Review: Working Dog On Demand

Originally published for ChampagneComedy.com.

Working Dog have announced via their social media accounts that they have launched a brand new ‘On Demand’ streaming service of their library – both television and film – Working Dog On Demand: watch.workingdog.com

While I have everything they have released on physical media, lots of their catalogue is now out of print and filling the shelves at op shops and eBay stores. Even some of their titles that were on iTunes and Google Play have dropped off the radar. We get the odd e-mail from fans like yourselves asking ‘where do we go to get a DVD as my ex kept it from me’ type situation.

Get ready for our rundown.

My initial reaction after discovering this news of this service was excitement, instantly thinking “How are they going to stream The Late Show? The D-Generation? The Panel?”

Currently on their site at the time of this review, the following are available to watch – after purchase:

While some of their catalogue on the site is currently missing (The Late Show, D-Generation, Funky Squad, The Panel, Santo Sam & Ed, Pictures Of You, The Campaign, Audrey Gordon, Blunderbirds <- that’s an obscure one!) Working Dog have mentioned more will come soon. Again, at the time of this review, the following pictured have links to current streaming services (free & paid):

When you click into those shows, there are direct links to where you can view these programs, such as Stan, Netflix, Apple TV, Prime Video, YouTube, and 10Play.

But what I was keen on was to own a copy of their 2016 adult animated series Pacific Heat, which was shown on Netflix worldwide, but restricted to Foxtel in Australia. Pacific Heat has never been released on DVD nor a deliverable digital service like iTunes, so I decided to buy this nugget for this review (since I owned the others on DVD).

Registration was quick and simple, receiving e-mail notifications instantly. Just an e-mail confirmation, followed by setting up my name and password. Once logged in, I clicked on Pacific Heat, and found the cost to be $17.99 for the entire series (13 episodes) or $2.99 for each individual episode. Currently, Working Dog are only accepting secure debit / credit card payments, or a promo code if you have been provided with one.  After the purchase, I received an e-mail receipt, and confirmation that the show was ready for me to stream instantly through their site.

Now, to watch this, I am using a Mac desktop and Google Chrome browser. There is a rundown on their site on what the minimum requirements are to view this service. There is a complete detailed listing here. One surprising thing is that you are limited to a maximum 3 devices for 1 account. There are options to remove any device which you can access via your account, so if you need to watch via your smart TV, tablet, phone, computer but you are out of options, just remove the unwanted devices.

Just like other streaming services, if you stop anytime through your viewing, you can pick it up where you left off. All your purchases go directly into your library as well, so you can skip and visit any part of your purchase.

All their video is DRM protected, which prevents me from even doing screenshots for reviewing purposes, but I can show you the resolution menu, which everything is provided in 1080p and lower, depending on your bandwidth.

As with every streaming service – you are paying for the unlimited access, and not ownership.

Some stray observations from me:

• Currently with Utopia, you cannot buy streaming access on their site if you reside in Australia. This is due to streaming rights from other paid subscription services. We assume this will change when those rights have expired.
• I have not purchased Frontline on demand as I own the first print DVD run, but judging by the recent remastering release on iView, the music might be different from the VHS / DVD versions due to licensing rights.
• The 1991 documentary A Coffee With Ozzy is already available and free on their official YouTube channel, but we’ll see if it becomes embedded within their service.
• Will Working Dog include their audio library? IE Music From The Panel? Any radio serial? Archived podcasts?
• Registration is free so you can log in and explore. If you want to watch something, check out the trailer icon that appears in the show description which will have a video pop up. If it’s what you like, then purchase away.

I have no idea what and when they are releasing more of their catalogue, but I am keen to find out, and will update what we know, here.