Joining other streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Videos and YouTube, Hotstar has also enabled downloading videos on its app, including content available to Premium and VIP subscribers.
Although Hotstar is yet to address the issues faced by hundreds of its subscribers related to streaming errors, allowing videos to be downloaded for offline viewing is a welcome feature by the Indian streaming service
Hotstar has a long way to go before it can actually compete with global leaders in streaming like Netflix. In addition to the streaming errors linked above, Hotstar’s app and website are plagued by several bugs.
Another article is in the pipeline that’ll talk about these issues, but for now, let’s discuss things you need to know about downloading videos on Hotstar.
Also read: How to delete viewing history on Netflix and clear the ‘Continue Watching’ list
How many videos can be downloaded on Hotstar?
At the time of writing, Hotstar supports 5 video downloads for offline viewing per device. Since you can only stream content on a single device at a time on a subscription, this inadvertently means that a maximum of five videos can be downloaded on an individual subscription.
Trying to download another video after you already have five downloads will show you ‘Error 702’.If you wish to download additional video content, you’ll need to delete one of the videos that were downloaded earlier on that device.
How long is a downloaded video available to watch?
A downloaded video will expire within seven days of the download or 48 hours after you’ve started watching it.
What is the size of a downloaded video?
Hotstar gives you three options of ‘High’, ‘Medium’ and ‘Low’ quality downloads. The following download sizes are of a 1 hour, 6 minutes and 50 seconds long video (1:06:50).
- High: 1.02 GB
- Medium: 450 MB
- Low: 154 MB
Where are downloaded Hotstar videos saved?
Well, since the app settings don’t yet have an option to download videos to the device’s SD card, the videos are downloaded on your phone’s internal storage. But downloaded videos can only be accessed via the Hotstar app. You won’t be able to find them and copy them onto some other device through your storage. This is done to protect the copyright of content on Hotstar.
Also read: 25 must-watch Netflix Originals you should binge on
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