In this tech-savvy world, everyone is living a busy, hectic life. When coping with our draining work routines, most of us don’t even have leisure time. Suppose you get some of it and decide to stream your fav show, movie, series, or whatever but get stuck with no or poor internet connection signals. Can there be something more frustrating than this?
However, most streamers have opted to use video recorders and video downloaders to avoid such situations. These prove blessings when giving access to offline streaming of content. Two video recorders, i.e., PlayOn and PlayLater, are our topics of discussion today.
PlayOn and PlayLater are both worthwhile creations of MediaMall Technologies. PlayLater was rolled into PlayOn, which, in turn, offers two apps. Although you can’t access PlayLater, in this article, we will take you through how both versions differ.
In which aspect is PlayOn better than PlayLater, and what evolution and new features were witnessed in PlayLater? In short, it’s a complete overview of PlayOn vs PlayLater; let's dive into it!
All about PlayOn!
MediaMall Technologies is a top-tier app developing company aiming to launch tools that can assist streamers in accessing offline content streaming from various renowned streaming sites.
Sticking to it, MediaMall Technologies launched PlayOn Home or PlayOn Desktop back in August 2008. It’s compatible with Windows only. Later, in August 2016, it released another app, i.e., PlayOn Cloud, which was compatible with Windows and Mac. Although both have almost the same features, there are a few variations in their compatibility and other aspects.
Hop inside this article and learn all about PlayOn VS FlixGrab: Pros and Cons and Which Is Better for you!
Features of PlayOn
Here are some of the key features of PlayOn that make it count as one of the top-notch video recorders out there in the market. Let’s have a look at them!
- It can record videos with qualities ranging from 1080p to 720p and SD.
- With them, you can auto-download recordings over Wi-Fi to spare your bandwidth or during designated hours.
- It allows syncing recording across macOS, iOS, and Android devices. With this amazing feature, you can download your recordings on other devices like Android TV and computers.
- Are you recording ad-filled content? PlayOn will detect the ads and auto-skip them to ensure you enjoy streaming content offline without the disruption of errors.
- PlayOn can cast recordings to your TV to let you enjoy streaming on a bigger screen. For that purpose, you will need streaming devices, like Apple TV, Android TV, FireTV, Roku, and Chromecast. You can also cast your recordings to Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
- It supports batch downloading; you can download a whole series or multiple episodes of it within a single click at an impressive speed.
Here is all you should know about the Best PlayOn Plugins.
All About PlayLater!
PlayLater was created by the same application-developing company, i.e., MediaMall Technologies, back in September 2011. Later, in September 2015, PlayLater was rolled into the PlayOn Desktop. It was compatible with Windows only.
It’s no more accessible as a stand-alone product, so we will talk about it in the past, Like what were the perks of it before rolling into the PlayOn. Let’s have a look at its features which made it stand out in the crowd of its competitors.
Features of PlayLater
Here are some of the features of PlayOn that made it worthwhile.
- It could record content from renowned streaming platforms, like Netflix, and protected content from sites like Hulu.
- It enabled offline playback on different devices like TV set-top boxes and mobiles.
- It had a clear and impressive interface providing users with ease of navigation.
- The download speed used to depend entirely on the speed and stability of the internet connection.
- It was able to download videos in SD and HD video quality.
- It used to come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Meaning if you didn’t like the service, you could get all your money back.
PlayOn vs PlayLater – Comprehensive Comparison
After knowing about the two competitors of PlayOn vs PlayLater in detail, let’s now have a look at their comparison. Hop on below to explore how the two vary in different perspectives.
PlayOn vs PlayLater – Compatibility
PlayOn home is compatible with PC only, and PlayOn Cloud is for both PC and Mac users. On the other hand, PlayLater was compatible only with PC.
PlayOn vs PlayLater – Batch Downloading
PlayOn enables users to batch download multiple videos at a relatively impressive speed. This saves them from manually downloading each and every video. However, PalyLater didn’t support the batch downloading feature, and its recording speed was also less than that of the PlayOn.
