What is DSTV-Now ? How To Activate & Watch DSTV on Tablet, Smartphone or Laptop without Decoder

What is DSTV-Now ? How To Activate & Watch DSTV on Tablet, Smartphone or Laptop without Decoder

How To Watch DSTV-Now on Laptop, Smartphone or Tablet without Decoder

South Africa – If you are familiar with DSTv, you would know that the only way to watch the shows over the last 25 years since 1995 was through a DSTv decoder and satellite dish installed at your home. However, things have changed for the better. MultiChoice launched DSTV Now at a press conference in August 2020. DSTV Now is a dishless streaming service that allows you watch DSTv channels online without the need to install a satellite dish and decoder. It opens a lot of options for existing customers as well as a whole new market which wasn’t catered for over the past two decades. These are millions of people who may have wanted to watch DSTv but couldn’t afford it due to hardware installation costs or were inconvenienced by the immobile nature of the hardware as well as the size of the stationery equipment which requires a permanent installation. Installing the equipment, configuring the system and orientation is also a complex task which requires a professional or skilled technician. Even more, the performance of your DSTv does not only depend on the quality of installation, it also depends on the quality of equipment and materials used, so you have to get these steps right before you enjoy your DSTv. Some DIY customers do the installation themselves. Think about the tools and work you need to install your DSTv – ladders to climb up the roof, screwdrivers, steel drill bits, masonry drill bits, hammer, digital signal detector, current tester, wrench, compass, spirit level and extension cord. The work is time consuming unless the installation is done for you.

With DSTv Now, there is no time consuming work or installation needed before you start enjoying your satellite TV service. MultiChoice is bringing all its shows to your portable device. All you need is an internet-enabled device such as a Smartphone, tablet, laptop, gaming console, desktop PC or smart TV to watch your favourite DSTV channels. Download and install the DSTv Now application on your device. Your device and operating system must be compatible with the application. Note that DSTV-Now is now branded as DSTV. This is different from the MyDSTv App which is used to manage your DSTv subscriptions. You might not see the DSTV-Now app on your Apple or Google Play store if your country is not supported. Currently, the service is only available in South Africa. For those with laptops and Desktop PC, you can install DSTV-Now on your Windows OS. All Microsoft Windows operating systems are supported from Windows 7 to 11, including Windows Surface Pro. The app can also be downloaded, installed and operated via an Android Emulator such as Noxplayer, BlueStacks and LD-Player. When using an Emulator, You will need to download and install the Android Emulator on your PC first, and then search DSTV-Now on Google Play within your Emulator.

How Do I Activate DSTv-Now?

Activating DSTV-Now is a breeze. Initially just after its launch, the app was restricted to DSTV subscribers and account holders. You need to register an account with DSTv to get access to full DSTV Packages available to those with a decoder and satellite dish. Either your account ID number, smartcard number or customer number is required in order to get access to full subscription packages. However, for non-subscribers and those without a DSTv account, there is Free DSTv-Now which only airs a few channels. As of now, there are only 13 channels in the Free DSTv-Now app. These include CNN, BBC, SkyNews, SABC News, PBS Kids among others. The application is free to download and install for everyone, but for those who want to access the subscription packages, you will be required to pay the applicable DSTv monthly subscription fee. There are no extra charges or fees to watch DSTv online.

To activate DSTv-Now, follow the steps below:

First, make sure that you have high speed uncapped internet on your device. An unlimited monthly data plan is recommended over prepaid top-up bundles. An uninterrupted connection ensures a smooth watching experience free from freeze-ups and internet lags. DSTV-Now requires minimum internet speeds of 4MB per second but 10MB per second and higher will give you the best experience. Remember that just like any online streaming service (e.g. Netflix), the cost of data usage will be your own responsibility taken care of by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). The DSTv Subscription Packages do not include your data costs.

Head over to the DSTV-Now subdomain on your browser and sign up for an account. There are two options. Start by filling in the registration form with your email address, phone number and password to create your account or start by choosing your DSTv-Now Streaming Package, and then follow through the sign-up process. Create your account details, log into the account and set up your payment method. Purchase your subscription and get access to your TV channels.

Besides your DSTv Subscription Packages, you can also add other streaming services like Showmax, Box Office and CatchUp, including third party services like Netflix. Your DSTv shows can be downloaded and saved on CatchUp for offline viewing.

How To Watch DSTv on your Mobile Phone without Decoder

DSTV-Now for Android:

The next step after registering and activating your DSTV-Now Streaming Account is installing the app on your smartphone or tablet. Go to Google Play Store on your device and install the DSTV App. Sign in with your DSTv registration credentials. Select your Streaming Package, set up your payment, make an order and start watching your subscribed TV channels. Google Play support for smartphone, tablet and Android TV is currently restricted to South Africa.

DSTv-Now on Google Play store

DSTV-Now APK:

Alternatively, you can download the Android APK file from the internet and install it on your Android smartphone or tablet. APK files can be downloaded from the sites below:

Size 38.5 MB APK-Pure

Size 31.11 MB Huawei 245 APK

19.6 MB Softonic Bluestacks APK

To install the APK file on your Android smartphone or tablet, do the following: On your Home screen, go [Settings]. Scroll down and click [Security]. Activate [Unknown Devices] by sliding the button to the right so that it changes from grey to torquoise green. Go to your mobile web browser and download the APK file to your smartphone from one of the websites listed above. Locate the APK file, double click and follow the installation prompts.

DSTV-Now for iPhone:

On your iPhone or iPad, visit the Apple Store and install the DSTV App. Sign in with your DSTv registration credentials. Select your Streaming Package, set up your payment, make an order and start watching your subscribed TV channels.

DSTv-Now on Apple Store

How To Watch DSTv on your Laptop/Computer without Decoder

DSTV-Now for PC: (Using Android Emulator for Windows)

App Install via Google Play Store:

You can watch your MultiChoice Satellite TV shows on your Desktop PC or laptop. One of the ways to do this is installing the DSTv-Now APK file on your computer. You will need an Android Emulator such as NoxPlayer, Bluestacks or  LDPlayer to run the Android system on your computer. Basically, an Emulator allows you to run Android Apps on your computer. Download the Android Emulator from the internet and install it on your PC. This is a big EXE file so you need a lot of space on your computer to run the program.

Noxplayer is 378MB in size, Download

LDPlayer is 462MB in size, Download

BlueStacks is 580MB in size, Download

Noxplayer is more streamlined, much faster and better performing than BlueStacks. You should try LDPlayer by yourself to see how it performs, but NoxPlayer has a smaller EXE file which won’t consume your data. BlueStacks has the biggest file, it tends to be bloated, cumbersome and slow.

Download the Android Emulator from the internet on to your PC. In  this case, we will be downloading NoxPlayer. Locate and double-click the EXE file in your download folder and follow the installation prompts.

Once the installation is complete, open Noxplayer. On the Home screen, you should see the Google Play store search bar. Click the search bar, and it will take you to the Google Play Store as shown in the screenshots. Type in “DSTV Now App” in the Google Search bar, then click Go or press Enter on your keyboard. In the search results, look for DSTv Google Play store. Click the link and it should take you to the application. Install the app on your NoxPlayer as you would on your smartphone by clicking [Install]. Notice that in the screenshot below, Google Play says “Your device isn’t compatible with this version”. When you see this notification on the Play store, it means your device is using an outdated/unsupported Android OS and it must be upgraded to the latest version. It’s also important to update your NoxPlayer to the latest version to sort out compatibility issues. As shown in the screenshots, NoxPlayer Version 6.6.0.0 has been installed and it’s running an older Android 5 operating system which is not supported by Google Play.

Step 1 – Install and Open NoxPlayer on your Windows PC

Step 2 – On the NoxPlayer Home Screen, Click the Search Bar

Step 3 – Type in “DSTV Now App” in the Google Search Bar

Step 4 – In the Search Results, Select and Click the Results/Link “DSTV Google Play Link”

Step 5 – If You are on a Supported Version of Android OS and Updated NoxPlayer you shouldn’t see this notice “Your device isn’t compatible with this version”

Direct APK Install on NoxPlayer:

If the above method (Google Play Install) doesn’t work, you should try installing the DSTv-Now Android APK file directly on NoxPlayer.

1. Download the APK file from the internet into a folder on your computer.
2. Open NoxPlayer.
3. On the right side of your Emulator, there is a column menu with tabs. Look for the [Apk Install] icon. Double-click the icon to open the folder search window. Locate and select your APK file on the computer then click [Open] on the bottom of the folder search window. This will prompt the file installation process. NoxPlayer will execute the APK file, parsing and installing the app instantly on your Emulator. You should see the DSTv icon on the Emulator screen. Double-click the App icon to run DSTV online.

Step 1 – Click the Tab “Apk Install” Circled in Yellow on the Right Column Menu of your NoxPlayer Screen

Step 2 – A Folder Search Window will Pop up after Clicking [Apk Install]

Step 3 – Locate the APK File on your Computer and Click [Open] at the Bottom of the Window.

Step 4 – Software Begins Parsing the System and Executing APK file

Step 5 – Installation of APK File  is Complete

Step 6 – Hooray! DSTV app has been installed on your NoxPlayer. You can see the icon on the screen circled with a yellow rectangle.

IPTV Technology (Streaming Media Players)

Video streaming apps and players make use of IPTV technology, allowing TV content to be streamed via the internet. The IPTV service provider has to make software applications (streaming media player) for all the platforms envisaged – e.g. Android, IOS, Windows PC, MacOS and Smart TV (Apple TV set-top box , Amazon Fire TV set-top box or plug-in USB stick, Android TV set-top box and Google Chromecast USB stick). A streaming media player is available in four forms – as a set-top TV box, wireless plug-in USB stick, digital media player or browser-based player.

Alternatively, instead of making their own streaming media player, the IPTV service provider can make their streaming applications compatible with third-party media players that can be installed on your laptop or computer. There are lots of IPTV media players that can stream video and TV on your Windows PC. These include the well-known VLC Media Player, 5KPlayer, My-IPTV Player, Kodi, Free TV Player, Simple TV, ProgTV, IPTV, GSE Smart IPTV, OTTPlayer, Plex, MyIPTV, Perfect Player, IPTV Smarters, TiviMate and IP-TV Player. To use these media players for TV streaming, you are required to enter the service provider’s IPTV portal URL, logins and MAC address.