What shows are available?

      • +1

        Quite a few movies and tv shows, enough to find some interesting shows to watch.

        Its hard to say whats available without writing a whole list.

      • They certainly haven't launched publicly. Perhaps just an internal/selected affiliate testing phase at the moment?

        • Yes that about sums it up

  • +2

    Always great to see some more competition.
    Will wait to see what content they put up, and give it a go to test quality and the interface.
    Really would like some apps for tvs, PS3, xbox etc though. Not a fan of all this wireless streaming/mirroring.
    Netflix will do for now anyway.
    Thanks OP.

  • Time to retire the sat dish methinks, Agree with everyone else that it is about time we got some competition, I wonder if foxy can do a price match?, with perhaps 10% off their competitors price…..Not likely.

  • I signed up for the american one the other day, guess i'll do this one too.

  • +2

    Just received an email with my free trial code. Not a bad selection of movies!

    • Same. Will take a look tonight.

      • Yes, just got mine too. Looks like to get it to my TV I'll need to borrow my wife's ipad. Shame you can't just do it direct from an AppleTV or chromecast.

        • Oh no, I just ordered AppleTV partly for that purpose. Thought they say it should work? What has gone wrong??

    • Same here. However I'm a bit reluctant to sign up as it's asking for credit card details. If you don't cancel before the trial expires you'll be charged $10/month.

  • Just signed up for the free trial, and given them my credit card details.
    As my main purpose is US/UK TV shows, quick search 'orange is the new black' returns zero. Bump!
    What's your view?

    • I just had a quick look, there's 44 British TV shows available at the moment. That's not a bad start for a service that's just up and running.

      Personally I'm quite impressed. Much better catalogue than anything we've had thus far (excluding Netflix US obviously). Will be interesting to see if they boost their catalogue over the coming weeks to stay competitive when Netflix launches here.

      • Agree. I will play with it a little more before I decide. First impression is not too bad, although it does take some muck-around.
        Funnily enough, my Apple TV arrived yesterday.
        Just thinking it requires 3 devices to get Stan: Big TV, AppleTV, and iPhone/iPad. Hope they can simplify it from direct viewing from our Smart TV…..

  • +3

    After trying out their service for 2 days (that's really all I could bare), my verdict is clear and simple: DO NOT BOTHER!

    Their range of shows and movies is laughable and the technical infrastructure which supports their service seems like it has been put up by a bunch of Uni students as a summer project.

    In order to watch on your computer you need to download and install Microsoft 'bloatware' known as Silverlight.

    With regards to their android app, it won't even install if your device is 'rooted' or has any type of customised ROM.

    Even people with Nexus devices that have the official and latest Android build from Google, have reported major issues.

    From my experience on several PCs I tested it on, it has serious buffering issues.

    With regards to the range of content on offer, all I could do was laugh.

    Bottom line: Netflix will eat this mob alive!. They might as well shut up shop now and cancel their launch.

    • The email says use stan.com.au\sneak-peak to sign in from pc. That link is not valid. How did you login from pc?

      • The URL is actually https://www.stan.com.au/sneak-peek. I got invited to have an early sneak peek too, but based on ginmi's verdict, I think it might be better to wait until the proper launch when they've hopefully sorted themselves out a bit.

    • +1

      I agree that their "no root" policy is pathetic. I emailed customer support about it, noting that they will undoubtedly lose thousands of potential customers, and their response was simply "Unfortunately, Stan will not work on rooted/jail broken devices. Digital Rights Management laws which are in place do not allow us to extend the use of Stan to such devices." Pretty poor.

      Having said that, the website is working brilliantly for me. I have a painfully slow ADSL1 connection, and haven't experienced any buffering issues as yet.

      Range of TV shows is definitely more impressive than the range of movies. The movies list looks a lot like the 3-night rentals section from a Blockbuster store circa 2004.

  • Received my coupon code today. Can't wait to see the catalogue :)

  • +1

    What's the movie selection like? I hate free trials that will automatically roll over to paid subscription but I'd like to browse the selection. My main interest is kids and family movies, so a decent back catalogue would be just fine, with no need to have the very latest

  • +1

    Got the trial - pretty decent serve of movies and TV shows - but I feel like I went through the whole catalog in under 2 minutes.

  • Well signed up last night. I have an ADSL2+ connection (regional NSW) however speeds are always low. Worked with both Android and Apple! Streaming via Chromecast was troublesome with one son playing games online, one daughter watching youtube and the wife browsing. Once all had gone to bed HD streaming through Chromecast was trouble free. The apps are a little slow especially on iOS if you want to rewind or FF but otherwise a most pleasing result.

  • Tried it last night as well. My home internet speed is good and didn't have any trouble with streaming on laptop. But there was a constant flickering every few minutes. Might be some bug in their silverlight plug-in. Yet to try their Android app and Chromecast streaming.

  • Launches on Australia Day

  • The quality is terrible.
    I have 100/40 NBN Fiber and it is just awful, really pixilated and blurry.

    I've set a calendar reminder on my phone so I don't forget to cancel it before the trial is up.

    • Depending on your device you may have to manually enable HD.

      I'm on lowly ADSL and it looks as good as Netflix SuperHD, both subjectively and technically (roughly the same bitrate, both H.264).

