Most people get their news and entertainment through streaming. For years, more people have watched video over the internet than over broadcast television. Good quality streaming is a basic expectation most people have for their internet service, but it’s one that remains elusive to satellite internet customers.

Traditional satellite internet services are not well designed for streaming video, but with a few data-saving tricks, you can make it work.  Read on to see if any of these tips and tricks work for you.

Popular satellite providers

Viasat is pretty close to Starlink in both speed and cost, plus both offer unlimited data. If you use video chat or play online games, Viasat can cause issues with its much higher latency, but if you only care about video, Viasat is an excellent alternative.

Hughesnet has slightly lower top speeds than the other satellite providers, but it’s enough to stream movies and TV—at least in theory. When we tested Hughesnet plans first-hand, we found that it couldn’t maintain enough speed to stream most content. The most we could manage were YouTube videos at 480p resolution, which is less than most people expect from their phones.

How much speed do I need to stream video?

Video can use a lot of bandwidth, but it depends heavily on the quality of the picture and the number of devices that are streaming at the same time. Different video services have different bandwidth recommendations, though they’re usually pretty similar. Watching high definition 4K video on a single device, for example, usually requires about 25 Mbps of download speed, which is technically doable over satellite.

For a more detailed breakdown of speed requirements for different platforms, check out our guide to How Much Speed Do I Need to Stream Video.

One nice thing about video streaming services like Netflix and Hulu is that the software itself is really good at buffering your signal. When you’re watching a movie, your device downloads the data a few seconds ahead of what’s actually playing on the screen. That means if the speed of your connection fluctuates or there’s a brief disruption, your movie keeps playing smoothly off that pre-downloaded data without any pauses.

Naturally, live content can’t do this as well without putting a huge delay between the live content and when it appears on your screen, so you’re more likely to encounter buffering issues watching a Twitch stream or a live newscast than with pre-recorded content.

Streaming and data caps

Streaming video over satellite isn’t an ideal situation. While most satellite plans meet the speed requirements for streaming video, data caps usually pose the bigger problem. Satellite data caps are incredibly low compared to other types of internet. Although a plan with 50 GB of data might seem like a lot, you could easily run through four or five GB of data for one movie night.

If watching a show in the evening is part of your daily routine, a 50 GB data plan might only get you halfway through the month. Throw in a couple of kids that want to watch Bluey on their iPads every day after school and you could find yourself running out of data in a matter of days, which isn’t very practical.

Choose unlimited data

The best choice for anyone who watches a lot of online video is to choose an internet plan that offers unlimited data. Right now, the only satellite service that does this is Starlink Residential , making it the clear choice for rural Netflix fans. Starlink speeds are also high enough that you shouldn’t have any bandwidth problems, even if streaming on multiple devices simultaneously.

Lower your picture quality

Although it’s not the most visually appealing option, lowering your video resolution drastically reduces the amount of data it uses. Even just dropping the quality from 4K UHD to HD can make your data last around five times longer.

If you watch everything in standard definition, you could probably watch video every day and still make it through the whole month on an average data plan. You can change the resolution of videos on a service like Netflix through its settings menu.

This is also the same principle behind how things like Video Data Saver work. By automatically throttling your speed when you watch a video, it forces lower resolution playback that uses less data.

Get satellite TV

Getting a satellite TV plan like DirecTV in addition to your satellite internet may sound like an expensive solution, but in some situations, it could actually save you money. Unlike satellite internet, satellite TV prices depend primarily on the number of channels you get, not how much data you use or how much time you spend using it. For those who watch video all day, every day, paying for a second satellite service could be cheaper than buying all the extra data  needed every month to support your TV habit.

Of course, satellite TV works a lot differently from a streaming service, and if the channels you want only come in the most expensive packages, it may not be worth it. For some people, however, satellite TV can be a way to watch as much video as you want without worrying about how much data you’re using.

Streaming on satellite FAQ

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To get paramount performance out of Paramount+, you need decent internet speeds.

Aim to get download speeds of at least 25Mbps per person in your household to ensure smooth streaming when you cue up your favorite movie or TV series on Paramount network’s streaming platform. So if you have four people in your household, an internet speed of 100Mbps is right on the money.

Internet speed is crucial to a good viewing experience, because streams with video resolution of 1080p and 4K take up a lot of bandwidth. Still, everyone’s speed needs are different. Take a look at our guide below to get the full look at the best internet for Paramount+, including the best internet providers to pick from.

Is your Wi-Fi fast enough?

Take our speed test to see if your internet is fast enough to support your Paramount+ needs.

Paramount+ speed basics

Although you’re technically capable of watching Paramount+ with speeds as low as 4Mbps, you want to factor in the totality of your internet usage when deciding the speeds you need to enjoy all the content on the Paramount network.

Many people tend to surf online with their phones or tablets while watching stuff on their smart TVs, and many households are home to multiple users who may all log into the same streaming service on separate devices. (Think: You’re enjoying The Lost City while your kids have PAW Patrol on in the next room.)

