Netflix launches here in Australia today and the pricing is — SHOCK — way better than most of us expected.
So who’s getting it?
You can count me in. I’m among those that actually didn’t do the VPN thing with US Netflix. I’ve been waiting for Netflix to come to Australia and I’m pretty stoked about the pricing and — for the most part — the amount of content the service is launching with. I like the idea of using the PS4/Xbox One/Wii U to stream content when and where I want. Having uncapped downloads via Internode doesn’t hurt either/
How about you guys and girls? Who’s getting Netflix?
Comments
127 responses to “Off Topic: Are You Getting Netflix?”
Got it last night. As another who didn’t do the whole VPN thing it’s all pretty exciting.
I’m just happy having Doctor Who and Torchwood on tap.
Also happy with being able to take my phone to loo when I need to take a toilet break mid show. 😛
nah, don’t watch that much TV
Snapped it up first thing this morning. So much for waiting it out to see if there are any teething issues.
Works fantastically with the Chromecast. Wish I could say the same about Twitch.
Nope.
Bloodborne.
Nope. The range isn’t great, and I don’t really watch TV as it is.
If they offered sport, it might be a different story.
If they offered live sport, I’d happily give them all of my money. That’s pretty much the holy grail and I doubt we’ll see good streaming options here for a long while. Not while Foxtel is fighting tooth and nail to get as much AFL and NRL content as they can.
It’s not just football, it’s stuff like the F1 as well. I’m beyond pissed that half of the F1 races are exclusive to Foxtel for the next 5 years.
There is a character limit on comments here, I can’t list everything Foxtel is trying to lock away for themselves.
Wait….. what?
When did this happen? Are you fucking kidding me? My rage just escallated like you would not believe…..
I do believe only 5(?) races are going to be shown on free-to-air
I wish I was kidding. I am not. Foxtel has exclusive rights to half of the races in the F1 calendar for the next five seasons. Foxtel will show all of the races with half of them being exclusive, Ten/One will show the other half on free to air, and have a “highlights” thing for the other races on Monday nights.
So you basically get only 10 of the 20 races on free to air. You want all of them, you’ll need Foxtel.
https://www.foxtel.com.au/got/whats-on/foxtel-insider/fox-sports/formula-1.html
So if you were planning on watching the Malaysian GP on TV this weekend, you’re out of luck without Foxtel, unless you can find a dodgy stream.
I can’t stand sports exclusivity through paid services! I’m going to investigated a direct BBC stream, using VPN if need be.
Did you ever work in programming for Fox Sports? Between this and your interest in board games, you very closely resemble someone I used to play D&D with years ago.
But I’ve never played D&D (unless Baldur’s Gate counts).
Or worked for Fox Sports but that’s a completely different matter.
No worries. Just a lot in common is all. I haven’t been in touch with this guy for years so I wasn’t sure if you were him.
You can get a Aus Netflix account and use Hola Unblocker or a VPN to access US or UK Netflix content.
Small range suddenly becomes massive range.
I’d be a bit wary using Hola. The security they say they have isn’t as secure as I’d like. Basically anytime you have it activated, Hola will you use you as an exit node or intermediate node letting anyone access your Internect connection and do whatever.
thats been confirmed? so i can pay them in AUD and use a VPN or DNS service to get the US content? if so i’m actually more interested than before
i thought to access the US stuff you need a US account
Works on my (Android) phone. I’m yet to try it on my computer but I assume it would be the same.
Open netflix without Hola, no Supernatural. Use Hola to set as US, 9 seasons of Supernatural :-).
Although I didn’t know about the security issue pointed out by @gnawnborg, so I’ll be looking into a VPN service to use now.
Yeh at first glance they seem just like a DNS redirector, but unless you dig into the fine print you don’t necessarily realise that they’re using you as an endpoint for people from other countries to VPN into.
Not something I want to risk personally!
I’ll give it a go. But what’s this whole single stream/double stream or whatever thing?
