David Lagachu
Netflix literally rules everyone’s mind mind and leisure time now-a-days. Unless you have been living under a rock or unconsciously lagging behind in catching up with the changing times, at some point of your monotonous existence you have been tempted to subscribe to the much talked about online streaming service i.e. Netflix. Initially it was launched only in the US but now it is available in almost every binge watching countries of the world. It’s easy to use, affordable and highly addictive to say the least. Its contents are updated on a regular basis and requires a little bit of presence of mind and some external guidance to access all the hidden gems on your beloved platform. As it turns out just sticking to the home page and searching for the popular titles that you have heard of or the ones which are heavily publicized will not help you to get access to the various other programs available on it. Just like most of the websites out there a few odd add-ons will help you to better enjoy its benefits. So here are a few tips and tricks to get the most out of your Netflix subscription.
1. Ever heard of the Random Button?
As the name itself suggests the Random button enables you to choose randomly when you are done watching whatever is available on the home page. It is an Allflicks extension exclusively for Chrome users which will add a random button feature on your browser. You just need to click on it and boom a random choice of film or TV show is offered to you. It’s almost like taking a risk as sometimes the suggestion may not be what you were looking for but it satiates your curiosity to experiment with different genres of entertainment. It is also highly recommended as it brings to the fore many hidden titles on Netflix which you would have missed out on otherwise. Oh and by the way you need to disable ‘AdBlock’ for the Random button to function.
2. Make Use of the Genre Search Option
Netflix offers you the luxury of choosing from its assorted lists of collection of TV shows, films and documentaries of different genres. So why not make use of it. Everything is divided according to its genre such as action, comedy, thriller etc. It saves your precious time and also gives you the opportunity to search for exactly what you are looking for.
3. The Quality of Videos Matter
The lower the quality of the videos you’re streaming the more you can enjoy the benefit of your internet/broadband package. Netflix is a platform mostly for binge watching shows so naturally it consumes a lot of internet data. So keeping your video resolution in check will enable you to enjoy the process longer and probably in a smoother manner. However it will be worthless exercise to watch videos in a very low quality so the best option is to keep it in the medium resolution and watch. If you can afford as much internet as you wish or have a subscription to an unlimited pack for a month and you are the only user then you may very well go knock yourself out.
4. Be a Midnight Owl
Trying to watch your favorite shows around the same time when the whole world watches it is not a very wise idea. If a neighbourhood or a locality or a hostel wing shares the same internet data or internet from the same source chances are that you will suffer from heavy traffic and face constant buffering problems. The solution to this problem is to always watch your favourtie shows or movies during the odd hours of the day or night. Post midnight is an ideal and preferable time for many Netflix users. Or if you are not a late night kind of person then early morning should also work fine as not many people open their Netflix account first thing in the morning. So early risers clearly have an advantage here!
5. Keyboard Shortcuts are a Must
One doesn’t need a reminder to use them and frankly they don’t seem to make that much of a difference but their importance is realized only when we are in the middle of an engrossing episode or movie. In case of an emergency call or situation you can pause a video immediately or you can skip through some boring portions such as the opening and end credits. There are no keyboard shortcuts exclusively for Netflix users as the ones available work for any device such as laptop or iPad. For eg: F for Full Screen, Esc for Exit Full Screen, Shift + Right arrow for fast forward, Space Bar for pause and play etc. You know all of them, don’t you?
6. Clear Viewing History
This one is a must and probably the most important thing to do, isn’t it? When you share your viewing device such as your laptop or your phone with your family members or your friends you don’t want them to know what you have been watching in your private moments; be it good, bad or ugly. Netflix has that option to remove your search or view history to spare you the trouble or embarrassment of trying to explain it to others for your choice of entertainment. Not that Netflix contains very explicit materials but there are some things meant only to be viewed by adults.
7. Reddit Can Be of Great Help
As all of you might know Reddit has the answer to everything internet (well almost everything) via its wide range of users who share their personal experiences on everything under the sun. So just pop a question there regarding recommendations for what to watch or not on Netflix and you will be flooded with answers – some good and some useless, but interesting nonetheless. One can also browse through the various Netflix groups/subreddits available there for the benefit of its users. ‘r/NetflixBestOf’ is a very popular subreditt used and recommended by many. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.
8. Whatisonnetflix.com
It’s not a question but rather an answer to your all your doubts regarding the contents on Netflix and if you are missing out on something good. It is a site dedicated exclusively to what to watch on Netflix. To make your job easier the contents are divided on the basis of Rotten Tomato, IMDB and Metacritic scores and opinions. There is also a random pick option to help you chose contents on a random basis.
9. Rotten Tomatoes Are Useful Too
Okay may be not actual rotten tomatoes but the film ranking based website is a sit has became the go to website for film recommendation and assessment. In case of Netflix you just have to add a Chrome plugin by the name of ‘NEnhancer’ which will display Rotten Tomatoes ratings on your Netflix listings. Sweet, isn’t it?
10. Are you into subtitles?
Now that you are exposed to various ways of finding out hidden contents on Netflix it is only understandable that not all the contents will be in English. To cater to worldwide audiences many foreign (local) languages content are also available for streaming. Netflix offers automated subtitles but they are not always in sync or up to your satisfaction. So there is an option to customize the subtitles according to your likings. Just go to your account and click on Subtitles Appearance.
FYI: There is also a device known as ‘Netflix Socks’ which will automatically pause your favourite TV shows if you happen to fall asleep while watching it. This means if the device does not detect any sensory movements then it pauses whatever is playing on the screen. To understand in details the mechanism behind the almost magical socks hop on to the official Netflix website and start making one for yourself.
Read More: Best Family Movies on Netflix
