BigFlix has launched a NetFlix like online streaming service in India. The new service, called BigFlix Plus is available at a (very reasonable) monthly subscription price of ? 249 and offers unlimited streaming of all the available content. Currently, BigFlix’s library contains around 500 movies.
The service is currently standard definition only, with maximum resolution of 480p (the website says the movies are in HD quality, which is clearly wrong). However, the company executives claim that their infrastructure is capable of supporting streaming of 720p HD content. They will be enabling HD streaming in future. Also planned is addition of more (and popular) Hollywood content which should make the service pretty lucrative.
Owing to not so fast broadband connections in India, the service also allows users to download the content if their broadband connection is not fast enough for smooth streaming. In addition to enjoying the content on desktops & laptops, one can also download apps for iOS, & Android to enjoy streaming video on the go. I was able to check the iOS apps for iPhone and iPad. They are pretty basic in nature and currently DO NOT offer all the movies in BigFlix’s collection. Only a handful of movies are available on these devices. Hopefully, they will be able to stream all the content in the library soon. BigFlix is also working on installable television apps for Smart TVs so that you can stream content directly to your internet ready TV. A pretty big move towards promoting streaming services in India.
And don’t worry, BigFlix is also working with all the ISPs in India to cut some sort of deal to exclude the streaming data from your broadband’s fair usage policy quota. This is a much needed step in order to convince people to subscribe to such a service in India.
[via PluggdIn]