To get the best performance out of Paramount+, you should aim to set aside a chunk of bandwidth per every user in your household. If you have 100Mbps for a family of four, that gives you 25Mbps each—that’s adequate speed to cover all your streaming (and gaming and studying and Zooming) needs. Consider bulking up these speeds to 50Mbps per person or more if you also regularly do bandwidth-guzzling things like hosting Twitch livestreams or uploading influencer content to YouTube.

Three golden rules for Paramount+ streaming:

• The more users and devices you have, the more internet speed you need.
• For 4K streaming, reduce buffering with a fiber-optic or cable internet plan.
• For slow connections and hotspots, save money and reduce buffering with the Ad-Free or With Ads plan.

Here are your minimum speed needs for Paramount+

According to Paramount+, you need at least 4Mbps speeds to stream content on its platform. That’s enough to support a shoddy 480p stream on one device at a time, but the reality is you need significantly faster speeds if you want to stream on multiple devices at once or do other things online while streaming. You also need faster speeds to support 1080p or 4K video quality.

What speed do you need to stream movies in 4K, Dolby Vision, or HDR10?

You need much faster speeds than normal to stream video in 4K, Dolby Vision, and HDR10 video formats. In most cases, Paramount’s purported minimum of 4Mbps simply doesn’t cut it. Instead we recommend at least 50Mbps per person, if not more.

Paramount+ offers select TV shows and movies in these three premium video formats. They give you much better video resolution, greater depth, striking contrast, and a carnival of color—vastly improving your viewing experience for the high-flying fighter jet scenes in Top Gun: Maverick and the fast-paced excitement of Paramount’s live sports broadcasts.

But you’re going to need premium internet to match premium video quality—and to do that we recommend getting a fiber or fast cable internet plan.

Get fiber internet or a fast cable plan for the best 4K performance

Fiber internet gives you incredibly fast speeds over a reliable connection. Not only is it ideal for streaming, but it’s also excellent for gaming and working from home.

Even a basic fiber plan gives you ample bandwidth to cover a range of activities—including streaming on multiple devices at once. Best of all, fiber plans often cost as much as (or even cheaper than) cable and DSL plans with slower speeds. That means you’ll have more money to set aside for streaming subscriptions and an upper-tier Paramount+ plan.

If you can’t get fiber internet, cable internet comes in second place as an ideal pick. Cable providers have come a long way in improving their network speeds, and a cable internet plan gives you excellent download power for all the streaming you like.

Best internet plans for 4K video streaming

What if you have slow internet? Never fear—you can still watch Paramount+

Paramount+ still works even if you have slow internet—you just don’t get the same video quality as you would on a top-speed Wi-Fi plan.

When you’re watching content on Paramount+, the platform automatically adjusts the video resolution based on the capabilities of your home internet. A cheaper plan means lower speeds; to compensate, your app adjusts to a lower video resolution, either HD (720p) or even SD (480p). The video still can look good that way, but you’re not as likely to enjoy full 4K or Dolby Vision capabilities, which may put a damper on visually-striking movies.

Best internet plans for budget Paramount+ users

You can definitely stream Paramount+ when you have a satellite internet plan, but you won’t get the same video quality as usual. You also need to be mindful of how much data you use. Satellite internet comes with strict data limits, and you can easily burn through a month’s supply of data in a couple days if you’re not careful.

Check with your satellite internet provider to see how much data you get and use the Armstrong data calculator to budget out how much you can watch on Paramount+ every day before burning through your data limit.

Here’s how to adjust the video resolution on Paramount+ app downloads

There is no way to manually adjust Paramount+ video quality on a browser or TV app, but you can manually switch between different resolutions for video downloads on Paramount’s cell phone app. Here’s how.

Step 1: Open the Paramount+ app.

Step 2: On the Paramount+ homepage, tap the More menu button in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

Step 3: Tap Settings and scroll to Download Video Quality.

Step 4: Choose between High Definition or Standard Definition.

Choose the best Paramount+ plan

Parmount+ has two plans to choose from: Essential and with Premium. The Essential plan costs only $7.99 a month, but it comes with ads. The Premium plan costs $12.99 a month, doesn’t have ads, and, of course, includes a ton of extra content.

The Paramount+ Premium plan is the best deal overall, since it comes with an extra service while costing a bit less than the premium plans of a lot of other streamers. But stick with Essential if you want to save some money—a few ads while watching movies is a small price to pay for great value.

FAQ

Disclaimers

You don’t need the fastest internet speeds to watch all the premium content on HBO Max. But it sure helps to have fast speeds.

Aim to get an internet plan that gives you 25Mbps per person if you plan to sign up for the streamer’s Ad-Free or Ultimate plans. HBO Max is an expanded version of HBO, loaded with content from HBO, Warner Bros., and Discovery. Technically, you can get away with streaming movies and TV with slower speeds than that. But 25Mbps ensures you get an über-smooth connection and avoid buffering issues when you’re binging House of the Dragon or running HGTV’s home makeover shows on a constant loop.

