Continuing from Part 1, In this Part 2- will try to provide details for Hotstar, Sony Liv,
Hostar
Platforms on which it is available: Android, Android TV, iOS, Google Chrome Cast, Amazon Fire TV,Web
Type of Content: Owned by Star India, Hotstar has access to all of the Star India content including Live Sports, content on demand from most of the TV channels from Star India, and lot of movie content that Star India has bought the rights. Also streams some Web Series in English and Hindi which is available only on Hotstar Platform. So in terms of Regional content this one will be leader in the pack.
Streaming Options: SD, HD (1080p). One can choose to stream the content in various options like 480p, 780p. 1080P
Currently does not seem like 5.1 option is available in terms of Audio.
Subscription Fee:
Hostar
Platforms on which it is available: Android, Android TV, iOS, Google Chrome Cast, Amazon Fire TV,Web
Type of Content: Owned by Star India, Hotstar has access to all of the Star India content including Live Sports, content on demand from most of the TV channels from Star India, and lot of movie content that Star India has bought the rights. Also streams some Web Series in English and Hindi which is available only on Hotstar Platform. So in terms of Regional content this one will be leader in the pack.
Streaming Options: SD, HD (1080p). One can choose to stream the content in various options like 480p, 780p. 1080P
Currently does not seem like 5.1 option is available in terms of Audio.
Subscription Fee:
- Has Free and Premium options
- One can watch Live Sports (with few minutes delay) and also watch many of the movies without subscription
- The episodes from Star India channels with slight delay can be watched in Free subscription
- Quality of streaming even with Free subscription is great
- With premium subscription, one will get access to HBO, Show times library. and Live Sports without delay, and most of the episodes are available at 6 PM that day
- In Free subscription - Advertisement will get displayed in between the shows, but Premium is AD free
- Premium option is available in multiple options,
- 199 INR per month, 999 INR per Year
- 299 INR per year for all Sports
Overall Rating:
- With the amount of content they provide, definitely one of the Streaming Services one must have access to
- In terms whether one can live with Free subscription or should go for subscription, it would depend on individuals taste of content. If one wants access to New movies sooner, and want access to HBO, Shot time library - then it is worthwhile to subscribe to this, else one can live with Free access
Sony Liv
Platforms on which it is available: Android, Android TV, iOS, Google Chrome Cast, Amazon Fire TV, Web
Type of Content: Owned by Sony Pictures Network India, like Hotstar has access to all of the Sony Picture network channels in content including lot of Live Sports, content on demand from most of the TV channels from Sony India, and lot of movie content that Sony India has bought the rights.
Streaming Options: SD, HD - HD quality is OK and not great as compared to Hotstar and other streaming services
Currently does not provide 5.1 audio
Subscription Fee:
Platforms on which it is available: Android, Android TV, iOS, Google Chrome Cast, Amazon Fire TV, Web
Type of Content: Owned by Sony Pictures Network India, like Hotstar has access to all of the Sony Picture network channels in content including lot of Live Sports, content on demand from most of the TV channels from Sony India, and lot of movie content that Sony India has bought the rights.
Streaming Options: SD, HD - HD quality is OK and not great as compared to Hotstar and other streaming services
Currently does not provide 5.1 audio
Subscription Fee:
- Has Free and Premium options
- One can watch Live Sports (with few minutes delay) and also watch many of the movies without subscription
- The episodes from many of the Sony Channels with slight delay in free subscription can be watched
- Quality of streaming even with Free subscription is quite OK
- In Free subscription - Advertisement will get displayed in between the shows, but Premium is AD free
- Premium option is available in multiple options,
- 99 INR / month
- 199 INR / 6 months
- 499 INR / Year
Overall Rating:
- With the amount of content they provide, definitely one of the Streaming Services one must have access to
- In terms whether one can live with Free subscription or should go for subscription, it would depend on individuals taste of content. If one wants access to New movies sooner, and want access to some of the Live channels then it is worthwhile for one to go with may be 6 months subscription
- If one just wants only Live Sports content, one can live without subscription and just use free access
