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ITCANBEeasytotakeforgrantedvideo
streamingasit existstoday.Gobackevenjust
fiveyearsandon-demandstreamerslike
Netflixdidn’tevenexistinAustralia(without
a VPN).Sure,freetoaircatch-upserviceshave
beenaroundformanyyears,butthechoiceon
whattowatchis oftenlimitedtoa selectfew
(nottomentiontheconstantadvertisements
thatinfiltrateyourviewing).Stanis an
Australian-bornstreamingplatformthatwent
liveinearly 2015 withanextensivecatalogue
ofbothfilmandTV.Nowfouryearslater,the
servicehasgarneredover2.6million
subscribers– whilethat’ssignificantlylower
than international powerhouse Netflix with
11.2 million Australians, Stan continues to
grow with it’s range of exclusive titles and
agreements with global production houses. If
you’re yet to delve into the world of on-
demand video streaming then we’d definitely
recommend giving Stan a go, especially
considering your first 30 days are free.
THE BASICS
WHAT ABOUT NETFLIX? If you’re already a
subscriber of Netflix, then you may be
wondering why you’d want to sign up to
another service. Both Netflix and Stan are
pretty similar when it comes to functionality,
but it’s what’s available for streaming that
differs. At the time of writing, Stan had almost
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ESSENTIAL APPS, TOOLS AND ENTERTAINMENT
[ TECHLIFE #93 ]
[ WE STAN ]
Stan: A serious Netflix competitor
THIS AUSTR ALIAN-BORN STREAMING SERVICE HAS LOTS TO OFFER WHEN IT COMES TO FILM AND TV.
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500 shows and 1,500 films – less than the
much larger Netflix (1,600 shows and 3,693
films). Despite its smaller catalogue, Stan has a
wide and varied library filled with TV classics
like Seinfeld, The Office and Friends. You’ll also
find more recent shows such as UnReal, Better
Call Saul and Billions, plus a small but growing
collection of original content. Not exclusive to
TV, Stan’s film library includes movies such as
Charlie’s Angels, Ghostbusters, and the entire
James Bond film franchise. In December 2018
Stan also announced a new deal with Disney,
meaning you can enjoy timeless Pixar classics
like To y S t o r y, plus films from the Marvel and
Star Wars franchises – making Stan a very
serious contender in the streaming stakes.
GETTING STARTED. If you’re new to Stan, visit
http://www.stan.com.au/ and enter your email
address before choosing the free trial option.
You’ll be asked to select from one of three
subscription plans (see below), plus add a
payment method. While Stan gives all new
users a 30 day trial, you’ll need to add a credit
Choose from a basic, standard or premium plan.
On the homepage you’ll find new and trending titles.
Stan offers a free 30 day trial to all new users.