It simply means that two devices can be watching shows at once.
Ahh thought so. Thanks!
$8.99/month = SD only, one screen at a time.
$11.99/month = HD streams (assuming your connection supports it, which most will), watch on 2 screens concurrently (e.g.: you could watch one show on the PC while someone else in your house uses the same account to watch something different on an iPad or Xbox or something).
$14.99/month = HD/4K/possibly 8K and up to 4 simultaneous screens if you’ve got that many devices and people all wanting to watch different stuff at once.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much better my connection works with Netflix compared to Crunchyroll. That being said I have yet to try watching two things at once.
Are you referring to the Multiple devices connected at once?
Getting it right now. Glad its a reasonable price.
Signed up at 12:05am.
Good stuff on there. I think taking the iPad to bed to stream an episode of something is going to become part of my nightly routine.
Signed up for it this morning.
I’ve been using Getflix along with a US Netflix account (which works with the AU Netflix service). The core content is the same across the regions but it’s nice to switch regions on the fly and enjoy some of the Australian only content. Streaming on the PS4 app is excellent, with HD and multi-channel sound.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is worth a go (episodes are hit and miss) but having access to all of Clone Wars was a win for our family!
Woah, wait – you mean I can use my existing US subscription with the AU Netflix as well? I’d assumed it was one or the other.
Must investigate further.
Yep. Just log in using your US account details. In fact calling it a US account is a misnomer, it’s really just a Netflix account, and the content you’re able to access changes with what your IP tells Netflix
Yep, I am sitting here in the office streaming Robocop (the original, of course) to my phone right now. Farewell, productivity, I hardly knew thee.
Yep I’ve been a member for a year and the big change today is that I can finally play it on the Xboxes and iPhones (just used Hola not a dedicated VPN)
Already watched three eps of Unbreakable Kimmy Schimdt. Am absolutely loving Netflix so far. Streams really well on my net connection too. (Which is apparently unmetered! WHOA!)
Whaaaat. I can’t believe there are so many responses of “got it today/no”
I’ve had it for about 18 months. 95% of my household viewing is either Netflix or HBO Go
I know, right? I got it just before Christmas and I don’t know how we survived so long without it!
Yeah, although I was very happy to be able to use Netflix on the bus today whilst the rest of the family were still using Netflix at home (Getflix doesn’t like you using two different WAN IPs)
Yep! It has some sweet content, although not the stuff to make it AMAZING yet. However, signing up now to do my part showing the old dinosaurs that their business models need to change.
I’ve already got the US version, so I’ll be sticking with that until the Australian version broadens its range. Currently, according to a browse data pull (which Netflix apparently contests as inaccurate) there are about 8000 items on the US Netflix and only about 1500 on the AU Netflix.
Same, we’ve had US Netflix for a year and a half, and I don’t see any reason to switch to an Australian account unless they force us.
Wouldn’t the Aus version be cheaper with the exchange rate right now?
Not quite, we’re on the grandfathered $7.99 US plan so it works out pretty comparable with the $11.99 HD plan we would be on here (when you include the VPN access as well).
By about 10 cents on the most expensive plans, so it’s not too bad really. It’s easier for me to keep my aging US Account anyway, lets me keep my profiles too.
Wouldn’t the Aus version broaden from a result of more customers?
Yes and no. The reason the initial offering is weak is going to be because of existing exclusive rights with other providers, which is something that isn’t affected by the number of Netflix’s subscribers right now. When those rights contracts expire, Netflix has an opportunity to jump in to the negotiations then and how much money they have available vs how much they stand to gain from obtaining rights will make a difference.
My point exactly.
I know, I’m agreeing =) You could subscribe through the AU site and then use a DNS service to switch to the US catalogue, that would give them the same purchasing power. I’m not doing that yet because I have a grandfathered US plan that is cheaper than the AU one even after currency conversion and DNS service costs are taken into account. I’ll consider switching over at some point to support the local operation, though.