PlayOn vs PlayLater – Playback
Streaming videos on Roku or any other compatible device was a bit complicated with PlayLater. It’s because it indulged users in a long series of steps. However, there’s no such case with PlayOn. Follow a few steps, and you can playback videos on different devices.
PlayOn vs PlayLater – Supported OTTs
The two apps offered by PlayOn, i.e., PlayOn home and PlayOn Cloud, can record videos from over 25 channels. On the other hand, the PlayLater could record from over 40 different channels. It’s where PlayLater dominates over the other competitor.
PlayOn vs PlayLater – Recorded Video Quality
PlayOn Cloud is able to record videos with as maximum as 1080p video quality. PlayOn Home lacks a bit and can record with 720p and SD qualities. Contrastingly, PlayLater could record your desired content in SD and HD qualities depending on the stability and speed of your internet connection.
PlayOn vs PlayLater – Ad-Skipping
PlayOn is equipped with a fantastic ad-skip feature, which lets the users enjoy watching content without the interruption of those recurrent and irritating ads. However, PlayLater didn’t have any such feature.
PlayOn vs PlayLater – Prices
You can enjoy recording unlimited videos with PlayOn Home for a monthly subscription fee of just $4.99. PlayOn Cloud allows recording only 30 videos for the same subscription fee. However, you can pay to get more recording credit. Most users find PlayOn Cloud’s credit and storage packages worth getting.
On the other hand, PlayLater has two pricing plans. The per year one charged just $19.99, and the lifetime subscription plan charged $39.99.
PlayOn vs PlayLater – Accessibility
PlayOn Home and PlayOn Cloud can be downloaded from the official PlayOn website. On the other hand, PlayLater is no more accessible. As described earlier, it’s no more a stand-alone product.
PlayOn vs PlayLater – Summed Up
Hope, till now, you must have learned how PlayOn and PlayLater vary and how the former dominates over the latter. Although PlayOn makes a good fit for recording videos and is used by loads of users around the globe, it still has some drawbacks, which could leave one looking for an alternative.
One such drawback is that it could download videos with only 25+ channels. It’s a much lesser figure than the supported streaming platforms of its alternatives. Hop on below to learn about the best alternative, i.e., KeepStreams Video Downloader.
KeepStreams – The Best PlayOn Alternative?
KeepStreams makes an ideal PlayOn alternative, as it can download content from over 100 websites ranging from popular to popular and common to common. In short, no matter which streaming platform you wish to download video, KeepStreams will do it for you.
Moreover, it downloads all the videos in MP4 and MKV formats, so you can transfer the downloaded videos to any device and enjoy streaming them offline. Curious to know more about it? Have a look at its features!
Features of KeepStreams
Below are some of the notable features of KeepStreams.
No Download Limits – With KeepStreams, there’s no limit to the number of videos you can record. While in the case of PlayOn, there's a restriction of 30. Although you could record multiple with PlayOn Home, it couldn’t download in 1080p video quality.
Video Quality – KeepStreams supports downloading videos with video qualities ranging from 720p and 1080p to 4k and 8k. You can choose your preferred depending on your device’s storage, etc.
Saves Metadata of Files – It lets users save metadata of files, with which they can organize their media library in the best way possible. You can also save information like cast name, episode and series titles, etc.
Audio Tracks
It facilitates audiophiles enabling them to download multiple audio tracks. Moreover, they can select their preferred language for audio tracks, too.
Built-in Browser – It comes with a built-in browser with which searching for any movie and video you wish to download has become much easier.
Wrapping Up
In this article, we have summed up everything you should know about PlayOn, PlayLater, PlayOn PlayLater differences, and is PlayLater and PlayOn the same thing. Moreover, we have also shed light on how the KeepStreams makes an excellent alternative for PlayOn/PlayLater in different aspects, including the number of supported streaming platforms and more. Hope you fund it worth reading!