As with any other video services, content streamed from DStv Now could potentially use large amounts of data. You can expect to consume up to 1.15MB of data per minute at the lowest SD resolution and up to 41MB of data per minute at the highest HD resolution while streaming Catch Up and Live TV.
How much data does the DStv app use?
The data used is dependent on how much content you watch. However, as it is a video service, it can potentially use large amounts of data and we encourage you to make use of the settings available in the app to manage the video quality and data consumption.
On average, data usage when streaming on DStv Now is as follows:
360p: 225mb per hour
576p: 405mb per hour
720p: 585mb per hour
1080p: 1GB per hour.
The app uses about 1.15MB of data per minute when you’re watching at the lowest quality resolution, and up to 41MB of data per minute at the highest HD resolution available.
DStv Now allows you to watch the same channels you do on your decoder, on your mobile devices.
Unfortunately, in South Africa, data can be pricey – meaning that when not on Wi-Fi, it’s imperative that you take measures to reduce the amount of data that DStv Now uses.
Thankfully, DStv Now offers its users the opportunity to adjust the quality of the video they’re watching.
Setting DStv Now to a lower quality is the smart way to watch more Catch Up and Live TV content while using less data.
How much data different video qualities use
Catch Up offers six quality settings – ranging from “lowest” to “highest” – including an “auto” option that dynamically chooses the highest quality that your connection can handle.
Live TV offers five quality settings – ranging from “low” to “highest”, including the same “auto” functionality available in Catch Up.
The below tables show how much data is used by each setting per hour.
| Catch Up data usage per hour | |
|---|---|
| Data setting | Estimated data usage (per hour) |
| Lowest | 84MB |
| Low | 156MB |
| Medium | 232MB |
| High | 338MB |
| Highest | 511MB |
| Auto | Dynamically changes |
| Live TV data usage per hour | |
|---|---|
| Data setting | Estimated data usage (per hour) |
| Low | 159MB |
| Medium | 236MB |
| High | 343MB |
| Highest | 515MB |
| Auto | Dynamically changes |
Which streaming quality should you use?
When choosing the quality to stream at, you need to consider a few things, such as whether you are on mobile data, or connected to an uncapped Wi-Fi connection.
If you’re on an uncapped connection, streaming in a higher quality is worthwhile for a better experience.
However, if you’re using mobile data, you need to balance quality with data usage.
The best way to make this decision is to try the different settings, and work out the lowest quality setting at which you find the viewing experience acceptable.
It’s crucial to note that if you’re looking to save data, you should not use the auto setting. Even if your data is limited, if your connection is good, you will stream on higher quality settings and burn through your data quickly.
Cheaper data for streaming DStv Now
Heads up: Vodacom currently has a deal for DStv Now video bundles, with 1GB costing R50. That’s up to 4 hours of streaming on a ‘low’ quality setting. To buy one of these bundles, dial *135# from your Vodacom phone and select ‘DStv Now’ from video bundles.
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