YEP! House of Cards binge watch this weekend! (oh and goodbye Foxtel)
i hope everyone disconnects foxtel and they make their service much much better.
All i want with foxtel is sport yet i cant have it without paying for heaps of other rubbish. Hate it.
That’s basically how I feel. I essentially have a $60 EPL/La Liga subscription.
Hahahah yep!
First thing this morning. Love it.
Probably gonna stick it out with Foxtel, now that they have quite a bit of competition I think they will start releasing more content with their service along with their new IQ3 box.. plus they are the only service with sport!
Yeah, I did the same thing – got it at 12:10 this morning, haha. I’m loving it, and the range so far is great. There is a few shows that I can’t get on it yet, but it’s no biggie. Watched the first episode of House of Cards to break it in – as it only seemed fitting – and loved it. I didn’t do the VPN thing either, so this is my first experience with Netflix. It’s great, and I can see myself using it a fair bit. Definitely worth the money I’d say, and I’ll be keeping it around beyond the trial.
House of Cards is great, Kevin Spacey is an amazingly talented actor.
Yeah, I wasn’t sure it would be my thing, because politics – haha – but yeah, it’s pretty great so far. Yeah, he makes anything watchable as far as I’m concerned.
Can you actually watch any current TV series or movies on this? When I looked at the library of movies, they were all old ones. And even the US one apparently doesn’t have up to date Walking Dead? Is this wrong?
No there’s no current content. They usually release the previous season of a TV show as the new season is airing. It’s not a catch-up style service like Hulu.
It depends on the arrangements they have with the rights holders. Most rights holders still want to retain first broadcast exclusivity on US networks, so most US shows have to wait at least until the series finishes airing. Netflix Originals obviously appear on Netflix immediately, and they also release the whole season in one go instead of spreading it out into weekly episodes.
You might actually be surprised how many Netflix Originals series there are too, I know I was.
Signed up for the trial month at 12:05am, was watching FMA: Brotherhood a few minutes later. Catalogue looks alright, especially as I’ve not really watched TV for a few years, so plenty to catch up on, but I’m still concerned about lack of content. Still, I’ve got 2.5 seasons of BSG blu-rays to get through, so hopefully they’ll flesh out their catalogue by the time I go looking for more.
Literally signed up about 20 minutes ago.
Definitely going to give it a shot.
As long as exclusivity deals keep running crazy I don’t expect any of these services to really ‘take off’ here but Netflix at least seems to slightly care about their customers/service so I’m interested to see how they go in the coming months/years.
cant do 4k on a monitor >< >< >
only certain TV sets for now
It works great on the WiiU
great to hear
was first thought was watching on the gamepad
Does the gamepad on Wii U make browsing easy? I’ll be happy to run it off the Wii U if it does. Using the Xbone controller is a pain for playing media.
buy the xboxone media remote for about $30 at either jb hifi or (gasp!) EB games.
It’s surprisingly quite stylish and fits well in the hand but is IR only so you have to point it at your box.
Grab a Universal remote, I got pissed when the XB1 came out and the voice controls where so terrible, it would literally take 2-3 seconds to “pause”, i.e. useless.
So I picked up the Logitech Harmony 650 universal for $40 last year (they are on sale a lot but $50 on ebay right now). Works for the tv, 360, XB1 basically it has everything except bluetooth and is far more user friendly than turning on a controller every time you have to control something.
Signed up this morning for the HD package.
Really happy with the pricing and how well it works on my android and chromecast.
As for range, I don’t think it’s as bad as people are saying. The amount that is available has already created a significant backlog for me, and by the time I’ve worked through it I’m sure there will me more content.
I plan to get it today but can someone answer a question for a newbie. I have Chromecast but it can sometimes be a little dodgy. If I want to use my PS4 at times and then my Chromecast intermitently when I head into the bedroom, can I? How does the multi device work? Do I need to buy the HD version? Or only when I want to watch two different shows at the same time?