Keep reading for our rundown of how to get the best streaming performance possible on HBO Max.

HBO Max speed basics

You need Wi-Fi speeds fast enough to cover not just your streaming needs, but also those of everyone else in your household. The more people streaming video on their own devices, the faster speeds you need to accommodate all these hungry content viewers. By the way, the same principles apply when you use other streaming services as well, including Netflix, Apple TV+, and many digital live TV options.

If you have an Ultimate account, you also need speeds that can handle the massive bandwidth demands of 4K resolution. That said, you can get away with much slower speeds if you’re signed up for one of HBO Max’s lower-tier plans, such as the Ad-Free plan, which delivers max resolution of 1080p. You can also adjust the video settings in your HBO Max app to stream content at a lower resolution.

Three golden rules for HBO Max streaming:

• The more users and devices you have, the more internet speed you need.
• For 4K streaming, reduce buffering with a fiber-optic or cable internet plan.
• For slow connections and hotspots, save money and reduce buffering with the Ad-Free or With Ads plan.

Here are your minimum speed needs for HBO Max

HBO Max officially recommends minimum speeds of just 5Mbps for its two basic plans, one with ads and the other ad-free. It recommends minimum speeds of 15Mbps for its Ultimate plan, which gives you the ability to stream video in 4K resolution.

You can probably steam video on your smart TV with those speeds, but those are lowball estimates. If you really had internet that slow, you’d likely experience a lot of buffering and slowdowns in 1080p resolution, and you would have to revert to a much lower video quality for a better viewing experience. Streaming 4K with 15Mbps would also be a struggle, since 4K takes up exponentially more bandwidth and data than 1080p does.

You should aim to get 200Mbps speeds or faster if you want to stream in Ultra HD 4K resolution.

Having a speed of 200Mbps allots 25Mbps per person (or streaming device) for up to eight people in your household. You can accommodate that many users without fear of endless buffering.

Ultra HD 4K resolution gives you stunning detail in every frame, making for awesome viewing as you settle in for a visual extravaganza like Avatar: The Way of Water. But that quality comes at a steep price, as 4K puts a much larger burden on your bandwidth and data usage.

Here’s a breakdown of the facts: 

• 4K needs 15Mbps minimum speeds for a single user to stream HBO Max smoothly—3X faster than what you need to stream video in Full HD 1080p resolution.
• Watching a two-hour film in 4K consumes a whopping 16GB per hour—4X the amount of data you use streaming video in HD.

Lots of people stream movies on HBO Max while playing on their phones or tablets at the same time. There are also plenty of households where multiple people regularly stream content on separate devices in different rooms. You want to make sure you have enough bandwidth to cover all those bases.

Get fiber or cable internet for the best 4K performance

Fiber internet is the fastest and most reliable internet you can get, so it’s also the best for streaming. Outages and slowdowns are much less common on fiber connections, and even baseline fiber plans typically come with excellent minimum speeds of 200Mbps or faster. You don’t ever have to worry about a buffering blowout ruining your Sex and the City marathon when you have enough bandwidth and then some.

Most cable internet plans work excellently for streaming, too. Although cable gets slower upload speeds than fiber, download speeds are often just as fast—ensuring smooth viewing even on less expensive cable internet plans.

Best internet plans for 4K HBO Max streaming

What if you have slow internet? Worry not—you can still enjoy HBO Max

Although we usually recommend fast speeds, you don’t need to be the fastest to enjoy HBO Max. You can have a budget cable or 5G internet plan (or even satellite internet) and still catch up on Succession or Euphoria. But you need to adjust your expectations.

HBO Max’s With Ads and Ad-Free plans both give you video resolution of up to 1080p, but depending on your speed, the platform may adjust to a lower resolution—either HD (720p) or SD (420p). Lower video quality doesn’t look as good, but it comes with some advantages: it saves you a ton of bandwidth and doesn’t put as much of a dent in your data.

Can you manually change your video settings on HBO Max?

HBO Max doesn’t have an option to manually adjust video settings on its app. The platform automatically sets the resolution, giving you the best-quality image available based on your network bandwidth and internet speeds.

Best internet plans for budget HBO Max users

Can you stream HBO Max with satellite internet?

Yes, you can stream HBO Max with satellite internet. However, satellite has much slower speeds and extremely limited data compared to other types of internet, so you may experience buffering issues on HBO Max more often.

Choose the best HBO Max plan

HBO Max offers a few plan options. The basic Ad-Free plan is the best for most people because it lets users stream on two devices at once and offers excellent 1080p video quality without requiring you to break the bank.

The Ultimate Ad Free plan is the better option for big households and streaming buffs. You get access to 4K resolution, and you can stream on up to four devices at once—twice as many as you get with any other plan.