      Native apps would be great but I was surprised at how well AirPlay worked (and how little battery it used — 2% of my iPad Air 2 to watch a 50min video.)

      The content catalogue is fine for an initial release (there's certainly some top tier shows), and really my only complaint is that of all streaming services — no refresh rate switching to match the content. It's particularly problematic in AU and other PAL territories when we've got 25 and 50Hz content being output at 60Hz and not just 24.

  • Hi, I've got the emailed code, press on the link and then the large redeem button. It then comes up to say I have the month, but then nothing happens. Whenever it asks me for my email and password, it just sits and has the "please wait"symbol for eternity. If I press to sign in, andthe "forgot password"link, it doesn't recognise my email!!
    Anyone else have similar issues, or am I unlucky?

    • -5

      My deepest sympathies. You should go outside and make the most of what little time you have left.

      • +2

        I did, which is why it took a while for me to neg you….

        • +1

          I think you misunderstand me, but nevermind. You'll be able to sign up without the code in 30 hours.

  • Android app requires stock rom and unrooted.

  • Thanks for the new reply, a pain, but that answer might be right. Stan support suggested turning off adblock and antivirus, but to no avail.I'm trying to get it running on my computer first, before the phone.

  • As modern family is tied to channel 10, is there any modern family on Stan? Season 5? I'd like to know before handing over cc details. Thanks.

    • no

  • IT HAS LAUNCHED TODAY NOW, PLEASE ANNOUNCE TO ALL OZBARGAINERS!

    • Thanks but no need to shout, try turning caps lock off

  • +2

    The content is terrible. Every TV show I've been watching or movie I've wanted to try isn't available. I can't justify paying anything for it.

  • Have to hope they release some apps for PS3/4 xbox etc. While i have no problem using my chromecast, the ease of using my ps3 for other on demand services is much better. Plus it doesn't rely on each family member using their phone/tablet.

  • +2

    So they want to sway people away from piracy, but purposely don't let it work on all devices (i.e. rooted). What is the point of that when these users could easily go back to (or give up on stan and start with) piracy to get a technologically superior experience without the trouble. These arbitrary restrictions will not stop a single pirate as all their content would already be freely available for unlawful download, it only limits the legitimate marketplace.

  • i have a non rooted lg g2. stan tells me its rooted and so wont work. brings back memories of the initial 32bit only foxtel go launch

  • I suppose Stan doesn't run on linux?

    • +1

      If you can get Silverlight running, I can't see why not.

      • I have netflix running on my mythtv based HTPC. Just tried running Stan. Let's you log in but the streaming experience is the same as in Windoze (7 & 8.1) - it just sits there telling you to wait while it's "fetching" your stream. Shame.

        But anyway, it's working out of my Samsung tablet.

      • OK, got it going on 'nix after a bit of messing about. I guess that make 'nix better than Windoze coz I only get a black screen on the latter. (Calm down, fanboys, I'm kidding. Your Windoze is beautiful).

        Back OT, buffering seems to be a real problem. On the same LAN, stremaing from my Samsung Tab4 to Chromecast works well. On Linux (pipelight/silverlight) it stops and starts something fierce.

    • Their website runs on Ubuntu

  • Doesn't work (android and streaming Windoze) - just sits there "Just a moment. We're fetching your content".

    Teething problems?

    • I think they're having server issues. Just managed to connected on my Samsung Tab4/ Chromecast. Watched one episode of IT Crowd. Then, on the next streaming attempt, it went back "fetching your content" message. Also through up an error message, something about having trouble getting a page. Error code p21, or similar.

      The episode I watched was OK to watch, but it's a shame there is no HD.

  • Doesn't work on rooted and jailbroken devices. Stan will not get my business.

    • yeah maybe try root cloak to get around this

  • Going to stick with Presto, got two free months subscription when I bought my Chromecast, and it doesn't care whether device is rooted.

  • +2

    HTC One M7 & M8 not supported - why do they do this, they are standard android phones?

  • From the play store reviews it seems it doesnt work on rooted phones. :(

  • +1

    Not compatible with my device would not even let me download app.
    using new Samsung galaxy alpha 4.7" super AMOLED HD screen octacore Exynos with 2 gigs ram plus 32 gigs memory never rooted but not good enough to play Stan.
    good bye Stan.Cancelled immediately.

    • +2

      I had a strange issue with my Samsung S4. The stan app does not show up in google play when i search for it even though settings are "show all apps"
      However what i did was….I searched for it on my computer browser on google play and then set it to install on my phone and that did the trick.
      The app is working fine now on my S4 but it still does not show up in google play…………

      • Same here. Finished up linking the install from Firefox.

  • Working fine here using a Galaxy Tab 3 & Chromecast with Bigpong ADSL2. Foxtel Go might have a better range of content but since none of my mobile devices were purchased in Australia the Foxtel app won't work.

  • I've been using this for past few days, and TV content is relly good but movies are pretty old. Content is HD not Full HD

    • " Content is HD not Full HD"

      Best as I can see it only maxes to SD. I'm not seeing HD - I have a good ADSL2+ connection, usually in excess of 20megabits/sec.

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