Now, while you may think that this "review" may be a press release turned into a mildly amusing blog post, I'm definitely here to tell you the Pros and Cons of the system. I'm also going to arrogantly chime in on what QuickFlix needs in the future to stay up-to-date and relevant with the average consumer and online user. I recently completed a thirty day trial with Quickflix and wanted to share my experience with everyone on how Quickflix changed how I viewed paying for media. Also I'm aware that thirty days may not be the best time for a litmus test, but hey, it's all I could afford.
Quickflix is the first ever paid streaming service I've ever tried. Now, while I'll get to the DVD rentals later, I want to commend Quickflix on the range they have in their online Play service.The amount of films and shows I was excited to see was just astounding. Classic films like 12 Monkeys, Annie Hall, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Arthur were available at my fingertips within seconds.
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| It's never a bad time for dutch angles and crazed Brad Pitt. |
Last year, Quickflix signed an expansive licensing deal with HBO which gave them the rights to a lot of incredible shows both new and old. The second night I had Quickflix, I started watching a show called Taxi Cab Confessions. I'd seen clips of the show on YouTube and a few parodies on different series, but never seen the show, so I decided to take the opportunity to watch it. First, I was amazed at what HBO was like in the 90s and then saw how they made a brand for themselves. Original programming like no one had ever seen before, completely removed from the shackles of regulations and all creative, dirty, well structured, devised and edited for the right customers.
The show is exactly what the title says, but the stories presented to the different Taxi drivers are just beautiful and poetic all in their own way. One of the first stories in the episode is a police officer getting off from two 24 hour shifts. Dishevelled and tired as hell, he begins to tell the driver about his work on the force. The driver leads the passenger down a dark road when he asks him the worst thing he's ever seen. He proceeds to tell him about the few times him and his fellow officers would have to handle people who would get stuck between trains and the platform. While I can't embed the clip, I did find a link to it on YouTube. Barely a few minutes into the show and I was weeping from how tragic and how well told the story was. Just an incredible show and highly recommended, even just from that opening sequence.
I know I'm going on about the content rather than the service itself, but that's the thing with Quickflix, you never know what you're going to find. Quickflix is for the curious,but also for the film buffs and for the average consumer. You don't have that risk of being caught out with a film that you just paid a few buck for, ultimately turning out to be mediocre. You can watch the first few minutes of a show and not feel pressured to watch it because it's "the best thing ever", according to some friends. Quickflix Play as a service is definitely a no strings attached service that feels fresh and free after years of time-based scrutiny and pressured viewing.
With the HBO deal in full effect, I highly recommend Quickflix if you want to get through classic acclaimed shows such as The Wire and The Sopranos uninterrupted. The Quickflix system is set up to be so easy-to-use that it's perfect for binge watching. Our TV landscape is changing and I feel that if you've got a few hours to kill on the weekend or want to crack open a few drinks after work, Quickflix would be more beneficial to your viewing habits than plonking yourself down and watching The Voice or Masterchef each evening.
Now with the DVD rental service, I can definitely again, praise Quickflix for their range and selection in their DVD library. So many out of print or discontinued DVD's are available and it's a treasure trove of classics that you can get sent to you within days. The Post service is great and is a pretty fun way to plan your week out. It does have it's downside, like if you wanted to just watch it right now, well that's what the Play Service is for.
With their kids and animated section, Quickflix is definitely an acceptable and family-friendly service. Almost any family could afford the $14.99 monthly pricetag and could be enjoying new DVD's every second or third day, plus you don't have to worry about your kids ruining the covers. I can't tell you how many times I'd hire out a DVD to watch one week, return it and a week later wanting to hire out again to show a friend, only to be told it had been ruined by a kid in between rentals.
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| What is that?! Is it spilt milk? Or honey or-what is it?! |
The Post service for rentals is incredibly easy and speedy. It never took me more than a few days to return a DVD or Blu-Ray and I never got hounded by the service to return it via phone or email. During my trial, I ordered 3 discs and not once did I ever find a scratch or have any trouble with the discs. I also love getting mail so when the Quickflix packets would arrive, there would be a strange joy of with each rental. It's something to really look forward to on a daily basis, when you know something's coming.
Now, the cons of the service, which I'll be short and sweet about, are more nitpicky than anything else. I believe the streaming service was lucklustre at times. Not necessarily with the service, but when playing the service on my PS3, it would often take a while to buffer and that's without anyone in the house online. I also found that the layout for the service to be really poorly designed, but only when using it on the PS3. On the website, it's easy to navigate but I will say it's difficult for searching at times.
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| The "scratched disc" of future generations. |
Quickflix's menu system is fairly fun but it can get disappointing if you don't know exactly what you're looking for. Family members struggled for a few minutes to select something even remotely enjoyable before giving up while waiting for the stream to buffer. After a few tries, I finally convinced them that it might take a while but you could equate the experience to the indecisive nature of most video rental consumers. The service does have similar pitfalls to most streaming services, like if you're enjoying a film or TV series and the net drops out, so too does the stream. It's expected and sadly the future we're probably going to have to deal with.
Also it should be noted that not everything that is streaming is on DVD and not everything on DVD is streaming. The content licensing differs depending on the type of media and it seems that while Warner Brothers are fine for them to have Constantine on DVD on Blu-Ray, for it to be streaming is a whole other deal. Also at times it does ruin the instantaneous feel that the video shop used to bring of being able to play DVD's as soon as you get home. If you're not a fan of waiting for your DVD selection, than you may not be a fan of Quickflix.
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| No, I don't know why I chose that film either. I kinda like it, that's about it. |
I'm also not a big fan of the Pay-Per-Play system. I understand from an economic stand point, Quickflix is still trying to compete with services such as Foxtel Go and even brick and mortar rental houses, but it's apart of the system that I hope is suppressed in the future. It brings back that risk factor of whether or not you enjoy a film or TV series. I'll give you a good example. I was incredibly excited and was praising Quickflix earlier this year about the service bringing Game of Thrones to their service.
They'd signed a deal and things were going through, unfortunately a few days ago when GoT turned up, it was a Pay Per Play service. I thought, okay, that's just for the third season, I understand, you guys have to recoup your expenses and I'm sure this was a good compromise, until I saw that this was across all seasons. So yes, if you wanted to watch the entire series of Game of Thrones as it stands, you would need to pay for a Season Pass for the first, second and third season, totalling $87, on top of the (cheapest service) $15. Yes, you can just rent out the DVD's for the first two seasons via their Post service, you'd probably be better waiting for a JB Hi-Fi sale or the Third Season to be released on Blu-Ray.
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| Where are my Streams?! |
TL;DW Summary:
Pros:Strong selection in Play, DVD and Blu-Ray
Easy to access on different devices
For the curious and nostalgic
Affordable and fun
Cons:
Service is streaming and choppy
Pay-To-Play is expensive and counter-intuitive
If you're impatient, you probably won't like it.
Unsurpassed International Competition from Netflix
If I had to give it an arbitrary number, it'd be an 8.
To read the Top 5 Things I Think Quickflix Needs click here
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