Olivia Humphrey doesn't much like the comparison, but it's kind of inevitable: the business she founded in 2008, in the front room of her boyfriend's house in Perth, is a lot like Netflix, only free.

"We're very much in different spaces," the 41-year-old Sydney native says of Kanopy, the 30,000-title streaming service that specialises in arthouse, indie and documentary films. "I only really consider Netflix when it comes to rights – if they're at Sundance and they buy a film as a Netflix original that precludes us from being able to access it, but that's happening less and less. And that's great for us."

Kanopy began as a university-only service, but last year started popping up in public libraries in the US. This week, the City of Melbourne's six libraries joined a rapidly growing network; WA is already on board, and New South Wales will soon follow suit.

The offering is seriously impressive, though you won't find too many Marvel movies there. Well, any.