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Using TV sets in the present day scenario is passé. Of course it has its own pros in that it offers a much bigger screen and brings the whole family together to get their dose of entertainment. However, cable TV subscriptions are expensive and people are now more on the move than ever. Thankfully, there are streaming services like Netflix, Hotstar, and Amazon Prime Video which serve as an excellent means to kill time or catch up on your favorite show, no matter where you are.
But, the aforementioned services need you to have a steady internet connection in order to stream. So what do you do when there’s no internet? The good news is that a few of them do allow users to download select titles for offline viewing. In this article, we’ll be focusing on Hotstar. Whether you’re an existing subscriber or plan to subscribe in the near future, we’ll tell you how you can go about downloading content on Hotstar.
About Hotstar:
In case you’re not familiar, Hotstar is an Indian-based entertainment venture that is owned by Star India. It offers video-on-demand content streaming across various devices including Android, iOS, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and Web. Though it was initially introduced as a streaming service for watching live games, especially cricket, it now features tons of other types of content including movies, TV shows, and news specials in various languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu, and Bengali. Hotstar mainly caters to the Indian audience.
The content is mostly sourced from TV networks like Star World, National Geographic, Star Sports, ABC Studios, FOXlife, and SHOWTIME. The best part? Hotstar has also managed to bring HBO’s original programming to the table. And much like Netflix, you’ll also get an access to Hotstar originals.
All of this at merely $3/month or you can even use the service for free, except, you wouldn’t be able to watch the premium titles.
Can You Download Videos on Hotstar Officially?
YES. If you have used Netflix, you’ll perhaps already be aware of this feature. Quite a few streaming services let you download an episode or a movie in order to watch it later, without an internet connection. Hotstar too offers this feature! However, there is one major disadvantage to this method. As stated earlier, not all titles are available for download. Even then, this is a great feature to have.
On Hotstar, you can officially download via the Hotstar app, following the steps mentioned below:
- Download and install the Hotstar app on your device if you haven’t already.
For iOS –
For Android –
- Sign-up if you haven’t already
- Pick a video that you wish to download
- Scroll down to see whether it is available for download. If it is available, you’ll see the download button under the title.
- Click on the download button and adjust the video quality to your liking. And voila!
- You can find the downloaded videos under “My Downloads”.
Other Methods to Download Videos on Hotstar:
Like we mentioned earlier, the official method allows you to download a limited number of titles. If you can’t find the download option for the video you wish to watch, you may try the other methods as mentioned below –
1. Using 3rd Party Sites Via Browser:
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This is perhaps the easiest way to download content off of Hotstar. There are several websites which serve as a great online tool for downloading videos. Some of the ones that we tried and liked include – 9xbuddy.app, acethinker.com, video-download.co, telechargerunevideo.com, and qdownloader.net.
These sites use the same modus operandi where users are simply required to copy-paste the URL of the video they wish to download on the site, and you’ll be shown a list of all the download links. Select any one and click on “Generate Download Link”, and that’s it. The video will start downloading. Note that this method works best if you are using a desktop or a laptop as it can be done right from your browser. However, you can also use mobile phones if you so wish.
2. Using Videoder App:
A much-popular method, Videoder enables users to download videos not only from Hotstar but also from other sites like YouTube, Dailymotion, Voot, and Facebook, in superior quality (up to Ultra HD res). In order to use this app, follow the steps as mentioned under –
- Download the APK file using this link – Videoder Official Website (the app isn’t officially available on the Play Store or the App Store). Note that the APK file will work on Android OS and macOS only.
- Make sure that you have enabled “Unknown Sources” in your settings. This gives permission to download apps from third party sources.
- Launch the Videoder app. You’ll find the Hotstar icon right on the homepage. Click on it.
- It will open up the Hotstar website. Select the video you wish to download.
- Click on the download button (colored in red), shown at the bottom of the screen.
- Choose the video resolution and select “Start”.
- The video will start downloading on its own. You can check its progress by tapping on the download icon located on the top-right corner of your screen.
- Bear in mind that the premium titles still cannot be downloaded using this app.
3. Using the Instant Demo Software:
This method may sound a bit complicated at first but it has an edge over the previous method. Instant Demo Software works as a tool for screen recording. This means that you can download practically any video on any site (including Hotstar of course), irrespective of whether it is premium or not.
To get started, download and install the software on your windows desktop/laptop.
Once that is complete, launch the Hotstar website and pick a video that you want to download. Open the Instant Demo Software and begin playing the video at the same time. Select the screen-area that you wish to record and tap on the “Start Recording” option. Once the video is over, click on “Save” and pick a destination folder. In case you wish to stop recording at any point, just press “Ctrl+Del”.
4. Using Command Prompt on PC:
If you own a Windows PC or laptop that runs on either 7, 8, 8.1, or 10 OS, then this method will be very useful, especially if you want to get your hands on premium titles. Although it isn’t that difficult, having some basic tech knowledge would help. Here’s how to get started –
- Download the Hotstarlivestreamer software file using this link.
- Extract the zip file using WinRar, WinZip, 7-Zip, or any other file compression software of your choice.
- Find the extracted file on your PC and click on it. Select the “hotstarlivestreamer.bat” file.
- It’ll display a command window.
- All you have to do is copy-paste the video URL from Hotstar and press “Enter”.
- You’ll see all the available video resolutions. Enter the video quality you wish to download the selected video in. For example – 1080p.
- Enter the letter “d” for downloading the video. You can also stream videos by typing “p”.
- That’s all. The downloaded video can be found in the extracted folder.
To Conclude:
Barring the first method (official method), all the other methods are illegal. So if that is a major concern for you, we’d suggest that you stick to the official method. However, if you don’t mind bending the rules in order to access premium videos, then the other methods can be quite useful. That said, the Instant Demo Software method should be kept as the last resort since we do not encourage screen recording.