All About the Netflix Streaming Service (2024)

Netflix is a popular streaming service that offers a vast catalog of movies, TV shows, and original content. It's available on smart TVs, through streaming devices, and even on your smartphone and tablet using the official app for iOS or Android. Here's what you need to know about Netflix, including pricing and information, and popular content.

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A Brief Netflix History

Netflix started in 1997 as a company that pioneered the concept of renting DVDs by mail. It devised the innovative concept of charging a flat monthly fee instead of charging by each DVD ordered. As a result, the corner video rental store phenomenon started to fade away. By 2005, Netflix had a loyal 4.2 million DVD-by-mail rental subscriber base.

In 2007, Netflix made the bold announcement that it would add the ability for subscribers to stream TV shows and movies directly to their PCs in addition to its DVD-by-mail rental program.

After that, it didn't take long for Netflix streaming to become available on the Xbox, Apple devices, a growing number of TVs, smartphones, and tablets. Today, it's readily available in many households.

How Much Does Netflix Cost?

All this entertainment isn't free. As of 2024, the Netflix fee structure is as follows:

• Standard with Ads: $6.99 a month with four to five minutes of ads per hour. Two devices may stream at a time in Full HD. All but a few movies and shows are available.
• Standard: $15.49 per month. Watch in Full HD resolution. View content on a laptop, TV, phone, or tablet. Access unlimited movies and shows. Download content on two mobile devices and watch content on up to two screens at the same time.
• Premium: $22.99 per month. Enjoy Full HD and Ultra HD resolution, including Netflix spatial audio. Allows viewing on up to four screens at the same time, and you can download content on up to six mobile devices.

What to Watch on Netflix

Once you have access to the Netflix service, you see an on-screen menu that allows you to navigate through hundreds of TV shows, movies, and original content. Browse by category or use the search tool. When you find something you want to watch, select the program's icon to start your entertainment.

Netflix offers an array of programming options. New titles are added frequently, and older ones are removed periodically. Here's a sampling of what you can currently expect to see:

AMC TV Shows

Enjoy shows that originally appeared on AMC, including:

Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Walking Dead, A Discovery of Witches, Preacher

ABC TV Shows

Enjoy shows that originally appeared on ABC, including:

Grey's Anatomy, How to Get Away With Murder, The Blacklist, Somewhere Between

CBS TV Shows

Enjoy shows that originally appeared on CBS, including:

Madam Secretary, Young Sheldon, NCIS, S.W.A.T., Evil

FOX TV Shows

Enjoy shows that originally appeared on FOX, including:

Lucifer, The Resident, Arrested Development, Shaman King

NBC TV Shows

Enjoy shows that originally appeared on NBC, including:

Seinfeld, The Good Place, Good Girls, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, American Ninja Warrior

CW TV Shows

Enjoy shows that originally appeared on the CW, including:

Charmed, Arrow, Gilmore Girls, Supernatural, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Riverdale, The 100

Other Shows

Peaky Blinders (BBC), The Last Kingdom (BBC), Black Mirror (Channel 4 -UK)

Netflix Original Content

Netflix has gained a reputation for compelling original shows and movies, including:

Aloha, The Deliverance, A Family Affair, Raising Voices, Bridgerton, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Hit Man, The Family, Geek Girl, Eric, Inventing Anna, Colors of Evil Red, Atlas, jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy, Twentysomethings: Austin, Tiger King, Squid Game, Selling Sunset, Coming Out Colton, Colin in Black & White, Maid, The Harder They Fall, Afterlife of the Party, Blood Brothers, Worth, How to Be a Cowboy, Sex Education, Love Is Blind, Atypical, Outer Banks, Feel Good, Never Have I Ever, Too Hot to Handle, The Kominsky Method, Jupiter's Legacy, Money Explained, Eden, Life in Color with David Attenborough, The One, Seaspiracy, Bad Trip, Behind Her Eyes, Thunder Force, Yes Day, Marriage or Mortgage, Lupin, Firefly Lane, Ginny and Georgia, Master of None, The Crown, The Queen's Gambit, Virgin River, Hillbilly Elegy, Fate: The Winx Saga, Night Stalker, The Dig, Emily in Paris, The Great British Baking Show, Ratched, Dash & Lily, Black Mirror, Ozark, Bloodline, You, House of Cards, Warrior Nun, Designated Survivor, The Umbrella Academy, Cobra Kai, Message From the King, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, Stranger Things, Tiny Pretty Things, Resident Evil, King of Stonks, and more.

