Categories
Movies Streaming TV Series

Foxtel Play Review

Foxtel Play
Dear Foxtel,

I signed up for your 2 week FREE trial for new customers 10 days ago. I deactivated it 4 days before my trial finished, and you asked why, so here it is.

Man, where do I start…

  1. It’s expensive. It’s the same price as Foxtel IQ. Why? Foxtel Play streams over my internet connection and there’s no setup. Why do you insist on still charging a premium price?
  2. It’s locked down. In an era where services just work across any platform, Foxtel GO, went to great lengths to debilitate sharing. Why won’t you allow me to stream content from my mobile to my TV via Google Chromecast?
  3. Standard Definition. Really? I got an NBN connection. Stream your content in HD please.
  4. The Windows application is flaky. Not intuitive at all, e.g. can’t control it with my keyboard, can’t scroll right when viewing the TV guide, etc., etc.
  5. Content constantly drops out… so very annoying.
  6. Why is sport still not a genre pick? It’s the only thing going for Foxtel, the Sports Channels. Why can’t I get the Sports package straight up, with nothing else?

Anyway, Goodbye.

Sincerely Yours,
An Ex-Customer

Categories
Movies NBN Streaming TV Series

Quickflix Review

quickflix.com.au
quickflix.com.au

If you’re thinking about signing up for a streaming content service in Australia, then I recommend you give Quickflix the “flix”. I’ve been signed up for the service now for over 4 months and I’ve merely seen about 2 movies on DVD and about 5 shows that were streamed.

I joined the service thinking that I will take advantage of my new NBN (fibre) connection and stream shows directly over the internet. I was very disappointed to discover that there are very limited titles available to stream, mostly B grade shows and films that nobody wants to watch.

The movies or shows that I wanted to stream were only available on DVD, which although free to deliver, you have to wait up to 5 days for it to arrive at your doorstep in order to view. You have to wait another 5 days upon returning before Quickflix dispatches the next DVD in your queue. That’s 1 DVD per every 10 days average on the most basic account (1 DVD out at a time).

What’s worse, you have to pay AU$5.99 to stream or get the DVD for the “latest” titles (on top of the AU$14.99/month subscription fee). You’re better off getting the traditional membership at your nearest Civic video franchise.

What’s even worse is that you can’t cancel your membership online (Microsoft style!). You have to call up and be put on hold for about 10 minutes before you get to speak to an operator, get transferred about 2 more times to two different operators, while reintroducing yourself and restating your problem every transfer, before the cancellation was done. That’s over 30 minutes in total on the phone to organise a cancellation.

Thinking the nightmare was over after I made the cancellation, I received a bill for the next month for a service I’m never going to utilise. I even suspended my account for about 1 week prior to the cancellation but because I had a DVD in transit, the cancellation wasn’t finalised against the next billing month. I tried to organise a partial refund but it appears that it was too much to ask on their billing system and got the following email today:

 


Hi Ariel,

Thank you for contacting Quickflix in relation to the billing on your account.

As per our Terms and Conditions Your membership will not be suspended until you have returned all outstanding DVDs. You will continue to be billed if any outstanding DVDs have not been received back into our library by the billing date.

“Your Subscription Holiday will commence once you have completed this process and returned any outstanding Discs. Please note that your Subscription Holiday will not commence until you have returned all outstanding Discs, and you may continue to be billed if any outstanding Discs have not been received. “

Please be advised that we have reviewed these concerns in conjunction with the information available and in this instance, we unfortunately will not be able to processed a refund on your account.

The time you have paid for whilst on suspension will be credited back to you once your account is reactivated. This is done automatically and ensures that you are being provided with the service you’ve paid for.

We hope the above information helps clarify the suspension option and if we can be of further assistance, please contact us.

Kind regards,

Jessie


 

Thanks Jessie.

I think its safe to assume that I will never reactivate my Quickflix account. You can keep my 15 bucks.