Resource | Streaming and subscription services

Check out this technology video from our Auslan Resource Library!

📺 Streaming and Subscription Services: This video provides information about online streaming and subscription services and the different devices you can access them from.

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Visual description of the thumbnail:
Title reads “Auslan Information Resource Hub: Streaming and Subscription Services” and shows a person with a salt-and-pepper beard and hair, wearing a black t-shirt, sitting on a couch looking comfortable and signing the Auslan sign for “watch”. It includes a note “Produced by Auslan Consultancy” and the background is a light, abstract pattern.

Transcript:
[We see a man sitting in his living room on a couch. He has white hair, a salt-and-pepper beard, and is wearing a black t-shirt with jeans.]
Perhaps you’ve heard the term streaming services. Well, streaming services is essentially watching TV shows or movies, but using the internet to do so. By using the internet, you’re able to access an exhaustive catalog of movies and TV shows that are available on demand via numerous streaming businesses. You’re able to view what’s available and select what you want to watch simply by clicking or tapping on the device you’re using. This is what we call streaming services. Examples of streaming services include Netflix, Stan, Disney+, and many more. These are all businesses that provide streaming services.
Now streaming services is not the same as satellite TV that might require a set top box and an antenna or satellite dish to operate. Additionally, you’ll find that a streaming service is cheaper too. Satellite TV has a fixed schedule of times when movies and TV shows are available to watch, whereas streaming services allow you to download shows at any time you choose. You’re able to start and stop your streaming service at any time and then resume watching at a later time. However, it is important to be aware that depending on where you live, this may influence what is available for you to watch. For example, I’m in Australia now and when I use a streaming service account I’m able to view a selection of my favorite shows and recommendations.
However, if I was to travel overseas and use my streaming services account on a TV that has capability, what I will see if some of my favorite shows to select, but other will be missing, and a selections of new TV shows and movies will now appear. And while it’s the same streaming service platform, different countries will often display different programs.
[Camera fades out and fades into the same man, now sitting at a table in front of a laptop.] You may have wondered about the cost for streaming services. There’s a variety of options to pay for your streaming service. Most streaming services offer a month-by-month subscription. Some offer an annual subscription too. There is also a unique feature available through streaming services called pay-per-view. This means that to watch these features it will cost a once-off payment to view it. You pay the fee online and access to view the special features then granted.
The cost of streaming services does vary depending on the type of plan and feature you’re wanting. For example, one option is to subscribe for one user only. Alternatively you can subscribe to a plan that allows multiple users that allows them to watch different shows simultaneously. The devices you need to watch streaming services include a smartphone, a laptop, an iPad, a gaming console, and of course via television that has smart technology. You’re also able to use a console that connects to your TV that allows streaming services to be displayed and many computer devices too. Finally, your streaming service may limit what is available to you depending on the subscription you have selected.
[Camera fades in to the man scrolling through many apps of streaming services with a remote control. He is back on the couch in the living room again.] Wow, there’s so many streaming services available, it can be overwhelming to select what’s right for you. Of course it does depend on what you most enjoy. Perhaps you prefer movies and TV shows or your favorite is sports. Depending on the streaming platform, you’ll find some services show more of some and less of the other. Importantly, some streaming services do not display captions. Some platforms caption a portion of shows and others captions everything, so please keep this in mind.
When you’re deciding on a streaming service, also be aware that some services have access to all the Blockbuster and new release movies. Other services have access to a smaller selection. As you’re probably aware by now, there’s a large selection of streaming services available. Maybe you’ll be happy to subscribe to one platform and enjoy everything it has to offer. Maybe you’re willing to subscribe to multiple services and enjoy the range of programs available to you. Of course, the more you subscribe, the more you pay.
Let me explain some of the unique features on offer from some of the most popular streaming services. The first example is Netflix. This is currently the most popular streaming service platform. It has a very large selection of movies and TV shows, including some popular old movies and a selection of Netflix shows and movies only available to Netflix subscribers. Netflix also purchases programs from other platforms to make available to its polar subscribers. Another popular streaming service is Disney+. On this platform, there are plenty of children’s TV shows and movies. It also includes Marvel and Pixar movies in its subscription. Another streaming service is Apple TV that hosts a large range of movies and television shows. My last example is Kayo Sport. Kayo Sport, as its name suggests, offers its subscribers the largest range of sports and associated shows compared to other streaming services. Kayo Sport displays a combination of live sports and catalogs of past sports and replays.
[Camera fades back to the man sitting at the table with the laptop.] Have you ever considered normal TV stations, such as seven, nine and 10 and wondered if they also provide streaming platforms? Well, it’s true. These free-to-air TV stations also stream programs through their respective streaming platforms. Channels such as ABC, SBS, 10, nine, and seven stream some of their programs over the internet for free and this is great for instances where you may have missed a show when it was programmed. You’re also able to watch a TV show at a time that suits you and not just rely on a time when it’s ordinarily scheduled to view on free-to-air.
Please remember though that when viewing these types of streaming platforms, it’s common that regardless of the device you use, captions are often not available. You’ll need to check this as they all differ in this regard. Another consideration is that while these free-to-air streaming services are at no cost to you, they frequently display commercial advertisements much like the free-to-air TV channels that we watch.
[Camera fades in to the same man in a new scenario. He is sitting the back seat of a car with his mobile phone, while the background scenery is green. The car appears to be moving.] One important point to remember is that while you’re traveling and watching your favorite streaming service, you will not have access to the wifi network that you would usually use to download your programs. Instead, your device will convert to using your data and this can be very expensive. So please keep an eye on the amount of time you spend watching your streaming service. There is a correlation between the time you spend using your data and the amount of data used. A general rule is that when you’re viewing your streaming service in high definition, for everyone one hour of streaming, it will use approximately three gigabytes of data.
To conserve the amount of data you use, you are able to make changes in the settings of the app you are using and reduce the quality of the streaming from HD to a lesser quality picture, thereby reducing the amount of data you use. The lower the quality picture, the lower the data required. These changes can be made easily on your phone or iPad. A clever way of managing your data is by downloading the program onto your device using your wifi from home and then not having to use your data while traveling.