With New Year, Hotstar gets new features with the latest update. Hotstar app on both iOS and Android has been updated with the ability to download premium videos. The update also brings support for streaming videos with 18:9 aspect ratio. This is the first update that Hotstar brings to its platform after it enabled users to download content from its app. The update is rolling out to both iOS and Android users now. Before the new update rolled out Hotstar only let users download mostly older and some regional language videos. But now, with the new update coming in, all Hotstar users will be able to download premium content. This is a feature that most Hotstar users have been eagerly waiting for a long time now.
Premium Content Download Feature Comes to Hotstar
The changelog of the updated Hotstar app shared on Google Play store notes, “Now you can download and watch offline most of your favourite premium shows like Game of Thrones, Friends, Big Bang Theory and many more." With the coming of the premium content download feature users on Hotstar will be able to watch premium movies offline for the first time. However, it is worth noting that not all premium content can be downloaded, but with time we expect the feature to be available for all TV shows and movies.
The Hotstar app has revealed that currently premium movies like The Shape of Water, The Greatest Showman, Red Sparrow, and Maze Runner: Death Cure are available for download after which the users will be able to watch them offline when there's no internet connection. But sadly enough, none of the Star Wars movies and Marvel movies are available for download. Now, that might disappoint a lot of viewers. But now that the premium content download feature is already available we can expect it to be available for all premium videos and TV shows very soon. There's however no official statement on the same. The good bit is some Showtime shows and some of the HBO titles and Arrowverse shows are available for download.
Hotstar Focusing on Basics
The premium content download feature is extremely helpful when there's no internet connection. Additionally, Hotstar has also revealed that the one premium content (video or show) can be downloaded only for once and the content will expire within seven days of the download or within 48 hours since of watching it. So this means that a premium video can be download only once and will not be saved in the download library forever.
In addition to the premium content download, the new update also brings support for 18:9 aspect ratio. With this move, Hotstar aims to offer a better video viewing experience to the viewers.
