Online Video streaming is one of the best modes of entertainment in recent times. You can watch anything you want, whether you wish to learn something online from YouTube or catch up with the most famous shows via streaming services. While the entertainment is unlimited, it comes at a cost. Fortunately, high-speed internet services like streaming services, are easily accessible today with the help of broadband services. Video streaming services do have a certain drawback, like buffering or consuming tons of data every single hour. These issues you experience like buffering and low-quality streaming indicate bandwidth issues. In this article, you’ll learn about how to save data while streaming and how to reduce data usage while watching videos.
There are tons of streaming services out there like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Hulu, and much more. Over time all these streaming platforms have changed the way they consume data. We suggest you keep an eye on how much data you are consuming if you have an internet connection with the data limit or if you share your data with your family.
You can save data while streaming video by twitching with a few settings. You should know that there are differences between streaming music and Videos. Read ahead to learn all the tips to help save bandwidth while streaming videos.
5 Tips on How to Save Data While Streaming
1. Close Applications Running in The Background
The first and foremost tip on how to save data while watching YouTube or any other streaming service is by closing the applications running in the background. If you are streaming content while some applications are running in the background, you’ll face some interference while streaming videos.
Applications running in the background can cause buffering and blurry videos. Clear all the applications running in the background on your phone and PC.
2. Watch Videos In Standard Definition
If you share your data with your family or friends then you should keep an eye out on hitting the data ceiling. Saving data while streaming is simple if you are willing to make a little compromise. You should switch your video streaming quality to SD instead of HD. When you stream content in SD you save up to 3 times data.
When you are streaming a movie at night you might get the urge to watch the flick in HD. If you wish to watch TV shows in the afternoon then we suggest you choose SD over HD. Below are the settings on how to reduce data usage while watching videos.
- Netflix: Login to your account using a computer > Account settings > Playback settings > Select Video quality.
- YouTube: Settings in the bottom right corner > Quality > Select Quality
- Hulu: Player Settings Menu > Select Playback Quality / Turn off Auto HD
3. Keep an Eye On Data Usage
Most internet providers have internet packages that include data caps. Users can track the data via an online account that internet service providers offer to users. If your data limit is below 200GB/month and you love streaming movies and shows then you should keep checking how much data you have consumed. By doing this you can keep a track of how much data your streaming habits consume.
4. Take Advantage of Free Data Zone
Providers like HughesNet that offer low data cap to consumers also offer some kind of bonus data to keep consumers going throughout the month. The bonus data is offered to consumers during off-peak hours. This means you can do all the internet heavy activities during the bonus data time.
For those who love streaming shows and movies, you can use the bonus data to download whatever you want to watch and watch it during the day. There are free download manager applications out there that can schedule and complete your downloads. Use this tool to download shows from Netflix and other streaming platforms during the free data zone.
5. Keep Your Content Downloaded
If your streaming habits are as same as all of us then you probably love rewatching your favorite content over and over again. This habit costs you additional data every time you stream the show and movie again. We suggest that you keep the shows and movies downloaded, it may cause you a lot of data once, but comparing it to streaming the same thing over and over again, it’s a better choice.
Streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and all the others allow you to download the shows in the Application itself. Download them and you can stream them without internet connectivity.
Conclusion: Saving Data While Streaming Video
All of us indeed love watching TV Shows and Movies. This habit can burn a hole in your pocket in terms of an overage fee. You can watch your favorite shows and movies and save data by following the steps listed below. For maximum results try as many methods as you can and experience the change in your data usage. That’s all there is to learn about how to reduce data while watching Videos.