Download.it search icon
Advertisement

Watch an endless amount of content across movies, TV shows, and live sporting events

Watch an endless amount of content across movies, TV shows, and live sporting events

Vote: (6,774 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: Novi Digital Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

Version: 24.02.12.10

Works under: Android

Vote:

Program license

(6,774 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

Novi Digital Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

24.02.12.10

Works under:

Android

Pros

  • Offers a huge amount of content, enabling users to watch up to 100,000 hours of television.
  • Also offers high-quality live events, including sports.
  • Great quality.
  • Produced a good amount of original content that cannot be found on any other app.
  • Syncs with your other Hotstar accounts on all devices.
  • Social elements provide a fantastic new way of staying in touch with friends.

Cons

  • Ads can be repetitive, and you have to pay for the most expensive package in order to shut the ads off completely.
  • Lacks many autoplay settings, frustrating some users.

Hotstar is the streaming platform for Indian TV. It comes with an overwhelming amount of entertainment, including live events, television shows, movies, and more. It is available on a variety of platforms, and this app allows Android users to access their Hotstar account.

It is important to realize that the content and quality of this app is absolutely first-rate. The app brags that it has over 100,000 hours - and growing - of content that users can watch if they have a Hotstar account and download the App. The quality is as good as it gets, with streaming video available in 1080 full high definition quality for users who pay for the most expensive subscription plan.

It's worth noting that the app is sharply formatted. It makes it easy to scroll through your television shows, save your favorites, and find other content that you may like. For apps that are meant to encourage easy streaming, Hotstar delivers.

Hotstar's live offerings are also worth noting, as the App has a huge array of content that you can livestream. The live content available includes live news, and this news is offered in seven different languages. Additionally, many sports are offered live, including Cricket, with many different matches and tournaments being made available for users.

Live events also recently saw the introduction of a new element: Social interaction. If you are watching a Cricket game live, you can chat with your friends in a smaller window. Even more fun: You can predict the outcome of a match and be awarded points for getting your prediction right. It's just a silly way of having fun, and it's not as if these points can be redeemed for anything, but this provides a nice enhancement to your viewing experience. Indeed, Hotstar seems dedicated to trying to find new ways to keep users paying attention, coming back for more, and sharing their viewing experiences with their friends.

Other content is also plentiful. In addition to a huge array of shows and movies, Hotstar also offers eight different Star television networks from regions across the country. This, again, makes it easy for you to find the content that you are looking for and explore new content. There are also options that you can select for alerting you to new content, like your Wish List. When you add a show to this list, the app will alert you when new episodes become available. Furthermore, like many Streaming apps these days, Hotstar does a good job of monitoring the shows that you enjoy watching and making recommendations on additional content that you may enjoy. This obviously fits your needs, but it also helps the app keep you hooked and watching more.

The app is geared towards Indian television users, but it must be noted that India is a country where many languages are spoken, and this App reflects that, offering content in seventeen different languages. This is not only great for Indian users, but it is great for international users who may want high-quality content from another country.

Furthermore, like many streaming apps, Hotstar has started to explore the creation and production of its own original content, including multiple new television series. These series have become very popular in India, and they are absolutely worth exploring.

Unlike many other streaming services, Hotstar is available for free. However, there's a catch: You have to watch ads and a lot of ads. Some users noted that the ads were very repetitive and that it really hindered the experience. Paid users can skip these ads, but this does get very annoying, very quickly.

Hotstar comes with numerous different types of subscription packages that users can pay for, giving them an ad-free experience, and access to additional content. VIP and Premium options give you access to more content, English dubs, ad-free experiences, supremely high quality, and the ability to watch the app on more than one device at the same time. Furthermore, recent expansions of the network can give users the chance to watch Disney+ on the app. However, that only comes with paid subscriptions.

It is worth noting that Hotstar does come with a free trial period. This enables users to get a taste of what the highest subscriptions are like and determine whether or not it is right for them. There are two paid options, and while more plans would be nice, you should be able to find a subscription plan that works for you.

Other problems mentioned by users noted that the autoplay settings could not be turned off, forcing many users to view ads, even if they no longer wanted to watch the program. This sucked up a huge amount of data, resulting in major problems for some user's internet and data plans. This isn't as much of a problem for users who have access to Wi-fi, but it is a problem for many of the network's lower-income users, and it is something that came up repeatedly in the review section of the app. Some users also noted that the customer service was non-responsive, but the App developers were regularly responding to review concerns in the comments section, indicating that at least someone was paying attention to these issues.

The app has been wildly well received. Over 8.8 million people have downloaded the app from the Google play store, and it averages 4.0 out of 5 stars.

Pros

  • Offers a huge amount of content, enabling users to watch up to 100,000 hours of television.
  • Also offers high-quality live events, including sports.
  • Great quality.
  • Produced a good amount of original content that cannot be found on any other app.
  • Syncs with your other Hotstar accounts on all devices.
  • Social elements provide a fantastic new way of staying in touch with friends.

Cons

  • Ads can be repetitive, and you have to pay for the most expensive package in order to shut the ads off completely.
  • Lacks many autoplay settings, frustrating some users.