The different plans are for quality and for how many you can watch at the same time.
Bottom level plan, you can watch on chromecast, phone, tablet, console etc, just not at the same time.
I have had it for years, But i am switiching off my UnBlockUS and getting my Quota-Free iiNet deal. Plus, removing VPN blockers gives me back my quota free iTunes and Xbox downloads.
Got it this morning.
Started watching FMA: Brotherhood on my tablet.
Thanks, iinet! \o/
I have crap internet but will jump on the day the NBN gets turned on at my place. The fibre is currently in the pit at my letterbox, just waiting for Mr Splice to come along and hook me in.
You only need around 6mbps sustained to maintain a 720p stream from Netflix, and less for the SD resolution (can’t recall what that is offhand). Even pretty average internet in Australia should be able to handle it. Are you much lower than 6?
Is it ironic that I only get about 3mbps with my iiNet ADSL2 connection?
I wouldn’t say ironic, but you’re definitely well below the average. What distance are you from the exchange?
About 4.5km
Yeah, that’s close to the limit of ADSL capability. Your attenuation at that distance is close to 60dB, ADSL theory suggests you should only be syncing at 3mbps at absolute best. Unfortunately in your case it’s not a matter of cable quality or anything, it’s purely distance. I’m guessing you don’t have any other options for internet either, so here’s hoping NBN comes to your area soon!
Telstra owned exchange, plus living near the edge of the boundary. I have a 1.5mbps connection. Speedtest only ever tops out at about 1.2 but can get torrents going at about 150kbps tops. Tried adding a speed pack but it didn’t make any difference.
That’s pretty bad. Netflix has a bandwidth restriction option in its settings, one of which limits to 300MB per hour which comes out to around 83kB/s. It could work for you, but I wouldn’t expect the video quality to be very good at all at that kind of bandwidth.
Let’s hope Mr Splice comes sooner rather than later.
My brother got a low level job with Telstra and he sees Sept floating about. It was meant to be May last year at the latest before it got all fucked over with the politics.
Not yet. But next time I’m thinking about obtaining a TV show prior to its DVD/BR release, I’ll definitely be checking out one of the local streaming services first.
The best thing about Netflix is that your one account works in all other regions. So you will notice that if you signed up for an Aussie account and you are able to unblock the US or UK version of Netflix, your Aussie account can log in there and access that catalogue.
Was reading this morning on Reddit that some US users are now using VPN to sign up for Aussie account cuz it will make their US catalogue cheaper.
Other than that seamless launch, not a bad catalogue at launch by all reports much more coming as well. And with the first month free, cancel anytime it’s well worth a look.
Have had the US hook in for some time now. Am going to switch to Aussie pricing as it seems fine and gives me the warm fuzzies. And then I’ll just revert back to the US version as the content absolutely destroys the Aussie version.
Just a question. I’ve been accessing the US version with a DNS bypass, do people notice performance or streaming drops using a VPN like PIA? Im going to get a VPN and want to know what Streaming is like under it. If it’s not fast enough then I’ll stick with the DNS bypass on the netflix devices (X1, PS4, WiiU) and put a VPN for my PC box. I dunno…legally aquiring tv shows and movies is complicated!
Depends what the VPN is for. If it’s for torrenting, look at getting a seedbox. Go in with a few friends and could be cheaper than a VPN.
Yep. I have signed up for the free month and will probably keep it afterwards for now. #1 reason? the quality. On my slow ADSL1 connection I am getting clear and sharp picture quality on the basic SD plan. I’ve also found a bunch of things I actually want to watch. A few TV shows I have missed that I can now watch from the start and a bunch of movies I haven’t seen yet. So I am pretty happy with it so far for Day 1.
I’ll try it, like I did with Stan.
I accidentally didn’t cancel my trial for Stan and got charged $10… So, I’ll compare them both now, and see which one I’ll keep.
