How much data does Showmax use per hour in South Africa and elsewhere? You are here because you have been asking yourself that question. Showmax is the Multichoice owned local alternative to Netflix. It’s an online video on demand streaming service. There are some people who confuse Showmax with DSTV. Showmax is not a DSTV channel. To get it, you need to have an account and access to the internet on your phone, computer, PS4, tablet or on your DSTV Explora decoder. Showmax needs internet to work, but how much data is required per hour?
Showmax data usage per hour
The amount of data that Showmax uses depends on the video quality that you have chosen for your streaming. In the table below, we show the amounts of data needed for each of the available Showmax streaming qualities;
| Showmax Video Quality | Data Usage per Hour |
|---|---|
| Uncapped | 1.5GB |
| Medium | 0.7GB |
| Low | 0.3GB |
As you can see in the above table, if you leave your Showmax video streaming quality at uncapped, you will use up to 1.5GB per hour. That’s low when compared to Netflix, but then Netflix has 4K Ultra High Definition quality (UHD), which is not available on Showmax. The highest streaming quality on Showmax is 720p on most devices. That’s normal HD.
When streaming on the Medium setting, you can expect to use up to 0.7GB per hour. In terms of quality, that’s Standard Definition (SD). In terms how good video quality will be, Standard Definition will work on most devices. Quality will not be as good as HD, of course, but it’s probably something that you will learn to live with, unless you are watching on a big screen.
Finally, when streaming on the Low quality setting, you can expect to use 0.3GB per hour. That’s 300MB per hour. This mode will not work on big screens. But it will work very well when streaming on your phone or tablet. There, the screen is small meaning the pixels will be denser. As a result, video quality will be as good as HD on bigger devices.
Does Showmax use data on DSTV?
That’s the answer to the question how much data does Showmax use per hour. But what if you are watching on DSTV? Does Showmax still need data? We have already partly answered this question.
The confusion partly comes from the fact that some people think Showmax is a channel on DSTV. But that is not the case. Showmax is an online streaming service. Please note the online bit.
It doesn’t matter on what device you are doing the streaming. We have previously written on what to do if Showmax is not working on your PS4. You can watch Showmax on many devices, but you need to have internet connectivity to do so.
So, yes, Showmax uses data even for those watching their DSTV Explora decoders. The Explora needs to be connected to the internet. The moment that you lose internet connectivity, Showmax will become unavailable via DSTV.
How much data does Showmax use when streaming on the DSTV Explora?
So, how much data does Showmax use when streaming on the DSTV Explora. According to Showmax, you need about 633 per hour when streaming in Standard Definition (SD 576i). Meanwhile, when streaming in High Definition (HD 1080i), you need about 2.2GB per hour.
How to save data
Hopefully, we have answered the question how much data does Showmax use. We will close this article with a few tips on how to save data. That’s where the worry is for most people. In fact, data costs can be prohibitive.
It’s one reason why some people stay away from Showmax. You need to pay for data and you need to pay your subscription. One obvious step that you can take to save data when streaming via Showmax is to choose a lower streaming resolution.
The lower the quality, the less data you are going to use. Of course, you don’t want to lower your resolution to such a level that it affects the viewing experience.
Lowering the video quality is the best move when streaming on mobile devices. There you don’t really need HD because the real estate is smaller.
If you have a comment, you can drop it below. Also check out our article on Showmax vs Netflix data usage.