Movies

Netflix's vast movie offerings include:

Ghostbusters, Trolls Band Together, Wicked Little Letters, Return to Space, The Mystery ofMarilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes, Animal, Anyone But You, The Batman, Society of the Snow, Anaconda, Jigsaw, Don't Look Up, Death at a Funeral, Annie, Beethoven, Godzilla Minus One, Space Jam: A New Legacy, No Hard Feelings, Footloose, He's All That, Baby Driver, Gatsby, Minions, What Happened to Monday, Where the Crawdads Sing, Dracula Untold, The Matilda Musical, The Munsters, The Little Things, The Kissing Booth, Different Experience, LEGO Movie, Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine, The Royal Treatment, Gnome Alone, The Half of It, Leo, The Highwaymen, 13th, The Sea Beast, A Walk to Remember, Uncut Gems, DJ Cinderella, Shrek, Unbroken, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Choice, Extraction, Nowhere, The Imitation Game, Hunger, Blended, The Outpost, Persuasion, The Gray Man, The Vow, Bullet Train, and more.

Netflix Hidden Genre Categories

Another interesting aspect is the extensive hidden genre category list system on Netflix. As you use it, its TV and movie selection menus begin to conform to what it thinks are your genre preferences. That content offering system tends to box in viewers with limited choices. As a result, many users resort to using the search tool to find what they want.

However, you can access dozens of additional categories by typing special URL codes into the browser address bar. These codes take you to additional niche categories, ranging from "Movies for ages 8 to 10" to "New Zealand Movies" and more.

The Netflix Download Option

Netflix has a download option alongside its streaming service at no extra cost. After updating the app on a compatible device (such as a media streamer, iOS, or Android phone), download selected Netflix content for later viewing at home or on the go.

You can begin watching content that's only partially downloaded, which is handy if you're in an area with poor Wi-Fi. Once you find a stronger internet connection, you can choose to finish your download and resume watching.

Also, if you take advantage of the Smart Downloads feature, you can download selected content for offline viewing on iOS or Android devices that automatically delete after viewing. This saves space and time. When you follow a series, after the episode you watched is deleted, the next episode downloads automatically.

Netflix in 4K

In addition to streaming traditional TV and movie content, Netflix offers an increasing number of programs for streaming in 4K (mainly in-house-produced programming). The 4K listings are visible only if Netflix detects that you're viewing on a 4K-compatible video display.

For those who don't have 4K access, many Netflix TV shows and movies are offered in 720p and 1080p resolution, as well as Dolby Digital Surround Sound.

Netflix automatically scans your internet connection. If your broadband speed can handle the 1080p signal, the resolution is automatically downscaled.

Netflix-Recommended TVs

While Netflix is available on many devices, and they all have access to the platform's streaming library, not all of them have access to 3D or 4K content. Many don't always incorporate the most currently available on-screen interface and other operational or navigation features. As a result, Netflix maintains a list of recommended TVs. Some of the criteria to make the list include:

• Latest Netflix Version: Your TV automatically (or by prompt) updates to the most recent version of the interface.
• TV Instant On: When you turn on the TV, the Netflix app is ready to use.
• TV Resume: Your TV remembers where you were when you last had it on, whether it was watching Netflix or another TV channel or service, and takes you back when you turn on the TV again.
• Fast App Launch: When you click the Netflix app, it takes you there quickly.
• Fast App Resume: If you're watching Netflix but need to leave and use another TV function or watch a non-Netflix program or service when you return, it remembers where you left off.
• Netflix Button: The TV has a dedicated Netflix direct-access button on the remote control.
• Easy Netflix Icon Access: If you use the TV's on-screen menu to access Netflix, the icon must be prominently displayed as one of the content access choices.