HBO Max plan options

FAQ

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The first NFL game of the 2025-2026 season kicks off Thursday, Sept 4. at Lincoln Financial Field. But what’s the best way to find out whether the Philadelphia Eagles still have what it takes to defeat the Dallas Cowboys?

Watch in real time, of course! Tune in on NBC, the streaming service Peacock, or the NFL+ app.

What’s the best streaming service for other NFL games in 2025?

To catch every NFL game all season, you need both live TV and streaming services. The premier experience is YouTube TV with the NFL Sunday Ticket add-on and separate subscriptions for Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. But you’ll pay out the nose.

If you don’t need every single game, we recommend Paramount+ and Peacock for Sunday afternoon games and Amazon Prime Video for Thursday Night Football. You can watch anything that airs on Fox on Tubi, its free streaming service. ESPN+ lets you watch Monday Night Football, and the new ESPN streaming service may offer even more goodies.

You can also watch for free on the NFL+, but you’re limited to live local and prime-time games, highlights, and breaking news.

NFL 2025-26 broadcast partners

We’ll learn more about the rest of the NFL schedule on May 14, 2025, but we already know where the games will be aired. Here’s a quick list of the big broadcast partners:

NFL Kickoff game: NBC (Peacock)

Thursday Night Football: Amazon Prime Video 

Sunday afternoon games: split between CBS (Paramount+) and Fox (Tubi) with one alternate broadcast on Nickelodeon

Saturday afternoon games in December: NFL Network

Sunday Night Football: ESPN/ABC (ESPN+)

Monday Night Football doubleheaders: ESPN/ABC (ESPN+)

Doubleheader in week 18: ESPN/ABC (ESPN+)

International games: NFL Network, Paramount+

Black Friday game: Amazon Prime Video

Thanksgiving games: Fox, CBS, and NBC (Tubi, Paramount+, and Peacock)

Christmas Day: Netflix and Amazon Prime Video

If you’re a football fan signing up for a cable TV or live TV streaming service, look for the following channels:

• CBS
• ESPN
• FOX
• NBC
• NFL Network
• NFL RedZone
  
• Nickelodeon

You need a smart TV and a streaming device like a Chromecast, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or Apple TV, which support the streaming platforms that broadcast live NFL games. Of course, you also need an active subscription to your preferred streamer or a cable TV plan that gives you channels like CBS and ESPN.

If you’re looking forward to the next big game, the last thing you want is a spotty Wi-Fi connection buffering two seconds before a touchdown or lagging behind your neighbor’s stream.

Here are some troubleshooting measures you can take to ensure your Wi-Fi doesn’t make a fumble.

Replace your router

An out-of-date router means slow speeds and occasional restarts. Vamp up your equipment with a router featuring the Wi-Fi 6,Wi-Fi 6E, or Wi-Fi 7 standard. See our best routers guide for recommendations.

Move your router

If your router’s shoved into a back closet or cabinet, the signal is going to have trouble making a connection with your TV. Put the router in a centralized place, such as your living room or wherever you’ll plan to watch your favorite team.

Test your speeds

A speed test is the stethoscope of your Wi-Fi network, letting you know whether you’re getting the bandwidth you’re paying for from your internet provider. Run speed tests regularly (and download our speed test app!) to make sure your Wi-Fi isn’t under the weather by game time.

Download our free, easy-to-use speed test app for quick and reliable results.

Limit other devices

Sorry kids, you don’t need to watch Frozen II for the 15th time if it means the parents might risk missing a game-clinching field goal. When the big game is coming up, politely ask your children or roommates to cool it on excess app and browser usage—or kick everyone off the Wi-Fi using your router’s admin settings.

You need to watch TV and movies in 4K to get the ultimate experience, right? Or is it 8K now? What about UHD? Seriously, what a headache. With media companies racing to offer the best in online video, finding the highest quality picture is like aiming at a constantly moving target.

If you’re not up to speed with the cutting edge of online video, here’s what you need to know to stream 4K content from Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, YouTube TV, and similar services.

What is 4K streaming?

You stream in 4K when you watch any video with a 3,840 x 2,160 resolution distributed by Netflix, YouTube, HBO Max, and similar services. The video downloads in small chunks that are played immediately and then deleted.

Most streaming services currently offer 4K as the highest resolution option. In fact, most original content from services like Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ is available in 4K, and that trend is likely to continue.

But not all content is available in 4K. When streaming video, the resolution depends on the device, the service, your internet connection, and the video’s native resolution. There are a lot of different resolutions you’re likely to see, so take a look:

How much speed do you need for 4K streaming?

The internet speed you need to stream a 4K video depends on how it’s compressed and delivered across the internet—raw video is just huge, so it must be packed like a zip file before it’s sent to you. A rate of 25 Mbps is average for a single 4K stream, so if you have a 100 Mbps plan, the stream uses a quarter of your entire bandwidth.

But if three other household members decide to watch 4K content too, you’ll hit the plan’s 100 Mbps limit and leave nothing else for other devices and applications. We suggest a plan that’s faster than 100 Mbps if this scenario applies to you—a fast upload speed doesn’t matter in this case.

