Your demand at a command

Move over traditional viewing! Video-On-Demand on your Smartphone could be the best way to fulfill your larger-than-life viewing demands, says Rohit Gupta

No one can deny the very fact that what technology has gifted us and how it has improved our lives in the last one decade, is much more than it did in the last one century. There was a time when we used to spend long hours for even a small calculation and had to stick to our television sets at home to enjoy our favorite movies and shows. Moreover, we used to trouble ourselves with the large stack of CDs and DVDs of our favorite movies in those days.

The technological advancements we have achieved in the last 30 years are just great and the progress is enormous. We have come a long way ahead with the greatest and clearly visible transition from cathode-ray tubes supported TV sets to the palm size smartphones, and thanks to these live and on-demand-video streaming service providers who have come to our rescue, so that we can now enjoy watching all shows and movies whenever and wherever. Now, no one needs to remain attached to their television-sets, as these VOD service providers have intelligently added an option of “watch later” to a full list of carousel including separate tabs for TV shows, Movies, Short Films etc.

The web’s expanding reach and a better Internet speed with the rollout of 4th generation (4G) services has created a buzz around video streaming in India. Media Partners Asia has estimated that the subscription video-on-demand market will expand at a compounded rate in the coming years. Netflix – which started with a humble beginning of sending DVDs to their subscribers on demand and later moved to providing online video-streaming services and OTT service, is the King ruling in this field. It not only provides the content of existing shows, but has started new original series too like – House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and documentaries like – Born into Brothel. In India, Netflix along with Amazon

Netflix – which started with a humble beginning of sending DVDs to their subscribers on demand and later moved to providing online video-streaming services and OTT service, is the King ruling in this field. It not only provides the content of existing shows, but has started new original series too like – House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and documentaries like – Born into Brothel. In India, Netflix along with Amazon

In India, Netflix along with Amazon Prime-video is the greatest rival of Hotstar – another VOD service provider specifically curated keeping in mind the Indian taste. The latter one provides the services at Rs 199 per month for the premium-content whereas Netflix allows their subscribers to enjoy their services at Rs 499 per month, and Amazon Prime at Rs 499 per year. Star India – owner of Hotstar offers content not just in Hindi and English, but also in six other regional languages, making it even more daunting for the newcomers.