Can your home network replace DSTV Dish with WiFi Streaming services? Is your internet up to the task? Can it access streaming services like Netflix or ShowMax without buffering? If you are that confident about your home WiFi network then it is safe to take down your DSTV dish and Decoder and start taking back control of the contents you wish to watch whenever you want.

With so many wifi streaming services and the original content library they host, you won’t regret freeing yourself from paying so much for a service full of repeats. When you have an excellent home internet connection such as LTE-A, 5G, or Fibre you’ll never have to worry about leaving your favorite shows behind. You can still get most of the popular shows on DSTV from ShowMax or DSTV Now app. The money you are spending monthly can be reinvested on streaming platforms such as DSTV Stream, Netflix, ShowMax, Amazon Prime, Apple Original, Hulu, HBOMax, and many other streaming services.

Are you worried about your sports channels on Supersports? Well just because you took down the Dish and decoder doesn’t mean there’s no other way to access DSTV Live content. DSTV Now is an online streaming service for watching all DSTV contents according to the active package you are subscribed to. There’s a digital subscription for this service. Are you ready to prepare your home network to be able to handle your 1080p/4k streaming services without buffering? We will share a few tips to improve your WiFi Streaming services.

How old is your WiFi router?

To help your home internet cope with the new network demand from WiFi streaming services, you’ll need to ensure that your router is up to the task. A router that is over 5 years or more will need a serious upgrade. Remember you won’t be using the router for streaming only, there are so many WiFi devices these days such as phones and smart home devices. To accommodate multiple connected devices you need a router that supports MU-MIMO, QoS, Beamforming and Band Steering.

Here is why you need the latest types of routers that are powerful. Old routers are single band 2.4Ghz and transmit data to devices one-by-one causing long buffering and slow connections. So having a router with MU-MIMO technology helps the router to send streams of data to a lot of devices without any data loss or lagging.

Do you have enough internet speeds?

Ok, so you have a fancy high-speed router with all the latest cool features. You are definitely sure that you have everything all sorted. Do you have enough bandwidth to binge-watch all your favorite series and movies? Having good quality high-speed data complemented by a high-performance router will leave you entertained for a lifetime. Do a quick speed test to determine if the speed you are getting will be enough for your streaming needs. The minimum recommended WiFi speed from Netflix is 5Mbps when watching HD content. This is not the best quality. If you want Cristal clear content like 4k content, you’ll need at least an internet speed of 25Mbps. So a home with more than 2 smart TVs, gaming consoles, online schooling we recommend at least 100Mbps speed. A bachelor serial gamer can get away with a 50Mbps fibre line.

Create a Whole Home WiFi Experience

Is your internet router far from your smart TV? When you have good internet speed and a great router but still experience endless buffering, you’ll need to extend your WiFi range to reach the TV. We use a Mesh WiFi system to bridge the gap between your main router and your smart home devices. Mesh WiFi we highly recommend it as it is the simplest and perfect solution for creating a whole-home WiFi network. Creating such a WiFi network for your home means you will have internet access even further than you are used to within your home.

Network Cables are still the most reliable

Yes, network cables are still the most reliable connectivity to ever exist. As much as we preach and promote wireless solutions that require no wires to connect. There comes a time when the best internet connection to eliminate endless buffering is through a LAN cable. Some home designs are totally not suitable for running cables but if your house allows it then just wire it. Plus an added benefit of wiring which WiFi can never take away is the lack of interference and fast speeds. When you do cabling for your home, CAT 6 cable is much better. You can extend your WiFi with access points that are wired and mounted onto your ceiling or wall.

For a tailored solution for improving your home WiFi, the Local IT Guy is available to assist you. Just tell us when we must come to your home to inspect possible solutions.

We are available via phone at 082 670 3622 / 087 700 8761. Request our services for a call back via chatbox.

Disclaimar: The article is not intended to advice you to cancel your DSTV subscription. We are giving you options of using DSTV without the Dish and Decoder using streaming services. When you have an active DSTV account you can login to DSTV Now app to continue watching your favourite shows using your home internet. Don’t cancel your DSTV if you still want to watch your normal DSTV programming.

Updated: 19/09/2024 @ 10:13 In Sandton, Gauteng, South Africa