There was a buzz around Netflix, and I accepted a free trial to check it out. If you haven’t heard about Netflix, it’s a popular streaming service for movies, documentaries and television shows that’s now available in Australia and New Zealand. I wasn’t sure how I would find it because I have used other streaming services before, and I didn’t utilise it enough to justify the cost (the libraries were limited) and the streaming was a bit patchy. However, I do love the idea of stream tv so it was worth investigating.
We’ve been using the Netflix service for a few months now, and we are enjoying it. It’s excellent! The service is extensive, intuitive and it’s got such a wide range of entertainment available (not just modern movies, but classics too).
What I like
- There is an option so it can be used on multiple devices (computer, tablets, iPad, smart phone) and smart televisions.
- My husband and I enjoy sitting together to watch television a few evenings a week, but in reality, our schedules are so all over the place and we don’t follow times on regular television. However, with Netflix, we can just tap in to a show whenever it works.
- There are entire series of classics! My husband and I are enjoying watching re-runs of MacGyver together.
- It automatically saves where you were watching so you don’t need to go back and find your place again.
- Create lists of your favourite movies/shows
- Flexibility of watching movies anywhere with internet which is pretty cool. For example, we set up a cinema in the garage for a family night and it was awesome.
- Updated with new content regularly.
- Easy to set up different profiles for kids (so they only have access to family movies) and adults.
Drawbacks
- If you’re using Netflix on various devices, there are different titles available on different devices. I imagine this is because of licensing agreements (that is: some titles are only licensed to devices or computers, and sometimes not both). It’s not a big deal, but have been caught out a few times: I’ll have a look at a move we might watch as a family on my iPad, but when I come to watch it on the computer, it’s not there (and vice versa). So I just look at the device we will be using for a particular movie. The difference of titles available also applies for different zones and countries.
- It does chew through internet data so you do need to have a high usage service.
- You won’t find all movies (for example: brand new releases) on Netflix. If there is something new out that we want to watch, it’s often not on Netflix so we will head down the video store (we still like to do that) and hire it. This goes for television series too. Often the brand new season are not on there.
Movies/Shows I like
- I like period dramas, and I’m enjoying watching the BBC’s North and South, Emma, and Call the Midwife.
- Also started watching murder mystery series, Hinterland (a Welch production in English) and I really like how it’s produced.
Movies/Shows the Husband Likes
My husband likes nerding out on Sci-Fi movies like Dr Who and Stargate.
Movies/Shows the Kids Like
- Revisiting Madagascar
- Other favourites include: Jumanji, Journey to the Journey to the Centre of the Earth, some of the Marvel cartoons.
What we all like
- Our family enjoys watching documentaries together and there are some fab wildlife series on Netflix.
Is it worth the money?
The question is: After the free trial I’m on, will I subscribe to Netflix? The answer is yes. I think it’s affordable for what you get. Monthly prices: AU$8.99 for standard definition streaming to a single screen; AU$11.99 for high definition to two screens; and AU$14.99 for up to four screens. As an example of cost/worth: if we have 2 family movie nights a month, it would make it worth it already (for what we would pay to hire a movie).
We have never had foxtel or other such services, so I can’t compare it with those types services, but for an extensive library of online entertainment, I think $9 – $15 a month is a fair price.
Any other first times users out there? What do you think?
This is an unpaid review post. You can read my review policy here.
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