A review of Netflix‘s UK service after my first weekend of using the service.
Introduction
During the weekend I signed up to Netflix UK, a streaming movie and tv service. Essentially TV on demand, as you select a episode or movie and watch, with no waiting for a scheduled time slot.
I was wary of what the movies and tv shows were going to be available beforehand, but after some research I decided to take the plunge, and I’m glad I did. Before I continue I have to state I’m not affiliated with Netflix or work for them, this is just my review after a weekend’s use.
The review
There were fewer TV shows than I would of liked, but being a terrestrial Freeview TV viewer originally, I was happy to see Breaking Bad, Dexter, Dollhouse, Warehouse 13 and Weeds available amongst others. I had been watching Warehouse 13 on Channel One before it was removed from Freeview, so now I can happily watch season 2 and rewatch season 1 if I want. Breaking Bad was a show I missed on one of the ‘Five’ tv channels, so again I’m glad that is available.
Another concern was going to be movies, but not once I viewed the line-up. Grosse Point Blank, The Mechanic and The Next Three Days are all movies I want to watch. Gross Point Blank is an old John Cussack movie, but it is a great laugh. There is also some stand up comedy available, which I will take a look at.
Don’t get me wrong there are plenty of movies I’ve never heard of, and won’t bother to watch. There are plenty of UK TV shows from BBC, ITV etc that I see no point in watching via Netflix, especially Poirot, which is repeated often enough on one of the ITV channels. However there is Faulty Towers and some Saturday Night Live that I’m going to watch.
I also have to remember it is £5.99 per month, which is cheap for the selection available. If I watch a few tv shows per week and a movie or two, I’m more than happy for that price.
So how did I watch the shows? I hooked a laptop up to our flat screen, which isn’t ideal but how I use my iTunes account. Once you select your movie or tv show, which by the way is easy to do, it quickly loads and plays. I selected the lowest quaility, which on our small screen was fine. I hit space to pause and you can easily go backwards or forwards with great fast loading thumbnail images. This is how TV on demand should be, it is quick, good quality and easy to use. There were no streaming errors or buffering during a show, but I do have a good consistent broadband connection, so that obviously helps.
I signed up to the Netflix service via QuidCo to receive a cash back, and TopCashBack have a similar cashback deal currently going. So it is just my first weekend of using the service, and I’m more than happy with it. Easy to use, but just means I need a laptop connected to the flat screen. I presume there are easier ways to use Netflix? Which if I carry on using Netflix for a few months, I will see if there are any cheap Netflix boxes available. Anyhow for £5.99 per month I think it is a great deal for my moderate use.
Final thoughts
Whether it is a good deal for other UK users I don’t know. I guess it all depends on taste and how much television and movies you plan to watch. Plus also how you intend to view the content.
If anyone wants to know more about some of the tv shows or movies, just ask and I will write a list, if you tell me the type of shows you are interested in. i.e. drama, kids, sci-fi etc.
Hi Andrew
Interesting review, and great to know we have similar tastes (e.g. Warehouse 13, Grosse Point Blank). I think that Netflix is great in terms of how quickly it starts playing. The one feature I think it really needs is a “Watch Later” button, as I often saw great movies to watch, but didn’t want to watch them right away.
I’ve done my 30 day trial, but waiting until the Netflix app is working on my Boxee unit. Then it’s much more usable.
Dan
Hi Dan,
Your the fourth person to mention the need for a watch later option. I’m amazed that it doesn’t already exist, but hopefully it will one day.
I think watching it on a standalone device will be the next step for us. I brought venture bros on iTunes, so I would need to investigate a box to play iTunes and Netflix, but for now the laptop is fine.
Cheers for dropping by and leaving a comment sir.
All the Best
Andrew
I’m quite happy with the selection that is available on Netflix, but there is a lot that it is missing. In other words, many of the films that I search for aren’t actually available on there. With that being said, though, there is still plenty on there to keep you going for a long time, with many good TV shows.
I am also surprised at the lack of a ‘Watch Later’ feature. It’s such a simple, basic thing to have and I’m sure it can’t be that hard to incorporate into the website. However, I have found a reasonable solution until they decide to actually have that kind of feature.
You could always create a Bookmark Folder within your browser, name it ‘Watch Later’ or something similar and simply bookmark the pages of any films which you come across which you want to watch later. Add that folder to your bookmarks toolbar and voila, you have a crude ‘Watch Later’ list. It’s a simple solution that requires no downloads and minimal effort. Hopefully they will add this feature soon, but for now, this solution does the job. 🙂
Hi Damon,
Cheers for stopping by and leaving a comment. I created a bookmark folder the way you mentioned a while back. I’m currently not a Netflix customer, but agree with all that you said. 🙂
I’ve since written more about Netflix and also Lovefilm. If you type Netflix into the search bar on the website, it should show you my other related blog posts.
Again thank you for dropping by.
Best Regards