Should you subscribe to Netflix?

Netflix, Inc. is an American over-the-top content platform and production company. Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 204 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

Available on:

Download and onboarding experience:

The size of the Android app is 19 MB and the download and onboarding experience was smooth. Subscription is needed to view content on the app.

When it comes to SVOD (subscription-video-on-demand) services, established giants in the space like Netflix have set the gold standard in terms of user experience. This is distinctly apparent during the onboarding experience, where maintaining seamless registration and login workflows can make or break customers’ satisfaction with a streaming service.

Netflix offers the easiest onboarding experience, allowing customers to signup and log in on any device with just an email and a unique password.

Netflix also allows you to create multiple profiles and watch screens depending upon your subscription plan. 

Subscription Plan:

Netflix plans in India: monthly and yearly

Netflix Plan Name Number of screens/ resolution Monthly subscription cost

Mobile -1 screen/ SD content-Rs 199- Phone or Tablet

Basic -1 screen/ SD content-Rs 499- Phone,Tablet, Computer or TV

Standard -2 screens/ FHD content-Rs 649- Any 2 out of Phone,Tablet, Computer or TV

Premium- 4 screens/ UHD content- Rs 799 Phone,Tablet, Computer and TV

What to expect:

Currently, worldwide, Netflix has the rights to 13,612 titles – but they only have the rights to each of those titles in certain countries. The US currently has the largest library of Netflix content, with over 5,800 titles as of February 2021. Netflix India has 4,706 titles!

Netflix Originals are a growing majority of the Netflix Library. In February 2020, it was reported that Netflix has surpassed (at least in the US) 1,500 Netflix Originals and fast forward to now, there's now over 2,000 of them available.

Netflix has 2.2 million minutes of content currently available. Translated into years, that's just over four years of continuous content if you were to sit down and watch it all in a single sitting. That roughly translates to 36,000 hours in total.

Netflix’s home screen has widgets for shows and movies that you have added to your list, along with films and shows that you were already watching. It also features originals that are available only on Netflix.

It also provides the current trending shows in your country along with shows and films that are currently trending worldwide. Many other widgets such as sci-fi shows and European tv dramas are also available. Its content library has titles in Tamil, Telugu, among other regional languages as well along with a plethora of documentaries.

Netflix India has a huge fanbase for shows like House of Cards, Stranger Things and Sacred Games. Mindhunter, Money Heist, Lucifer, Lupin, Sweet Tooth, Sex Education, Peaky Blinders, are a few of the most popular web series in the world and are available on Netflix India. The service includes content from various countries like Pakistan, Turkey, China and more along with the subtitles.

The platform has also been successful in tapping into India's love for films, with the country having the highest viewing of films on Netflix globally; last year, 80% of Netflix India subscribers watched one film every week. That's impressive annual growth, but it is worth noting that Netflix has been operating in India since the beginning of 2016. Netflix's rivals have built up much larger subscriber bases over that time. Netflix has 25.5 million paying subscribers in the region, which translated to revenue of $685 million—a 64% growth over the previous year.

Design and experience:

The design is simple and neat with lots of widgets like Japanese Movies and TV, Movies based on Real Life, TV dramas, etc. in the browse section which makes it easier for the user to choose content. The dark background colour makes the content stand out and the lighter text is clearly readable on all screens. The swipe option for the widgets in the app provides more options for the user to look into.

Netflix also has a separate option to browse only in TV shows, Movies, New and Popular, or on your list.

I watched the show ‘Umbrella Academy’ as part of this review.

The movie/show detail page has the following information:

As well as detailed information about each episode:

It also gives you suggestions for similar shows and films along with a match percentage determining your taste:

It also lists the trailers and more information about the show. 

The standard features available on the video player include:

• Play/pause
• Change volume
• Forward/rewind by 10 sec
• Something wrong
• Next episode
• Episode list
• Audio
• Subtitles
• Playback speed
• Fullscreen

Search:

• Searches related to your keyword are shown
• The option of exploring titles related to the keyword is also available

Pros & Cons:

Pros

• Support Movies & TV shows on most devices

It allows subscribers to stream television series and films via the Netflix website on personal computers, or the Netflix app on a variety of supported platforms, including smartphones and tablets, digital media players, video game consoles and smart TVs.

• Support Offline Playback

Netflix launched an offline playback feature, allowing users of the Netflix mobile apps on Android or iOS to cache content on their devices in standard or high quality for viewing without an Internet connection. The feature is primarily available on selected series and films and Netflix stated that more content would be supported by the feature over time.

The Netflix downloading feature has some limitations such as you’re allowed to download TV shows and movies on only as many devices as your plan allows. To download on another device, you have to delete downloaded titles from an existing device or upgrade your Netflix plan.

• Skip Intro

Netflix introduced the "Skip Intro" feature which allows customers to skip the intros to shows on its platform. They do so through a variety of techniques including manual reviewing, audio tagging, and machine learning.

• Three plans to choose

Netflix service plans are currently divided into three price tiers; the lowest offers standard definition streaming on a single device, the second allows high definition streaming on two devices simultaneously, and the "Platinum" tier allows simultaneous streaming on up to four devices, and 4K streaming on supported devices and Internet connections.

Cons

• The Latest Episode is Not Available Right Away

If there is a show on TV you love to watch, the latest episode won't be available on Netflix right away even though its previous seasons are streaming on Netflix. However, the episodes of Netflix's shows will have their premiere right there. The same goes for movies as well. You simply have to wait for some timesome period of time until the new content becomes available.

• Outdated library

Not only does Netflix not add the latest TV show episodes and new movies right away, but its library is also pretty much outdated. They need a lot of time to update it and add newer content. Many users are dissatisfied because of this.

• Selection depends on your location

For me, this is the biggest flaw of Netflix. If you live in the United States, the selection of movies and TV shows is great. If not, you will probably be pretty disappointed with the offer. So, the content varies by region you live in. However, the content changes, and you may notice some new things occasionally. But, don't expect the content will change drastically, let’s say, within a month.

Why should one subscribe?

• Recently there are various popular Netflix original series, like House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, Stranger Things, Black Mirror, Big Mouth and more are to come in the future. Netflix not only worked, but it also worked beyond their wildest dreams. It would eventually revolutionize TV, herald the era of binge-watching and upend Hollywood's long-established order.

Rating:

Based on the user experience, the pros and cons, the rating given to Netflix is 7.5 on 10.