Bandwidth isn’t your only requirement, however.

How much data do you need for 4K streaming?

You download video data in small chunks each time you stream, so you can easily burn through a month’s worth of data if your internet provider enforces a monthly data cap, like Xfinity and Mediacom. You may end up with overage fees that cost more than the service you use to stream video.

So, how much data does a 4K stream use? Nearly 16 GB per hour if you stream from YouTube, but only 7 GB per hour if you stream from Netflix. Again, the amount of data you use depends on the platform, but you’ll use less data streaming a 4K movie than if you bought the movie and downloaded it to your device—Avengers: Endgame reaches up to a hefty 105 GB!

Here’s a chart with the average per-hour download amounts to give you an idea:

Satellite internet connections have especially restrictive data caps, so it’s often better to have a separate satellite TV provider to watch video. Most other connections give you enough data to stream on a fairly regular basis, but we suggest getting an unlimited data plan for true stress-free streaming.

For more information, see our guide to speed requirements for streaming services.

What else do you need for 4K streaming?

To stream 4K video, you need two things: a 4K device and a 4K streaming service.

4K streaming devices

First, you need devices that support 4K. We can split these devices into two groups: 4K output and 4K input.

4K input

You need a screen that supports a 4K resolution. It can be a smart TV, a desktop monitor, or a laptop screen. Most phones and tablets don’t have a resolution that high, but you can get a good 4K TV fairly cheap. Here are a few examples:

Once you have the equipment you need to stream and watch 4K video content, the next step is to get a compatible streaming service. Most have some 4K offerings, though these sometimes come at an extra cost.

For example, Netflix customers need the premium plan to watch 4K content. Amazon Prime Video has many 4K shows, but some are available only to rent or buy. Other services, such as Disney+, Hulu, and Starz, include their 4K content in standard monthly subscriptions.

Do you really need 4K?

You don’t need 4K, but it certainly looks a lot better than SD and HD resolutions. A 4K video has sharper edges, less noise, and better colors. If you want the ultimate viewing experience, 4K is the way to go—for now.

If you’re upgrading your TV or some other streaming device, you should definitely get something that supports 4K video. There’s enough 4K content out there already to make upgrading worth it, and most new TV shows and movies moving forward will be available in 4K.

On the other hand, if you’re on an internet plan with low data caps, you might not want to watch content in 4K, even if your device can handle it. Most streaming services automatically choose the highest resolution available based on your connection speed, but this can usually be manually set to a lower resolution, making your data last much longer.

What about 8K video?

4K video is still cutting-edge technology, but 8K is the next level. You can already find 8K televisions on the market, but there’s no need to upgrade just yet. Most streaming services don’t have 8K content, nor can you purchase and stream 8K content from Google Play and the iTunes Store.

However, YouTube does have some 8K content, but that’s mostly a handful of scenic landscape flyovers and peaceful nature videos. They’re great proof-of-concept videos but probably not worth shelling out several thousand dollars for new equipment.

Some newer game consoles like the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X also support 8K content, but they’re similarly limited by the lack of available 8K games and video.

Do you have the speed you need for 4K streaming?

If you’re having issues with 4K streaming but you don’t know the speeds you’re currently getting, run our speed test from a wired device. If your tested speed matches your plan, you may need a plan with a faster speed.

FAQ about 4K streaming

• How Much Speed Do I Need to Stream Video
• How Much Speed Do You Need for Live Video Game Streaming?
• How Much Speed Do I Need to Stream Music?
• Best Routers for Streaming

Disclaimer

The amount of internet speed you need for Prime Video depends on the devices you use and how many of them access the service simultaneously. Some devices support 4K Ultra HD playback, while others are locked to HD content. We’ll help you decipher everything so you can get the best experience in streaming Prime Video.

Is your Wi-Fi fast enough?

Take our speed test to see if your internet is fast enough to support your Paramount+ needs.

Prime Video speed basics

You don’t need a lot of bandwidth to stream 4K Ultra HD content from Prime Video. We know this from watching our wired Xbox Series X game console use up to 18Mbps to stream M3GAN in 4K Ultra HD (2160p).

So, based on that number, if we have five consoles streaming the same movie simultaneously, they would only use 90Mbps. Double that number to give every streamer breathing room, and you still only use up 180Mbps.

Live streams are a different story. Amazon states you need a minimum download speed of 5MB per second for HD broadcasts, which converts to 40Mbps. That’s 200Mbps total if five people watch live content simultaneously—double that to 400Mbps for breathing room.

But let’s get real here, folks. The chances of five common household members streaming 4K content or watching live events simultaneously are slim at best. Plus, not every device supports 4K playback, which we’ll get to in a bit.

Here are your minimum speed needs for Prime Video

Amazon doesn’t list recommended minimum speeds for content playback. Instead, it provides multiple support articles listing platforms with specific resolution limits. But we also discovered they’re not quite on the mark, as Amazon says web browsers support HD content but we can clearly stream movies in Full HD.

