LagFilms - Ooops - SnagFilms Buffs Your Android Film Experience

SnagFilms, an indie movie streamer, has been around a while but has only been available on Android since December 2011. Being a huge fan of movies and documentaries, the more obscure the better, I finally got around to downloading this app onto my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and gave it a whirl.

I was very excited to acquire some free media content for my Android tablet, and was even more so once I'd opened the app. Both the loading and menu screen were pleasing and nicely polished, with a 3D carousel showcasing a great choice of films and a further scrolling menu beneath with more films and documentaries to choose from.

There are three ways to refine your search; you can either browse by category (the chosen category is displayed on the carousel menu), you can search a specific title or you can refer to 'My Films' (an area where your chosen films are saved).

SnagFilms seemed a very appropriate name for this video streaming service, as once I delved in further I found there to be lots of snags that detracted from my overall enjoyment. The first problem I ran into was infuriating. I chose a film and sat back ready to watch, only for the film to refuse to load. This happened with numerous titles, it was all rather hit and miss.

Eventually I found one a film that appealed to me that would actually play. This is the point where the fun got far less fun. If more than five minutes went by without lagging, sound distortion or buffering I was lucky, although I persevered and found that I was still able to connect with the action enough to let it run. I have tried various other films/documentaries on SnagFilms and found the issues to be the same or worse each time.

Of course, I could simply blame my Samsung Galaxy Tab or my internet connection, and this may well be half the answer, but other video streaming works smoothly under the exact conditions. NetFlix buffers, but only about 1% as much as SnagFilms, and is basically a movie fans perfect Android streaming partner.

Although SnagFilms just about streams on my device, it seems that quad core phones and tablets due for release in 2012 may be better suited for streaming via thia app at present. If the lag and buffering issues are resolved SnagFilms would become a firm favourite of mine... but not until.