6 Important Secrets That Every Netflix User Must Know

With almost 200 million subscribers worldwide, Netflix is the most popular subscription service for people to watch their favorite movies and TV shows. The service provides American and international content, as well as many Netflix Originals, made exclusively for the platform. Netflix is available on computers, tablets, and smart TVs so there are plenty of ways you can watch it. In order to get the most out of the service, however, there are a few clever tips which everyone should consider.

Here are 6 important secrets that every Netflix user must know.

1. Using a VPN Can Help You Access Different Content

Due to copyright laws and different country’s preferences, Netflix’s content actually varies from country to country. What is available to watch in your country may not be available elsewhere. If you are interested in watching Friends on Netflix but it isn’t included on your Netflix, for example, you may be able to get around this by using a VPN. This will enable you to set a different location to trick Netflix into thinking that you are in a country that includes Friends on the platform. You will also be able to get other content specific to that region and also open up new subtitle options.

2. You Can Download Content to Watch Later Offline

One of the main drawbacks of streaming websites is the need for high-speed internet to watch the content. What many people still don’t realize, however, is that in 2016, Netflix made it possible to download certain shows and movies so that you can watch them later without having to connect to the Internet. You will need the mobile app to do this but it means you can watch your favorite content anytime, anywhere. 

3. Let Netflix Can Take Care of What You Watch

There is so much excellent content on Netflix that it can sometimes be difficult just to decide what you want to know next. People can spend hours just scrolling through shows and movies until they end up just rewatching something for the hundredth time. To help you out, Netflix has a Shuffle Play feature where the platform uses an algorithm to choose something you may like based on your viewing history and queue. 

4. There Is an Easy Solution to Buffering Issues

There are few things in life more frustrating than a movie you have been looking forward to seeing endlessly buffering. There are various solutions available to this problem, however, depending on what device you are watching Netflix on. If you are watching on a computer, you can hold down these buttons at the same time: Ctrl, Shift, Opt/Alt, S. This will access a menu that has special streaming options including buffering fixes. 

If you're watching on a console, you can access the same menu by pressing up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, up, up, up, on the directional pad. With an Apple TV or other streaming device, go to the Playback Settings on your account page, and choose "Auto" or "Low," which will load the content faster but at a lower quality. 

5. You Can Improve Video Quality by Watching During Off-Peak Hours

Another simple way to improve the video quality and speed is to watch during off-peak hours when the service is less busy. These are usually very early in the morning and late at night. Having fewer people logged into the platform means you are sharing the servers with fewer devices which will provide you with more bandwidth speed for your content. It is also a great excuse to justify to yourself why you are still up watching Tiger King at 5 am.

6. It Is Easy to Turn Off Dubbing

The introduction of more foreign language content has been a great addition to Netflix’s libraries but it has meant that the issue of dubbing has arisen. Many foreign language shows and movies are automatically dubbed which Netflix claims have been shown to be viewers’ preference. Many of these dubbed versions are laughably bad, however, so if you want to revert to the original language with subtitles, all you need to do is click on the audio button. This will give you a list of language and subtitle options so you never have to listen to poorly dubbed dialogue ever again.

Netflix is a fantastic source for accessing so much entertainment but to really get your money’s worth, you need to be in the know! These secrets will enable you to watch content unavailable in your area, and give you a smoother overall user experience. Try out these 6 simple tips and you will really be able to take advantage of everything Netflix has to offer.