Techjaja

Getting Started with Streaming on Showmax – Techjaja

by

- Advertisement -

Simply put, Showmax is Multichoice’s answer to Netflix and it has been around since 2016. Recently, it took things a notch higher with the launch of Showmax Pro, which adds a la carte of sports programming to the standard Showmax we are reviewing today.

The standard Showmax is stripped of any sports or live channels but it doesn’t mean there isn’t more to offer. I decided to cancel my Netflix just to get immersed in the world of Showmax for the past 1 month to see, what the service has to offer versus what I’m accustomed to from other streaming services. First things first, let’s start with the pull factors to Showmax.

Related: Internet TV streaming service ShowMax is now LIVE in Uganda

Pricing

- Advertisement -

Showmax comes in two plans, namely the mobile-only Showmax Mobile and the Showmax Standard at UGX UGX 14,000 and UGX 28,000 with a 14 day trial period respectively. As the name suggests, Showmax Mobile only allows you to stream content on your mobile devices whereas Showmax Standard allows you to stream across a wide range of devices ranging from smartphones, smart TVs, gaming consoles, Streaming boxes/dongles among others.

The quality of streams differs across the two tiers, Showmax Mobile supports up to SD quality levels while Showmax Standard cranks it up to HD.

- Advertisement -

Also Read:

The beauty of Showmax is it’s billed in Ugandan shillings and accepts multiple cards supported by Visa and Mastercard plus PayPal on top of Showmax issued vouchers. The preference is yours but what would sweeten the deal would be mobile money support.

The aforementioned pricing is irrespective of data charges. This means you must cater for data bills separately for a stable internet connection to allow for streaming.

Platform Support

Showmax isn’t as ubiquitous as some of its competition but it’s available across a range of devices and form factors supported by major players in the industry. I could get it via my iPhone, my Windows PC via the browser, Android TV-powered smart TV, and an Android smartphone. Showmax supports other devices like select gaming consoles and smart TV models from LG and Samsung of at least 2019. However, Roku powered devices are a no show here.

Showmax supports up to 5 devices and only allows 2 concurrent streams on the service. The service also allows for bandwidth capping, giving you the liberty to tune the stream to high, medium, or low settings depending on how you want to manage your data. However, the quality of the stream is reflected in the selected setting with high streaming at 2GB/hour, medium at 0.7GB/hour, and low at 0.3GB/hour.

The higher the download speeds the better the quality of the stream. Alternatively, you can choose to turn this off and let the stream optimize itself according to the prevailing network quality.

Content

Showmax boasts of a relatively large content library including movies, series, documentaries, animations, Showmax’s in-house originals among others of different genres like Action, Comedy, Horror, Adventure, Reality from Hollywood, Nollywood, Bollywood, M-Net, and other movie hubs It even has partner networks like HBO, ABC, BBC, Nickelodeon, Supersport, Boomerang & Cartoon Network.

Some of the above boast of quality content you can’t find elsewhere especially if you’re living in Africa. A case in point is HBO, its acclaimed movies and TV shows like Silicon Valley, Succession, Chernobyl, Insecure, Game of Thrones, The Sopranos among others are all here, something that can’t be found over, at Netflix.

This might sound subjective but what Showmax lacks in quantity offsets in quality at least, for the type of content that interests me. Netflix could be having a large library and back catalog than Showmax but the quality of the latter’s library is better, especially with Hollywood content.

However, just like most streaming services, Showmax is at the mercy of large networks for attractive content, so it better ramps up its original shows with broad appeal. One’s I found from their stable aren’t as broadly appealing.

Another area where Showmax struggles are recommendations! This could be due to its smaller library than what I’m accustomed to but discovering content wasn’t as seamless as I’m used to. Some content was outright not available even via search.

Still, on the content, Showmax allows for a maximum of 25 downloads per month, available to stream even when offline for 30 days. This is good for catching up with content in a long commute or when one is data constrained and cannot outright stream.

Much as live channels are reserved for Showmax Pro, the same doesn’t apply to Big Brother Naija, if you’re into that sort of thing. This you can stream live and even extra special content to go alongside the live stream.

If you have a family, Showmax also allows for Kids Profiles with parental controls in place to help you better manage what your kids are watching while you attend to other business. Similar controls are also available to the host profile when creating new ones for family, friends, or genres.

The User Interface and Experience

Showmax employs a tile-based UI that is categorized according to content themes and one’s viewing experience. It is the same UI across different supported devices but the viewable tiles depend on your screen real-estate. If you can’t go through every tile, Showmax offers recommendations based on your viewing patterns and if this doesn’t cut it, you can head for the search bar. Besides the usual inputs, Showmax supports voice search within the app for easy content discovery.

To get better recommendations, Showmax provides lists where you can add favorite movies and shows or upcoming ones tagged with coming soon. One can continue from where they left off even if you keep hopping from one device to the other. Some titles offer sub-titles while others don’t

However, some content is geo-restricted so a VPN might come in handy if you can hop from one African country to another. Showmax is primarily available in Africa and I ran into trouble after using a US-based card, only to be welcomed by a screen with little to no content, the majority of which was African.

Sorry for 4K fans, Showmax streams support up to HD content. I must, however, admit that the viewing experience was different between my 4K and HD screens. The 4K screen displayed better but that is a given. Should you be satisfied with what you’re streaming, Showmax offers social sharing across Facebook’s host of apps like Facebook, Whatsapp, among others.

What we liked

What we didn’t like

- Advertisement -