That said, the best we can do is decipher Amazon’s video quality settings based on its stated resolution limits to get an idea of the speeds you need. The only minimum speed requirements we actually dug up are for live broadcasts.

What do you need to stream 4K Ultra HD content on Prime Video?

First, let’s start with your internet speed. Based on our tests, a 4K video in Best mode streams at up to 18Mbps. If you have five people streaming simultaneously, that’s 90Mbps. Double that number to 180Mbps just in case.

But there’s more to the equation than choosing a fast internet plan. Web browsers don’t support Prime Video’s 4K playback. The Prime Video App for Windows, MacOS, iPhone, and several other platforms doesn’t support 4K video playback either. It’s all a little confusing honestly, even more so with Amazon’s Best/Better/Good Video Quality modes thrown into the mix.

Also, you need a Wi-Fi router that can handle multiple devices simultaneously. If it can only download chunks of video to a few devices at a time, imagine the traffic jam if you have five. Generally, local congestion and Wi-Fi range are your big streaming bottleneck, not your internet plan. We tested and listed the best Wi-Fi routers for streaming to give you some ideas.

Get fiber internet or a fast cable plan for the best 4K performance

We already suggested you should have at least 200Mbps if five people stream Prime Video in 4K simultaneously. Of course, it wouldn’t hurt to go a little higher, especially if someone needs to download a 10GB file quickly.

Fiber internet is the best connection you can get, but you don’t need gigabit internet—sorry, but that’s just overkill for most homes. Honestly, as a homeowner with five streamers and gamers in the house, 500Mbps internet fits the bill just right.

Best internet plans for 4K video streaming

What if you have slow internet? Never fear—you can still watch Prime Video

Five people streaming 4K content simultaneously use around 90Mbps. That’s not a lot, but we like to double that bandwidth just in case. You can feasibly get by with a 200Mbps plan, but you may want to factor in other things that will use your total bandwidth, like silent device downloads and so on.

Best internet plans for budget Prime Video users

Yes, you can stream Prime Video over a satellite internet connection, but do so sparingly since data is limited. Prime Video automatically adjusts the resolution and quality in most cases based on your device, screen, and connection, but you can manually adjust the video quality in a web browser and on some platforms.

Here’s how to adjust the video resolution for Prime Video

Despite what you may read elsewhere, you can’t adjust the video resolution. Switching the stream between the four quality modes doesn’t convert a Full HD video into an HD one. You’re definitely not going to squeeze out 4K streaming by selecting the Best video quality mode on a device or screen that only supports Full HD. Nope. Not happening.

For example, when we tested M3GAN playback on an iPhone (which has a weird 2,778 x 1,284 screen resolution), the movie remained in HD resolution no matter what visual quality setting we used—even when we disabled the Use Highest Quality on Wi-Fi feature. But we did notice a clear drop in the stream’s framerate and fidelity.

In other words, the Best mode produced a sharp image and fluid motions, while the Data Saver mode was less sharp and movements were less smooth. But you’ll never see a higher video resolution until Amazon updates the Prime Video App with support for Full HD video playback or better.

In most cases, you can’t manually adjust the video quality anyway (despite what other guides tell you). We noticed a few exceptions, however, in desktop web browsers and the apps for iPhone and iPad. We presume Amazon is quietly removing the video quality setting on devices that don’t use cellular data.

In a web browser:

Step 1: Start the video.

Step 2: Move the mouse cursor over the video to activate the overlay.

Step 3: Click on the Gear icon.

Step 4: Select Best, Better, or Good on the drop-down Video Quality menu.

In the Prime Video App:

Step 1: Tap on your profile icon.

Step 2: Tap on the gear icon.

Step 3: Tap on Streaming & Downloading.

Step 4: Tap on Streaming Quality.

Step 5: Select Best, Better, Good, or Data Saver*.

* The Data Saver mode presumably only appears on devices that use cellular data, like smartphones and 5G-capable tablets.

Choose the best Prime Video plan

You can get Prime Video two ways: for free if you subscribe to Amazon Prime, or as a standalone streaming service if you don’t.

The chart is based on streaming and downloading content from one account. Here are the major differences between the full Standard and Mobile plans:

Mobile Edition subscribers can upgrade to the full Standard Edition plan to stream and download more content. Currently, Prime Video Mobile Edition is not offered in the US.

FAQ about Prime Video

Disclaimers

HBO Max is perfect for movie lovers and fans of HBO’s original shows and movies. There are some excellent titles that you just can’t find anywhere else, like Game of Thrones, Last Week Tonight, and Westworld. You can also tap into Discovery’s ambient TV classics like House Hunters and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, perfect for those nights when you just want to turn off your brain or do the dishes with the TV on.

Netflix has a greater overall selection of content with must-see originals of its own, including The Witcher, Orange Is the New Black, Stranger Things, and Black Mirror. The OG streaming service also has a constantly rotating library of films and shows, so you always have something new to watch. The platform also has a lot of foreign films you can’t find anywhere else.

