Get more from streaming-TV services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video with our expert hacks and secret tips
Netflix offers thousands of movies and TV programmes to watch, which it organises into categories or genres. When you click the Browse link on the homepage, it displays around 20 categories. There are actually many more – hundreds, in fact – but you can’t see them. Luckily, there are several websites that provide links to them.
Visit bit.ly/genre418 and you’ll see a list containing dozens of categories. Click the link at the top to view the extended list, which contains many more. Not every link works because Netflix sometimes deletes categories, but many still function and contain fascinating movies you might otherwise miss. You’ll find an alternative source of Netflix categories at netflixcodes.me. These category links are a great way to discover different films and TV series.
Discover what to watch
When you browse Netflix, you see only a small proportion of what’s available. Use netflixroulette.net to search for directors, actors and keywords, and filter the results by rating. Then click the Spin button to receive a random suggestion based on your choices. Netflix removes old content from time to time, so not every link works.
Free Amazon Prime Video
An Amazon Prime subscription gives you access to a host of services, one of which is Prime Video. If you experience a problem with one of the services, you may be able to get a free month added to your subscription, up to 12 times a year.
As a Prime member, you can use Amazon Guaranteed Accelerated Delivery when buying products. If your goods fail to arrive by the given date and time, go to bit.ly/fine418 and see if you qualify for an extra free month, which includes Prime Video.
Get Amazon Prime half price
You can share an account with your partner or flatmate, and pay half each for your Prime subscription. Go to bit.ly/half418 to create a Household account. You can add two adults and four children to the account, and both adults can access video streaming and other Prime membership benefits.
Create Netflix profiles
When you browse Netflix, it displays TV shows and movies it thinks you’ll like based on your interests and viewing history. But if your partner or kids also use Netflix, their viewing history will skew the results, so you may see recommendations for cartoons when you’re only interested in crime thrillers.
Click your name in the top-right corner of the website, then click Manage Profiles, or tap the app’s menu button followed by your name. Use the Add button to add a new profile for each member of the household.
It’s important that each person switches to their profile when they start the app or visit the website, so the items they view are added to their profile and not yours.
Avoid extra charges on Amazon
Some Amazon TV shows and movies aren’t included in Prime Video and have to be bought. To avoid accidentally buying something instead of watching it as part of your subscription, go to Prime Video on the website, click Settings and turn on Purchase Restrictions. Create a PIN or enter the one you use for parental controls.
Stop Auto Play
When one episode of a TV series ends, the next one starts automatically. This can be irritating, unless you’re planning to binge watch the whole series, because if you forget to press stop, the series plays to the end and flags all the episodes as watched, even if you just fell asleep or went to bed. Go to Settings in the Amazon app, press Auto Play and turn it off. On the Netflix website, go to My Account, ‘Playback settings’ and remove the tick.
Are you still there?
If you binge watch Netflix all day, you might see a message asking if you’re still there or awake. A Chrome extension called Flix Assist (bit.ly/flix418) can stop this, but it doesn’t work for everyone.
Create a watch list
When browsing for something to watch, you can save any interesting items you come across and continue browsing. To do this on Amazon, click the button below Watch Now. Use the Watch List button at the bottom of the screen in the app or go to Prime Video on the Amazon website and click Your Watchlist.
On Netflix, the MyList button under each movie does the same thing. Press it to save an item and continue browsing. Your MyList selections appear at the top of the home screen. On the website, click the Browse link and select MyList.
Clear your Netflix history
Netflix tracks the content you watch and saves it in your profile. If you’ve been indulging in too many guilty pleasures and are embarrassed by what’s displayed in your profile, go to your account page on the website and click ‘Viewing activity’. Click the cross next to any items you want to remove.
Alternatively, you can create a new profile and use that instead. You can’t delete your own profile but you can delete any you’ve added, along with their data.
Set the video quality
Go to your Netflix account on the website and click ‘Playback settings’. Here, you’ll find Auto, Low, Medium and High settings. Auto sets the video quality and data rate automatically, but if you need to limit the amount of data used, choose the Low setting. If you have unlimited fibre broadband and a 4K TV, choose High. An hour of video at the High setting uses up to 7GB of data, but it’s the best quality.
Amazon Prime Video’s quality is set to Good by default, but its Better and Best settings offer improvements. Use the Good setting if you have a slow internet connection or limited data – when watching on a phone using mobile data, for example. Tap Settings, Streaming & Downloading, Streaming Quality. Choose Best if you have fast, unlimited broadband.
Super Netflix
Chrome extension Super Netflix (bit.ly/super418) adds tools that let you access technical information and customise settings. Before you can use it, however, you must opt out of Netflix interface experiments. Go to your account page, click ‘Test participation’ and turn it off.
When video is streaming, a set of Super Netflix icons appears on the right. Right-click the video to view technical information including the frame rate, frames dropped, the bit rate and other data. The Fast-forward and Rewind buttons jump a little at a time, making it easier to skip forward and back. The TV icon cycles through different image modes, such as black and white, bright and darker, and more.
Click the gear icon and a window appears containing different audio and video bit rates. If your internet connection is poor, selecting lower bit rates will smooth out playback and prevent buffering.
Sign out remotely
You can access your Netflix account on more than one device, which means you may have enabled it on devices you no longer use or that belong to other people. Go to Your Account and click ‘Sign out of all devices’. Now, anyone who tries to use your Netflix account will need to log in, which they won’t be able to do without your username and password.
Watch movies offline
If you’re going on holiday or somewhere that doesn’t have Wi-Fi, you can download films and TV programmes to watch later on your phone or tablet. In Netflix, select a movie or TV show and look for the Download button under the image. Before you do that, however, open the menu, select App Settings and choose a suitable video quality for your downloads. Standard uses less storage space, which means you can download more titles.
Amazon users have a button under Watch Now. First, go to Settings, Streaming & Downloading, Download Quality and select Best, Better or Good. Again, this will affect the viewing quality and how much storage space you need. Video at Good quality uses around 0.3GB an hour, while Best uses 0.9GB.