T wo years ago, if you asked the urban Indian Internet user if they would prefer a streaming website to watch American TV shows such as Breaking Bad , Game Of Thrones , Veep , True Detective and so on, you would have been laughed at with a smirk and a remark about torrents being enough.
In the past two years, as faster Internet connections and better Fair Usage Policy (FUP) plans came up, streaming apps took off, with the launch of Netflix and Hotstar early last year. Now that Amazon Prime has joined the fray, we tried to figure out which streaming website provides you the best content, the most good-looking user interface and the most value for money.
Netflix: After many months of anticipation, when Netflix finally entered the Indian market, there was a lot of excitement. However, much of this fizzled out, when users realised that the Netflix library in India was woefully small compared to its American counterpart, it took up a lot of bandwidth and did not have an option to download any content. The plans, starting from Rs. 550 onwards for the basic plan, also put many people off. However, in the content category, Netflix has upped the game recently, releasing a number of Netflix originals such as Stranger Things , The Crown , Luke Cage and Narcos, which made a mark in India. The flip side in content remains that a bulk of Netflix content is yet to make its mark in India and its India content is rather abysmal at this point. As far as interface goes, with helpful categorisation of content based on your watching history, good recommendations and the ‘continue watching’ feature on the landing page, Netflix is a clear winner. The watching experience is not intrusive, it offers subtitles in English and makes for easy viewing on larger screens with many smart TVs offering a Netflix app.
Hotstar : Hotstar caught attention by showcasing Hindi serials and movies and captured the local content market much quicker than Netflix. It has movies and TV shows in English, Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil and Malayalam. Premium users got to watch the episodes of Game Of Thrones , Veep and Silicon Valley half an hour after they aired in the United States. On the other hand, the casting function is very new to Hotstar and did not work properly in many instances. Subtitling is also not available for most regional content. The landing page is quite cluttered, with a range of options and categories, including many that are not needed. If you use a TV set without a Chromecast, it will be a tough act to stream the content. I found it much tougher to go to shows or movies I was presently watching on Hotstar as compared to Netflix.
Amazon Prime: It’s the new kid on the block and offers access to all its content for a yearly subscription of Rs.449. Amazon seems to have learnt from the Netflix experience and has filled its library with a lot of local content from Sultan , Kabali and Fan to Amazon exclusive shows such as The Man in the High Castle and Mr. Robot . Popular TV series such as Mad Men also make their presence felt. However, Amazon seems to be involved in some sort of self-censorship, with many users reporting that explicit scenes and dialogues have been censored. The lack of a good streaming option is also an issue that many Amazon users face.