This is a tough comparison because both services offer such great exclusives. If you have to choose, go with HBO Max. It’s a slightly better overall choice simply for the huge on-demand library and wide variety of shows and movies.

HBO Max packages

HBO Max has a few plans to choose from, with basically the same features and a similar price as Netflix’s options. There’s budget-friendly plan with ads, a standard plan for ad-free streaming, and the Ultimate plan that gives you more downloads, more devices to stream from, and access to 4K viewing.

Cable packages that include HBO Max

Some cable packages include HBO at no extra cost. A cable package is a great way to get streaming access to HBO without paying extra monthly fees. Here are some cable packages that include HBO:

• Cox Contour Ultimate
• Spectrum Silver
• Xfinity Digital Premier

Netflix packages

With Netflix, you’ll need to decide whether you want to spring for the Premium subscription—with 4K content and up to four simultaneous streams—or stick with Standard (the most popular subscription). We recommend skipping the Standard with Ads plan entirely because ads are no fun these days. Plus, it allows for streaming on only a single device, which can get frustrating.

TV shows and movies

HBO Max and Netflix both have some outstanding shows and movies that you can’t find anywhere else. How can you choose?

On-demand shows and movies

HBO Max and Netflix are both on-demand services, so that’s where the bulk of the goodies are at. The main difference is that HBO Max does offer a semi-live TV experience, since new episodes are generally available to stream right when they air on the cable channel.

HBO Max

While it isn’t normally considered a livestreaming service, HBO Max allows you to catch new episodes of shows as they air. The only exceptions to this are shows that are filmed live, like Last Week Tonight and Real Time with Bill Maher. These episodes are usually available to stream within 24 hours of when they air live.

Netflix

Netflix doesn’t offer live TV programming—everything is available on-demand. And that’s just fine with us! But depending on what you’re into, that could start to feel boring after a while.

Compatible devices

You can get Netflix and HBO Max on pretty much everything, including popular choices like Apple TV, Roku, and Chromecast. Most users won’t have any trouble finding a device for either service.

Best streaming devices

The device you stream on can be just as important as the service itself. That’s because apps and interfaces vary from one platform to another, so Netflix on an Apple TV may look a bit different from Netflix on another device.

For the best all-around experience, we recommend Apple TV. Nearly every streaming service supports it, so you should be covered with all your streaming services. Plus, you get access to the iTunes Store, which is a great alternative for shows and movies that aren’t available to stream. For future-proofing purposes, we’re fans of the Apple TV 4K.

Resolution and quality

HBO Max and Netflix provide up to 4K streaming quality, but you have to spring for the deluxe, $20.99 per month plans to get video that good. With 4K, your picture is about four times sharper than 1080p—that’s 24 times sharper than a DVD. With TVs getting larger every year, 4K can make for a noticeably better picture.

However, 4K also uses up a ton more data, and most people will be perfectly happy with the 1080p video quality available on HBO Max and Netflix’s standard ad-free plans.

Recommended internet speed

Fast internet is vital to a good streaming experience. You’ll get less buffering on your shows, and it can have a major impact on streaming quality as well (like in the case of HBO Max).

HBO Max recommends at least 5 Mbps per user for streaming reliably.

Netflix recommends these minimum speeds:

• 3 Mbps per user for SD
• 5 Mbps per user for HD
• 25 Mbps per user for 4K

Keep in mind that these are minimum speeds for one instance of streaming. So if you and your kids want to watch different shows, make sure you have enough internet speed (and the right Netflix package) to support multiple streams.

Pros and cons

Why choose just one?

HBO Max and Netflix both offer excellent streaming platforms with outstanding original programming, but the content is totally different. This makes choosing just one much harder. For that reason, we recommend grabbing both if you can swing it. That way you won’t miss out on any of the watercooler conversations about who did what on TV.

FAQ about HBO and Netflix

For a positive viewing experience, streaming video needs fast internet. Fortunately, Hulu is one of the more forgiving services, recommending at least 16Mbps speeds to take advantage of everything the service has to offer.

Of course, there’s more to an internet connection than just download speed, but that’s a good place to start if you’re looking for the best internet connection for watching shows on Hulu.

Is your internet connection fast enough for Hulu?

Take our speed test to see if your connection is fast enough to get the most out of your viewing experience.

What download speed do I need to watch Hulu?

Hulu was one of the first big streaming platforms and is accessible through either its website or through its apps, which are available (and often pre-installed) on many smart TVs and other devices.

All Hulu’s minimum recommended speeds are below the FCC’s threshold for broadband internet, which is currently 25Mbps. So anyone with a broadband connection should have more than enough speed to watch anything on the platform.

It’s worth noting that most streaming services recommend 25Mbps as the bare minimum speed for 4K content, so Hulu is a notable outlier. Although it is encouraging that Hulu is confident enough in its service to claim its subscribers can have a good 4K viewing experience at these lower speeds, we suggest giving yourself some wiggle room with a speed of at least 25Mbps.

