If you are a TV buff then you don’t have to worry
about missing out on your daily dose of entertainment anymore, all
thanks to the many services that allow you to stream live TV channels.
If you are a TV
buff then you don’t have to worry about missing out on your daily dose
of entertainment anymore, all thanks to the many services that allow you
to stream live TV channels. For a small fee, you can access almost all
the leading TV channels and watch them on your smartphone. Just like you
would pick a plan for your DTH, here you can opt for a daily, weekly or
monthly subscription. Additionally, some of them also allow you the
option to request an episode of a daily soap that you may have missed.
Besides this, they also provide access to varied content from movies to
sports to even events, astrology and more. These TV streaming apps
support all the major mobile platforms. The only thing to keep in mind
apart from the subscription costs are the data charges. Featured here
are some of the popular services - let’s take a look at what they have
to offer.
The launch of Ditto TV marked India’s first and only OTT
(Over-the-top) TV distribution platform. It has made live TV and
on-demand-video content available on computing devices be it phones,
Tablets, desktops, etc. You can choose from subscription plans that
start from as low as Rs 49. For Rs 49 a month you can choose between
three plans. You can either opt for all TV serials from select channels
plus a video pack, a 30 movies pack or you can choose a pack that allows
you to view three channels of your choice. Next for Rs 99 a month you
have the option to select seven channels of your choice. And lastly
there is Mega Ditto for Rs 129 that will allow you to access all
channels in their bouquet. It currently offers 57 live channels that
include popular channels like Colors, Sony, Sab TV, Zee, Zee Cafe, MTv,
CNBC TV 18 and a host of other channels. You can check the complete list here.
They also have a movies bouquet that includes regional, Bollywood and
Hollywood movies. You will have to opt for the separate movies pack, as
currently Ditto TV doesn’t offer them as a part of any package. Ditto TV
also provides video-on-demand, so in case you missed an episode of your
favourite serial you can still catch it on Ditto at your convenience.
However, even if you have subscribed to a pack and want to avail the
video-on-demand facility, you will have to pay a minimal charge. In
terms of streaming, Ditto uses adaptive streaming where it will adjust
the video quality depending on the Internet connectivity. We used it on
Wi-Fi and it worked flawlessly. Even then you can choose the video
quality. They also have a Ditto Lite for those using GPRS and
EDGE-enabled mobile devices.
It offers operator-based subscription plans
Launched last year, nexGTv is another platform that offers live TV
streaming on the mobile devices. It offers over hundred live TV channels
such as Star, Sony, Life Ok, Colors, Aaj Tak, Times Now, Cartoon
Network, CNBC Awaaz, BBC World, History Channel, Raj TV, Asianet, Maa
Gold, TV9, ETV Gujarat, etc. They have an operator-based subscription model
and you will have to select a plan that is being offered by your
operator. For instance, Vodafone offers a weekly package for Rs 28,
while Airtel customers can avail a monthly package for Rs 75. nexGTv has
three offerings - live channels, replay TV and video-on-demand. When
you opt for a subscription plan you will have access to all their
content, without having to pay anything extra. This is applicable even
if you choose to watch a movie from BigFlix, which is available under
their video-on-demand section. Other offerings under video-on-demand
include content on Astrology, Comedy, Bollywood Masala, Movie Previews,
Food Zone, etc. However, we checked the BigFlix content and you will
have access only to select movies and not their entire catalogue. Under
Replay TV you will have access to the last seven episodes of shows
airing on few channels like Star Plus, Life Ok, Channel V, Colors, MTv
and a few others. Their player is pretty basic, you can choose between
standard or high quality video depending on your Internet connectivity.
You can subscribe to individual channels
myplex now TV app by Apalya technologies, presents another good
option. It offers almost all the popular TV channels. Its subscription
packs are pretty straight forward too. You can opt for the Gold pack
that will provide you access to all the 81 channels on the platform, as
well as live events. You can opt for a daily, weekly or monthly
subscription for Rs10, Rs 50 and Rs 100 respectively. Apart from the
Gold pack, it offers individual channel packs, which is quite handy. You
can choose the channel you wish to subscribe to for Rs 10 that will be
valid for thirty days. The list of channels include Sony, Star Plus,
Colors, Life OK, National Geographic, Channel V, Cartoon Network, IBN7,
NDTV India, CNN, NDTV 24X7, NDTV Good Times, UTV Bindass, UTV Movies, to
name a few. Besides this, it also provides a wide range of videos on
diverse topics like sports, entertainment, humour, travel, music,
cartoon, Bollywood, devotional, etc. These videos are mostly free. The
experience of using the player on Wi-Fi was seamless and the player
interface is pretty standard.
Custom create your own package
Another platform that offers live streaming of TV channels on your
mobile is Mundu TV. However, they have very limited channels on offer;
these include channels like Colors, UTV Movies, MTv, CNN-IBN, and NDTV
Good Times. In terms of packages, you can opt for a custom package, by
selecting the individually priced channels. You can opt for a monthly,
quarterly or yearly subscription. Alternatively, you can select one of
the plans that start from as low as Rs 34 per month. There are four packages
you can choose from - Indiacast, UTV Pack, UTV Stars and Travel XP.
With Indiacast, for Rs 127, a month you can enjoy ten channels, which
consists of mostly the news channels. The UTV Pack for Rs 46 a month
will provide you access to UTV Stars and UTV Movies channels only, while
the UTV Stars as the name suggest is only one channel that you can opt
for Rs 34. Lastly, you have the travel pack that at Rs 34 per month
offers you subscription to travelxp HD that claims to be India’s first
HD travel channel. Unlike other platforms, Mundu TV doesn’t provide you
with a video-on-demand option. The cost isn’t justified, considering the
limited channels on offer.
Apart from these there are several other apps that allow you to
stream live TV channels for free, but you won’t find the popular
channels like Sony, Zee, Star, Colors, etc. in the list. ZengaTv
offers a wide range of Indian channels to choose from, including Aaj
Tak, Headlines Today, Sahara One, NDTV Good Times, Pogo, Cartoon
Network, 9xm, amongst others. It also has movies, video-on-demand and
events to choose from. Other apps are ShowTuner and HD Live TV.
While all of them offer the same bouquet of channels and provide a
similar streaming experience, the difference lies in the additional
content and features provided by them. If we were to choose between the
platforms mentioned here, then Ditto Tv and nexGTv would be our picks.
Ditto TV has reasonably priced packages and additionally if you have
missed an episode of your favourite serial then you can request for the
same. On the other hand any of nexGTv’s subscription plans will provide
you with access to all its content, which also includes access to movies
on BigFlix and Replay TV that stores last seven episodes from serials
aired on select channels. And if you don’t really want to watch many
channels, then myplex now allows you to subscribe to just one channel at
a nominal cost.
Do you use any of these services? Let us know in the comments section below.
