Review of ShowMax

The good folks at ShowMax asked me to try out their new video on demand (VOD) service which launched recently in South Africa.

So just what is VOD? Well it’s certainly not like the good old days when it took you around 1 hour to rewind a video.  I remember those days with so much love.

Now you can have well over 10 000 hours in your pocket so to speak.

ShowMax is similar to products like NetFlix and DStv BoxOffice.

The ability to watch what you want when you want.

It’s available on various devices with an internet connection.  These include mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktops and even Samsung and LG smart TV’s.

At the moment you can get some big TV shows like Game of Thrones, Entourage, The Wire and many more.  They also have a huge movie catalogue and even local African content.

John Kotsaftis, General Manager of ShowMax South Africa said: ‘We’re unashamedly ambitious in what we’re aiming to achieve with ShowMax.’

So how does it work?

I tested it out on an iPad using their App. 

The App is pretty simple to use and you can select an option from Movies, Series or a Watchlist.  If you get stuck there is a handy Help section.

You can also go directly to movies or series and select from various categories such as action, horror, comedy etc.

So will it take off in South Africa?

I tested it out using a Wi-Fi connection.  Certainly at present the speeds in South Africa are not the best but as more and more areas get rolled out with high-speed internet these types of services are going to take off.

I’m sure that South African Filmmakers will be checking out ShowMax as this service offers filmmakers a new option for distribution deals.

It also offers a different option for people who can’t afford satellite television options.

ShowMax is offering this service at R99 a month which is not bad.  That’s about the price of one good DVD.  You can have the service on 5 different devices. You can also watch two different streams on different devices simultaneously.

However don’t take my word for it, try it out yourself, ShowMax is offering everyone a 7 day free trial so you can check out the service for yourself.

You can find out more on www.showmax.com

Find them on Twitter @showmaxonline

#showmax

Have you tried ShowMax? Let us know what you think of the service on Twitter using @UmhlangaLife and the hashtag #showmax

(Image courtesy ShowMax)

Review by Fred Felton

Twitter @fredfelton