Its library is impressive, particularly the selection of licensed prestige television, and the focus on Australian programming is admirable. Stan is a good service with the potential to be a fantastic one. If you don’t have a 4K HDR TV this means absolutely nothing to you, but if you’re looking for the best possible picture quality, even Stan’s 4K library falls short of the mark. Unlike Netflix’s 4K content, Stan does not support high dynamic range (HDR), meaning colours are noticeably less vibrant. Stan also falls a little short in the colour department. This was noticeable on both the Samsung TV app and the Xbox One app, but not on the PlayStation 4 Pro, so I’d recommend watching on that if you have that option. The bigger issue is a subtle but consistent frame rate stutter on certain devices. Strangely, this problem was solved by switching “auto” mode off and forcing Stan to only play in 4K (an option, it should be pointed out, that isn’t available on Netflix). Running on a very good cable connection that averages 110Mbps down, Hercules didn’t hit 4K at all after letting it run for five minutes. The 4K TV selection is also somewhat limited, but unlike the movies, there’s some must-watch content, like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and The Handmaid’s Tale.Īlthough the 4K picture quality is sharp and clear, in our tests Stan was far less successful than Netflix at hitting a stable 4K resolution quickly. No judgment on my part.Īlongside the Bond bounty, there’s an eclectic smattering of recent and older movies like Arrival, Tomb Raider, Creed, Hercules, Grease, and The Silence of the Lambs. Every James Bond movie is available in UHD glory, so if you’ve always wanted to peer closely at the pores on a young Sean Connery’s face, you can. Stan certainly has its feet dipped in the 4K pool, but only tentatively. It’s not a huge library, but it is diverse and packed with favourites. And if you’re feeling sick of Hollywood, there’s an extensive selection of world movies. New release flicks are few and far between, but recent hits like Parasite and the Stan-produced Aussie horror Relic sit alongside older favourites like Dredd, The Hobbit, Pulp Fiction, Love Actually, Ace Ventura, Austin Powers, and Forrest Gump. In the movie aisle, Stan houses a similar selection to what you’ll find elsewhere (with one notable difference, which we’ll cover a little further along). Parks and Recreation, Frasier, Peep Show, Lost, even Stargate SG1 are available for nostalgic folks with ample free time. Likewise, the brilliant but underrated Deadwood is all here (minus the recent movie coda). If you want to binge every episode of Seinfeld, you can (what’s the deal with that, Jerry?!). Stan also performs admirably in the classic TV department. It’s a quality line-up of big-budget serials. Dick’s Electric Dreams all call Stan home, as do Billions, Sherlock, and Ash Vs Evil Dead. City on a Hill starring Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge, David Lynch’s 2017 return to Twin Peaks, and Philip K. Critically acclaimed Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul is a Stan exclusive, as is AMC’s take on Garth Ennis’ cult-favourite graphic novel Preacher. The 2019 adaptation of Joseph Heller’s hilarious novel Catch-22, starring George Clooney, is excellent, and you can’t watch it anywhere else. Although it produces few original series and movies in-house, Stan invests heavily in exclusive Australian streaming rights, with licensed prestige television forming a key part of the catalogue. Stan’s library is undoubtedly impressive. These don’t occur often enough to caution people away from getting Stan, but be warned you’ll need to deal with the odd irritation. It also needs to be said that I’ve encountered far more bugs on the Stan app than I have with Netflix, from relatively minor stuff like losing my place in a paused show or across devices, to bigger issues like hard crashes requiring reboots. This, coupled with the fact that Stan’s horizontal genre rows don’t loop back around on themselves carousel-style, instead reaching an endpoint, means it can take an age to return to something you initially skipped over. As such, you’ll see a lot of stuff you have zero interest in surfaced to your homepage (aside from the occasional “Because you watched X” suggestion section). Like Netflix, content is displayed as large thumbnails that are intuitive and easy to parse unlike Netflix, content is not catered to your personal tastes via a magical algorithm DJ. The Stan app’s attractive dashboard hides a number of niggling limitations.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |