Intensive television advertising on the channels ProSieben and Sat1 focuses German Video on Demand customers primarily on one platform: Maxdome. For some years now, the platform has been appearing again and again as an all-rounder when it comes to video streaming and is busy catching customers. We have dealt with the provider and say exactly what customers can expect there. Is Maxdome really the saviour on the German Video on Demand market or is it just a streaming platform that in the end is like any other? We did the test.
Our experiences at a glance
In the first part of our check we deal extensively with the company. At this point, we would like to recommend that you only register with a provider that you consider to be serious and professional. Because also in the range of the VoD portals there can be black sheep, which want to enrich themselves only at the money of the paying customers and offer for it no or only little increase in value.
However, Maxdome is basically to be regarded as very serious. The company belongs to ProSiebenSat1 Media SE, which is also responsible for the established German television channels ProSieben, Sat1 and Kabel 1. In addition, more and more special-interest channels such as kabel eins classics and sixx are being provided by this group. At Maxdome, we therefore assume that there will basically be a great deal of content available from these TV stations.
Maxdome was originally founded in 2006, making it the first German Straming provider to really cause a stir. At that time the portal was still a project of Kirch New Media, who wanted to establish a streaming service in cooperation with ProSiebenSat1 Media SE. Later, the company bought up the company completely and moved away from the actual idea of streaming football matches via Maxdome. Through direct contact with ProSiebenSat1 Media SE, we can be sure that this is not fraud. Since Maxdome has obviously been integrated into the company’s portfolio, the company would not do itself any favours by committing widespread fraud and illegally enriching itself with customer funds. We can also assume that the offer will be refined and improved again and again. ProSiebenSat1 Media SE would like to establish Maxdome in Germany, which in our opinion works very well up to this point.
Check: Fraud or not?
We also did a short Internet search on Maxdome to see what other customers say and how the provider was rated in terms of seriousness. If there were problems with the service, they were solved quickly and easily. Larger complaints were only in rare cases and on different topics. We therefore assume that we can speak of individual cases here. These should not occur in this or a similar form. If there should be problems and the customer support does not react for whatever reason exemplary and in such a way, how it would be to be expected, then you should use the social media. Simply write a private message to Maxdome on Facebook and describe your problem. This way Maxdome can see how close the company is to its customers. Normally this leads to a quick agreement. If this doesn’t help either, we recommend posting publicly to the Facebook Timeline.
The Maxdome offer
For our second part of the test it is mainly about the offer Maxdome makes to its customers. We will discuss special characteristics and particularities that we consider necessary to classify and categorize the provider in the Video on Demand segment. To do this, we are gradually grazing through various aspects.
By the way: At Betrugscheck.com we always adhere exactly to this structure when testing Video on Demand portals. This enables you, the reader, to get a better overview of the individual streaming platforms and to compare individual portals. Therefore, take a look at alternatives and see what differences there are between the individual offers.
Movies and series on Maxdome
Maxdome has one of the largest offers of various films and series on the VoD market. We have taken a close look at the reviews and reviews of other portals and tried to find out how big the total offer really is there. From Maxdome itself there is unfortunately no information about how much content is actually available on the pages. After our intensive research we assume that there are currently more than 60,000 different titles available.
Maxdome distinguishes between flatrate offers and films and series in single retrieval. In concrete terms, this means that the flat rate does not include all titles that are basically available. Some good films and series have to be purchased manually. But the offer consists of about the same number of series as films. All in all, a good mixture was found between the genres, with which we can identify very well. There is a great deal of high-quality content from the fields of comedy and documentaries, which we would not like to withhold from you if you gave us a negative rating. It should be noted that there is a lot of comedy content available that can otherwise be seen on the television channels of ProSiebenSat1 Media SE. Sports programmes can also be seen here. This means that Maxdome, like Netflix, for example, is not solely geared towards entertainment in the classic sense. The result is a very rich and complete product with which we are extremely satisfied in our test.
As already mentioned, we are convinced by the selection of films and series. There is high-quality content, in between there are also older series and films that will surely find their audience. Maxdome seems to focus very much on mass, but doesn’t ignore the “class”. But which movies belong to the flatrate subscription and where a purchase is unfortunately necessary can’t be easily classified. Similar to Amazon Instant Video, this depends on the licenses Maxdome has. We would like to recommend to search the offer individually to find out if Maxdome meets your wishes and ideas.
Picture and sound quality
At Maxdome, customers receive their desired content either in standard SD quality or in HD quality on request. We would like to point out that a better Internet connection is always needed to stream HD content. In addition, not all devices on which the mobile app is available may be able to play HD content. If you want to make sure you can watch HD movies and series, you should find out which device you need to enjoy the full splendour of the titles.
Maxdome is a true pioneer in terms of the sound quality it delivers. For some time now it has been possible to watch certain films and series in Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. According to the company, this brings real cinema enjoyment into the living room. We are talking about a “cinematic sound experience”, which we can fully support according to our own tests. Here Maxdome hasn’t been lumpen and brings in some newer movies and series in an impressive sound quality, which is expressed throughout the entire home entertainment system. This makes Maxdome the first provider in German-speaking countries to swear by such high sound quality.
Prices at Maxdome
The offer contains, as already mentioned, two parts. On the one hand there is a flatrate area. In addition, the store is available, in which films and series as well as live events are displayed for individual retrieval. These are a total of over 60,000 feature films and series episodes, which customers can then watch. They are also available in HD quality. In terms of price, the content is in the average range. It starts at 3.99 euros. Towards the top, the fees are almost open, since high-quality content in better quality is usually also significantly more expensive. Customers can then decide whether they want to buy films and series or just rent them. The rental fees are calculated per view, i.e. per view of the content. With other providers, it is sometimes possible to view borrowed content for 24 hours as often as you like. Unfortunately this is not possible here. However, the rental fees are much lower than, for example, a cinema ticket. Therefore the renting of Maxdome is worthwhile in our opinion in any case.
When buying movies and series, you can download them directly from Maxdome and save them on your computer. Then you have the possibility to view these contents as often as you want legally. The prices for this are only slightly lower than for a DVD or a Blue-Ray. In our opinion, this is also perfectly within the scope of today’s Video on Demand era.
We would like to take another look at the flatrate model. Contrary to our expectations, live events are unfortunately not included. Instead, there are more than 50,000 movies and episodes, which can be watched for free at any time. For the Flatrate offer Maxdome requires usual market 7.99 euro. That is, as we find, on the average.
Bonus actions and test account
If you would like to convince yourself of the offer, then you can register free of charge. While the single retrieval for movies and series is free to use anyway (you only have to pay if you want to borrow or download content) there is the possibility to create a free test account. You can then use this account for 30 days and find out for yourself whether Maxdome’s flat rate offer is right for you. But don’t forget to cancel within 14 days. Otherwise, your account will continue to run and will be transformed into a paid user account for which you will have to pay for the next month. The cancellation for real accounts is also always possible until 14 days before the end of a month and is then valid until the next month.
Connection requirements for Maxdome
To use Maxdome from your computer you need to download the Mircosoft Silverlight Player. This is the only way to stream HD content. This is common practice with the providers. Unlike many other programs, however, this player does not annoy with constant updates and is expressly only used for video transmission on the Internet.
In order to be able to use the offer best the following conditions are given. Maxdome requires at least one DSL 2000 connection. Then films and series should be able to be streamed directly without having to wait for the titles to load. In order to stream in HD quality, however, a connection with at least 6 MBit per second must exist.
Customer Service
Unfortunately Maxdome does not have a phone number or live chat. Therefore it is not possible to contact employees directly. In our test, the answer we received from customer service was still with us within a few hours. All our questions were answered reliably and safely.
The website of Maxdome
The website has a very clear structure. It also allowed us to quickly and easily find all the content we were looking for in our test. New films and series, which we didn’t know before but which fit our wishes, were also found quickly. Categories such as “most viewed films” also support us. All in all, we are very impressed with Maxdome’s website and would like to recommend it to anyone who is interested in something new that they may not have known before.
Apps and more
Maxdome can easily be accessed from Smart TV. Apps are already pre-installed on various TV sets. There are also apps on Blue Ray Plaern. Set of top boxes and game consoles. After our short overview we are sure that almost all devices that are currently used by a large number of people can install a mobile app. Programs for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs are also available. All in all Maxdome makes a very professional impression here.
Conclusion on Maxdome
The only problem with Maxdome in the test was the lack of telephone and live chat support. All other aspects turned out to our complete satisfaction. Maxdome offers a rich and complete program, which is available at reasonable prices on nearly all devices. We therefore recommend that you simply create a free test account and try out how to get along with the software and the Video on Demand provider. We give Maxdome the full rating!