This brings us to another important point that these recommendations are for a single device. If you stream on multiple devices simultaneously, you need enough total speed on your connection for each device. So if you’re on the couch watching Letterkenny in 4K while two other people are watching live shows in other rooms, you need a connection with download speeds of at least 32Mbps to watch without interruption.

Get low-latency fiber or cable for live content

One aspect of internet speed that people often don’t consider is latency, or the delay between your device and the remote server that causes lag. Latency has the biggest impact on anything happening in real time, such as online games or video chat. Latency can also be an issue when watching live TV, causing the stream to pause, skip, or buffer while you try to watch.

Fiber and cable connections usually offer the lowest latency for fans of live television. They’re also some of the most stable connections, which means you don’t have to worry about your bandwidth going up and down, potentially dropping below minimum requirements for smooth video playback.

Best internet plans for Hulu

A reliable, low-cost fiber connection is the best choice if you have that option in your area. Google Fiber is an excellent pick, though if the most intensive activity you do is watching Hulu, you can easily get by on an even cheaper fiber plan from a different provider like AT&T—or a cable plan like those from Xfinity or Spectrum.

With relatively low requirements, Hulu gives viewers a lot of flexibility to shop around for the best deals on home internet connections. While costs most likely are your main concern, you also want to avoid data caps, which video content can eat up quickly.

Hulu viewers should avoid data caps

Data caps are unpopular in general, but they specifically pose problems if you use streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. Video uses more data than almost any other online activity, especially when watching in higher resolutions like 4K. It’s easy to lose track of how much data you have and run up huge overage charges when you’re burning through several megabytes every second.

The best way to avoid racking up additional charges on your monthly bill is to choose an internet plan that offers unlimited data. These unlimited plans are most common in wired connections like cable and fiber, though some wireless plans also offer unlimited data. In general, however, wireless plans usually have much lower data caps, so make sure you read the fine print before you sign up to a plan that doesn’t meet your needs.

If you don’t have any unlimited data plans available in your area, look for the plans with the highest data caps. Plans with over 1,000GB of data per month are usually workable, though you’d be surprised how fast you can burn through a terabyte of data with a couple of kids watching Bluey on repeat on their iPads.

Download Hulu shows to save on data

One way to get around data caps is to download shows onto your device rather than streaming them. Downloading uses roughly the same amount of data as streaming, but you only have to download a show once, after which you can watch it as much as you want without using any additional data. Streaming a show essentially downloads it again each time you turn it on, so this can be a good strategy for saving data if you have shows that you go back and watch over and over again.

You can also download shows while you’re out and about in an area with public Wi-Fi, which means you don’t have to use your data at all. Public Wi-Fi isn’t usually the fastest connection, so this works best if you’re going to be somewhere for a while, like working from a coffee shop or waiting at an airport. If you’re downloading to a phone, it’s also a good idea to double-check that you’re connected to Wi-Fi and not on your normal cellular connection, or you’ll just end up burning through your phone data, which defeats the whole purpose.

Unfortunately, downloading Hulu content is now restricted to Hulu’s No Ads plans, so those on the cheaper ad-supported plans don’t have this option. Of course, if you’re on an internet plan with restrictive data caps, it might be cheaper to upgrade your Hulu subscription, rather than paying for additional data every month.

How to watch Hulu in rural areas

Streaming video can be particularly challenging in remote areas. Rural internet providers often have low speeds and restrictive data caps—both of which are terrible for streaming services like Hulu.

If you’re looking for a rural internet plan that can handle Hulu and similar services, you probably want to look at wired plans like DSL first. Although not as fast as fiber or cable, DSL offers reliable connections, and most DSL providers offer speeds fast enough to meet Hulu’s minimum requirements.

If DSL isn’t an option in your area, 4G and 5G home internet plans are usually the next best option. Speeds are a bit more variable for these plans, but most providers offer speeds above 25Mbps, which should be plenty. But  watch out for data caps, which quickly evaporate with any regular TV watching.

Satellite internet is the least desirable choice for watching video, but you can make it work if you have to. Starlink is by far the best choice, as its data plans are the least restrictive compared to the competition. HughesNet also offers “Bonus Zone” data in the middle of the night that doesn’t count against your normal data caps. If you have a Hulu subscription that allows you to download videos, downloading shows after 2 a.m. to watch the next day saves on data, though it doesn’t do much for your sleep schedule.

The bottom line: Hulu gives you a lot of flexibility in your internet plan

Hulu has reasonable bandwidth requirements compared to other streaming services, so you don’t need to shell out for the most cutting-edge internet plan just to watch your favorite shows. Data is still a big issue, so internet plans without data caps definitely win over limited ones. Otherwise, you don’t have much to worry about from Hulu, so you’re free to choose a plan that fits your budget and the other needs of your household.