It’ll mostly be based on the catalogue… But I expect Netflix to provide a much smoother service. Apps on PS4 & Wii U will also help its case.
I didn’t really use Stan much other than the weekend I commenced the trial, so… We’ll see.
Maybe neither.
I’d happily try Stan but if they can’t bring their app to consoles then I don’t care what they’re doing
I’m definately interested, so I’ll sign up for the trial and see how it goes
Setup at like 11 last night just after it went live. Loving it so far. Had no issues and there is more than enough to entertain me. I generally buy all the indie films and series I enjoy so Netflix seems like a good place to catch up on all the films I’ve missed in mainstream without annoyance.
I had the US version via VPN which I had no problems watching on my crappy telstra ADSL1, however last night out of curiosity I signed up to Presto (btw the whole month free has some cataches, it cost me $15 for an hour, which I will explain). So I signed up and you have to pay the cost of a month up front, I suspect you get the second month free. However every couple of minutes it would stop to buffer and was absolutely unwatchable. So i cancelled it within an hour of signing up. It may just be coicidence but to me it appears teh compression for Netflix craps all over Presto.
Absolutely, watched Need For Speed the movie as I’ve been meaning too for a while and the quality of the stream and the lack of buffering was a god send.
Anyone know which ISPs are offering unmetered content on Netflix usage?
iinet is
Optus has new plans that include un metered Netflix ( as of April sometime ) and a 6 month netflix subscription.
http://www.optus.com.au/shop/promotions/unlimited-broadband-bundle-deals?SID=con:bundl:Netflx:bundl:afeat:ip24un:none
iinet & subsidiaries, and Optus
Will definetly try out the trial later tonight.
I’ll sign up for the trial this afternoon, but I’m still not sold on the range of shows. TV just doesn’t do it for me anymore, so minor accessibility problems knock out large portions of the little TV I watch. When you watch a dozen shows per year and only really care about half of them, having one or two shows out of reach makes it hard to justify even a reasonable price per month like this.
I will admit though, I want to support them just because they’ve launched with monster compatibility. I know they have some pretty huge advantages there over fresh starts but as a Windows 8/Windows Phone 8 user I’m very happy to see them launch with everyone covered rather than starting with iOS and Android and having everything else ‘coming soon’ for three years.
Wife got up to feed baby at around 4am. She signed up and watched a little bit of the firefly first episode. I wake up this morning and she is watching firefly again. I’m like “why are you watching something we already have on DVD and pirated on the harddrive?”.
She said she wanted the first thing she watched to be awesome.
1 in a million! Definitely a keeper mate 😉
Nope not for me. Might give the trial a go but I don’t think my internet connection is gonna cut it.
I have quickflix. I don’t need Netflix.
Got the free trial, seems ok but the content seems quite old or stuff i’ve never heard of, only got it this morning will trial it more tonight.
I’m on 200Gb a month limit. Can’t support getting Netflix till the rumored upgrade to my plan happens.
I’m on 50gb a month. I spend about 2 hours online gaming a day and my wife watches about 2 hours netflix or iTunes a day. Wen arely hit our monthly cap. Mind you, I did change the netflix settings to only stream in SD, but that’s more to do with our low ADSL speed than fear of the cap being blown.
Nope.
Limited to Telstra 3G where I live. Barely tolerable speeds and quotas that won’t survive one episode of House of Cards, along with no unmetered (not that Telstra even does that anymore now they removed their Steam servers and AusGamers downloads) means that this is a no-go for me.
I can’t wait for the NBN…oh wait ;_;
No from me. Loaded it up, expecting the ultimate on-demand TV/Movie service. Browsed the entire catalogue in under half an hour. Genuinely disappointed.
