What’s Starz? Pricing, what to observe, and how you can watch it

Bored with paying the massive bucks for streaming streaming companies like Netflix, Disney+, and Max? How about giving

 a attempt? Yup, this is similar Starz that provides premium cable content material, together with films, reveals and unique programming. Like the various titans of the video on demand world, Starz additionally provides cellular, good TV, and streaming gadget apps, in addition to an online participant. It’s additionally slightly cheaper than the majority of the competitors. 

However does Starz have the sort of films and TV reveals you and your loved ones need? And what’s the standard and the price? To not fear, mates. Your ever-discerning buddies at Digital Tendencies have put many a streaming service by the wringer, and can do the identical with Starz.

What’s Starz?

Like a number of different premium cable channels that added streaming apps and net gamers after the actual fact, Starz joins the ranks of opponents like Max (previously HBO Max), Showtime, and Epix. The Starz premium cable channel launched in 1994 and rapidly turned recognized for its spectacular film catalogue, in addition to its unique content material.

The Starz channel and on-demand programming can be found by most cable and satellite tv for pc suppliers. Subscribers also can select between each commonplace Starz and Starz Encore packages, the latter of which incorporates some completely different films and reveals than Starz correct.

Starz can be bought as a standalone service you could entry by the Starz cellular and good TV/streaming gadget apps. It’s also possible to use your TV supplier login to make use of each variations of the Starz app, in addition to the online participant.

How a lot is Starz?

In the event you’re seeking to get Starz as a standalone streaming service, you’ll be able to count on to pay $10 per 30 days or $75 per 12 months for the subscription. New plans usually include at the very least one week of free service to allow you to take a look at the ins and outs of the platform, and Starz is at present discounting subscriptions to $3 for the primary three months.

That $10 per 30 days (or $75 per 12 months) unlocks the complete Starz streaming expertise, which incorporates as much as 5 consumer profiles with parental controls, offline downloads, and 4 simultaneous streams at a time.

Starz simply so occurs to be a reduced (or completely free) add-on whenever you join and log into the service as a part of a streaming or ISP bundle. Actually, proper now, Amazon Prime members can add the Starz channel to the Prime Video app for less than $2 per 30 days to your first two months. 

It’s additionally a good suggestion to maintain a watch out for Starz offers by your cable supplier. Actually, my circle of relatives at present enjoys free entry to Starz by paying for Optimum’s Premier plan. You’ll simply must signal into the Starz app by your TV service supplier whenever you launch Starz for the primary time.

Films, reveals and unique content material

Not not like the remainder of the streaming and premium cable panorama, Starz is dwelling to an immense library of flicks and TV reveals, with a number of in style collection being unique to the platform. These embrace present hit reveals like the various Energy spin-offs, Outlander, and Run the World. You’ll additionally be capable to watch older Starz unique programming, together with the unique Energy collection, American Gods, Spartacus, and Occasion Down. 

Past the platform’s exclusives, Starz can be dwelling to over a thousand films overlaying all the main genres. A few years in the past, Lionsgate (the mother or father firm of Starz) and Common additionally inked a deal that offers Starz subscribers entry to films from the likes of Common Photos, Blumhouse, and Focus Options after an 18-month licensing interval to Peacock and Prime Video. 

Utilizing the Starz app

We examined the Starz cellular and streaming gadget apps utilizing an iPhone 12 and a Roku Streaming Stick 4K.

The Starz cellular app is accessible for iOS and Android units. You’ll additionally be capable to obtain the app onto most good TVs and streaming units. Conveniently, each the cellular and streaming gadget variations of the Starz app are basically the identical, with one key distinction: offline downloads. You possibly can solely obtain films and reveals for later viewing by the Starz cellular app.

Easy and clear is the secret with Starz for each the Starz cellular and streaming gadget apps. After signing into your account, you’ll land on the house display screen, the place films and reveals will probably be sorted into rows of categorized content material. A few of these labels embrace New Releases, Simply Added, Trending Now, and Your Playlist, which options films and reveals you’ve saved. 

Deciding on the Sequence and Films tabs will current much more choices for each classes with comparable filters. If you select Browse, you’ll be capable to seek for content material by style, in addition to filters like Trending Now and Simply Added. 

When you choose Extra (which presents as a Three strains icon on streaming units), you’ll be capable to see what content material you’ve added to your playlist. On cellular, you’ll additionally be capable to see what content material you’ve downloaded for offline viewing. It’s also possible to select Settings to regulate playback high quality (cellular), view account data, and discover assist instruments.

Each time you choose a film or present, you’ll be capable to learn a synopsis, watch a trailer, obtain the content material for offline viewing (cellular), or add it to your playlist. It’s also possible to share a hyperlink for the movie or present by tapping the Share icon within the top-right nook of the display screen (cellular).

Utilizing the Starz net participant

Whereas Starz doesn’t supply a devoted desktop app, if you happen to’re caught with utilizing the platform on a Mac or PC, you’ll be happy to know that the online model runs simply as nicely and appears simply as good because the cellular and streaming gadget apps.

Actually, there’s solely a few variations between the 2 codecs, with the primary being that the Starz website pushes all your content material filters and settings right into a single dropdown menu. When you click on the Three strains icon, you’ll see Films, Sequence, Playlist, Settings, and different classes.

The opposite distinction is the addition of a Schedule tab (if you happen to’re signed into Starz by a TV supplier), which helps you to see what’s taking part in on the assorted Starz TV channels for the complete month. You’ll additionally be capable to click on Watch Dwell to start out watching no matter film or present is at present on. 

Video and audio high quality

In contrast to different streaming platforms, Starz caps its film and TV present high quality at 1080p, which is a little bit of a bummer for these of us rocking 4K TVs. That being stated, the image high quality throughout each the cellular/streaming apps and net participant was crisp and clear. It additionally by no means took very lengthy to load a stream, with little to no buffering after the primary few seconds of playback.

The Starz app additionally helps conventional stereo sound, in addition to Dolby 5.1 for sure films and reveals. Sadly, codecs like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X don’t get any love through Starz. 

Compatibility

As talked about, the Starz cellular app is accessible for iOS and Android units. The net participant model of the platform is accessible by Starz.com. 

So far as good TVs and streaming units go, the Starz app is accessible on most Samsung, Sony, LG, and Vizio good TVs. It’s also possible to obtain the app for Apple TV, the Nvidia Protect, most Amazon Hearth TV units, and most Roku units.

The decision

In the event you’ve been searching for a brand new leisure app that’s loaded with films, reveals, and unique content material, otherwise you’d prefer to reap the benefits of a few of your cable plan’s premium channels, it is best to undoubtedly give Starz a attempt. 

Whereas it could not supply the identical image and sound high quality as opponents like Netflix and Prime Video, Starz is dwelling to a terrific lineup of regularly rotating content material, and reveals like Energy and Outlander are virtually definitely worth the worth of the subscription alone.

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