DocPlay Review – Everything you need to know

Find out everything there is to know about Australia’s dedicated documentary streaming service with this DocPlay review.

If you’re the type of person who loves their documentaries, you’ll know the story. Turn on the TV, head straight for the ABC or SBS, hunt around for something interesting to discover. Hunt no further, DocPlay is here.

What is DocPlay?

DocPlay is every documentary lover’s dream. As you’d know, there are platforms that offer this content, from Netflix and Stan to the public library-run Kanopy. But, what’s on offer can be slim pickings if you are after something with a bit of substance to it.

Some streaming services can also tend to be repositories for some seriously dodgy documentaries that helps bulk up the library. When you’re looking for a good documentary to watch and keep bumping up against moon landing conspiracies, “unauthorised” fan-made music docos and a sea of stuff about Hitler, the frustration is very real.

DocPlay solves this in two ways – by only offering documentaries, for starters. Secondly, the key word here is quality – sure, not every topic will be of interest to you, but the DocPlay team has spent time curating a proud library. But, there’s a much better sweetener as the first 14 days are completely free with the DocPlay free trial.

What can I watch on DocPlay?

DocPlay Australia offers quality content, whether it’s an acclaimed film about rockstars’ backing singers with 20 Feet From Stardom, the environment with Blackfish or religion with Louis Theroux’s My Scientology Movie.

There are sections filled with docos that cover everything from movies online to crime, surfing to songwriting and everything in between. With new titles regularly being added, you have a reason to keep coming back. Though, it would already take months to chip away at the existing library. Check out some of the best docos streaming on DocPlay.

While DocPlay itself doesn’t produce its own exclusive content, parent company Madman does. Alongside that, DocPlay has a partnership with the Documentary Australia Foundation. Screen Australia also contributes to the running of the service.

How do the documentaries compare?

As far as content goes, Netflix, Stan, Foxtel Now, BINGE and even Hayu offer a hefty amount of documentaries across different genres. All of these providers offer the same free trial DocPlay does. So, competition can be a little tricky, but does DocPlay offer something they don’t?

Hayu, for one, surprisingly offers a lot of true crime documentaries on top of its extensive reality TV show catalogue. As for Stan and Foxtel Now, both offer a range of environmental, cultural, and societal documentaries with a few additions every month. But, if there’s one provider that can really go toe to toe with DocPlay, it’s Netflix.

Netflix also boasts a number of original and highly acclaimed docuseries and films like the massively popular Tiger King, Our Planet, Conversations With A Killer: Ted Bundy, FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, The Keepers, and many more.

All these doco offerings from Netflix are more than enough for the moderate doco fan, but if you are more serious and looking for a wider range — specifically, more of Australian documentaries — then DocPlay is the way to go.

What’s new on DocPlay?

Every week, DocPlay adds more documentaries for you to stream instantly. Even non-members can browse their catalogue without the need to sign up! Some of their latest popular titles include acclaimed docos No Other Land, Johatsu: Into Thin Air, Porcelain War, Black Box Diaries, and many more.

How much does DocPlay cost?

DocPlay is without a doubt much cheaper than its major competitors — especially given that it only has two pricing points and no premium tiers whatsoever. The DocPlay cost is the monthly flat rate of $9.99, which gives you HD streaming and full access to its entire doco catalogue.

If you’d prefer to pay for an entire year upfront it’ll only cost you $99.99, effectively giving you two months of DocPlay free (in addition to having your 14 days DocPlay free trial!)

When DocPlay Australia launched, there was originally an option to watch a small selection of docos free of charge, with some restrictions – ads, no HD, no viewing on streaming devices. That free tier looks to have been scrapped now, which makes perfect sense.

The value of DocPlay is in the exploration of its library and finding something that grabs your interest, and $9.99 a month for full access to do that is trivial. Unlike most streaming TV services, you can browse the full library before signing up for a DocPlay free trial, to see what you’d be getting.

DocPlay features

DocPlay is just one of the many streaming providers in Australia. This puts them in direct competition with big-leagues like Netflix, Stan, Disney Plus, BINGE, and Foxtel Now, just to name a few. So how does it compare?

How to watch DocPlay?

While streaming services backed by billion-dollar companies launch with apps on just one or two platforms, the team at DocPlay Australia has clearly recognised how important it is to have solid app support right from the start, and they continue to expand it to new devices.

At home

Their first apps out of the gate were for Apple devices, with iOS and Apple TV both getting beautifully designed, easy to use apps that get you to the content quickly and seamlessly. These apps also let you sign up for a premium account directly on the device, using your iTunes account or Apple Pay for payment rather than directly entering a credit card number.

Android TV has support which puts the DocPlay app on most current Sony TVs along with popular Android TV-powered streaming boxes like Nvidia Shield, the Foxtel iQ boxes, as well as Google’s popular Chromecast with Google TV device. DocPlay has also been made available on Samsung TVs via the Samsung TV App Store. Chromecast is of course supported directly from the iOS and Android phone and tablet apps.

There’s also Fetch TV with all its iterations, which include the Fetch Mini 4K and Fetch Mighty, include the DocPlay app that lets you watch your favorite docos with ease.

On the go

The native app offers full support on Android and iOS phones and tablets. All devices support streaming up to 1080p high definition – which covers most modern content, though you will run into the occasional older title that was made before HD become commonplace.

In the game

Released at the end of 2018 was DocPlay’s app for the Xbox One game console, which is a popular choice for watching video as well thanks to its superior format support and quality. There is currently no app available for the Playstation.

How to contact DocPlay?

If you want to get into direct contact with DocPlay, the best way to do so is to send them an email at support@docplay.com. They also offer a web form for direct contact.

If you want to let DocPlay know what they do well or what you think they could do better – or if you just need something clarified – simply click the ‘feedback’ button in the bottom right corner of each screen on their website.

DocPlay verdict

If you are a fan of serious documentary filmmaking and find nothing more relaxing than to sit down and watch a real-world story being told, DocPlay is most definitely for you.

With a single-tier monthly (or annual) price that’s hard to beat at a mere $9.99, quality apps on almost all key platforms and a company backing it that has access to a never-ending stream of content, DocPlay is well worth checking out.