The Xbox Video catalogue offers a hell of a lot more…
I’ll be sticking with Xbox Video and Bluray disc – I get to watch what I want that way :/
Yip, signed up this morning. Have a dozen or so shows already lined up to watch. My only concern is that it may eat into my precious gaming time. Need to be disciplined…
Sticking with my US Subscription and VPN for the moment but can easily switch to the Aussie version if i find a show i’m interested in, will defiantly be getting my mum on board with her Ipad and a Chromecast.
Yep got it this morning, the wife is off sick for a week so she will let me know how it goes haha
Have had it for 4 years.
Yep. Their AU prices are actually pretty decent. I know that it’s not a comprehensive solution (I’ll still need to buy HBO blu-rays, and maybe the odd torrent), but it’s a good first step for us. I think it’s a similar situation to music, I jumped to a Spotify subscription, which handles about 90% of my needs but for all my ripped CDs from the 90s, I’ve uploaded them to Google Play Music, and for newer stuff which doesn’t make it to Spotify, I’ll buy on iTunes or disc.
I have really bad copper lines to my house, so I will keep Foxtel until NBN is finally connected, then I will drop Foxtel and get Netflix over unlimited Dodo NBN.
On board about 10.30pm last night – WST FTW!
Watched a bit of Return of the King to do a DVD comparison, was impressed. Then looked at Dr Who 50th Anniversary, was extremely impressed. I haven’t seen any of House of Cards, Orange is new black, Orphan Black or Falling Skies and with some classic movies in there I think I’m definitely sold.
Oh – and it’s only going to get better.
No. I’m opposed to renting media.
Eh maybe. Might get the cheap Chromecast via Stan first though, and look at Netflix at some point down the track.
On a copper line? I’ll stick to torrenting until the nbn makes it my way in the next few years at this rate.
I’ve had Netflix for more than a year now, it is nice to also have access to US and UK via a VPN (I use Zenmate, whic is free presently and it works great, that and finding out Hola is pretty dodgy) and i’m currently checking out the Aussie stuff, not bad so far =)
Who wouldn’t? I get to thumb my nose at Foxtel and the free-to-air trash outside of the ABC and SBS that I don’t watch, and probably won’t ever watch again.
Also, might just leave this here. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/187572. It’s a smartDNS service so you can easily access other regions content. $12 a year (normally $20) but you can give it a trial for 2 weeks. I’m not affiliated, just feel the need to pass on the goodness.
Yes, cause the sooner the competitors know who top dog is in Australia streaming media the better.
Eventually the NetFlix policies for future content will kick in and less Australian exclusions. I do however find it really annoying that there is still talk in the US of every TV channel and major studio trying to push their own individual streaming services. Seriously we can only subscribe to so many. There is an oppotunity for Australian TV to get onto Netflix here, and get distributed overseas easier… Whats 2 million Australian viewers on live TV compare to US viewer numbers.
I just like how they all advertise “Your Favourite TV Shows” and they each have their exclusives, so its not like all my favourite shows it some here, some with stan, some with presto… and some are not available on any service cause their owners live in the dark ages.
No point at the moment.
Currently have Stan and I am getting new episodes of Better Call Saul and Community.
Once they are done I’ll check out Netflix. Superficially looking there are a lot of duplicate content. So there’s no point getting both.
Yep, I signed up for the free trial but will probably just get the basic package afterwards since I’m a poor uni student. Been watching Arrested Development, and looking forward to Daredevil and the rest of the Marvel shows when they come out.
Got it, and already sharing it with a mate of mine!
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! No.
I’m tempted to get it, but i’m still kind of wanting to get NBN and it may depend on whether or not we’re lucky enough to quickly get into the FttP version or not. The other consideration is that I’d also be tempted by CrunchyRoll (at least based on what i’ve seen).
I don’t necessarily watch a huge amount of actual new TV shows but it sounds nice to be able to access older content on both. Foxtel seems to have a lot of less of the older classic stuff than they used to, the prices had always been terrible (particularly for how they restructured it over the years – removing movie channels etc), most importantly to me, I’m not keen on supporting NewsCorp(se) in anyway I can help