Netflix review: The leading light in home entertainment

Netflix needs no introduction. The company quickly gained momentum in the US with its DVD rental service that evolved into video streaming on demand, before spreading its wings to the UK in 2012.

So impressive has the rise of Netflix been, that it’s become a generic term, even a meme. For those who have Netflix, it’s one of the central aspects of daily entertainment. For anyone on the outside, it’s probably about deciding whether to commit, or how long you can resist. 

Let us walk you through the ins and outs of being a Netflix subscriber. 

Netflix review: Access everywhere

Netflix is the de facto feature of many connected devices. More than any other entertainment company, Netflix has pushed to get its service on every device and that’s part of its success over other services that offer streaming video on demand.

Pocket-lint

Pick up a new set-top box and Netflix will often be emblazoned across its accompanying remote control as a quick-access portal into the app. Those devices that don’t offer Netflix from day one, such as Sky Q, are quickly pulled up on it.

For those in the UK, Netflix not being available on Sky Q is perhaps the biggest omission of that service, but there’s a good chance that your smart TV has it, your Blu-ray player might have it, your games console will have it, as will your PC, Apple TV, Roku, Android and iOS tablets and phones.

Ultimately, it’s hard to not have access to Netflix in the UK, which is one of the most appealing things about the service.

Netflix is also fully compatible with Chromecast – so even if you’re living in box-free bliss, you can connect Google’s HDMI dongle to your TV and watch on the big screen, controlling it from your phone, for very little hardware expense.

• Which is the best movie streaming service in the UK? Netflix vs Amazon Prime vs Now TV and more

Netflix review: The apps are smartly connected

One the other appealing things about Netflix is the consistency of the apps across all these different platforms. The visual presentation of Netflix is similar across them all so you pretty much know where you are at all times. 

Because you’re working within your own Netflix account – which can be split into different profiles for different members of the family – and one that syncs in the background, you’ll always find yourself presented with the last programmes you were watching, paused where you left off. That means pausing in one place and resuming elsewhere, like stopping watching on the big TV and resuming watching on a tablet in bed.

Pocket-lint

It also means that if your partner or kids opens up Netflix, they can select their own profile, without having to skip around the content you were watching. 

Netflix also allows you sign into as many apps as you like, although you can only watch in as many places as you have a subscription for. There are three tiers: one screen (£5.99/month), two screens (£7.49/month), or four screens (£8.99/month).

All tiers offer the same content, but there’s a key difference on what you get for your money at the top level. The close proximity of levels two and three are a big hint at where Netflix wants to push people. 

Netflix 4K and HDR: The future, now

The big difference between those top Netflix subscriptions is 4K (ultra-HD resolution) and HDR (high dynamic range) content. This is where Netflix has perhaps made a much bigger impact on the market than you might initially perceive. 

Let’s rewind a little. When TV manufacturers started pushing “Full HD” or “1080p” televisions, there was very little content for them. There was no streaming, it was optical discs or broadcast television and only Blu-ray provided the content at that standard. TV manufacturers pushed Full HD as better, encouraging you to buy a new TV to be ready for the future. 

In 2015 and 2016 this position has been reversed, because companies like Netflix and Amazon have been pushing 4K and HDR content – in many cases before those TVs have found their way into homes. In this sense, Netflix hasn’t been meeting a content demand, it’s been pushing the adoption of higher-spec televisions by making sure that content is already there.

Pocket-lint

The only catch is that you have to pay more for it, by opting for the top-tier £8.99 subscription, but just look at the prices and you’ll the difference is only £1.50/month.

Netflix wants you to watch this 4K ultra-high definition content, without price being a barrier. The same can’t quite be said of the emerging Ultra HD Blu-ray market.

• Best Ultra HD Blu-ray players: Spinning 4K discs

The 4K content that Netflix offers is really the crown jewels of the service. Most new Amazon Original content is appearing in 4K HDR, too, meaning those high-performance skills of that new TV you just bought can be set to task (assuming it has the 4K Netflix app; typically it will, but there are some exceptions to this – ones that ought to be corrected by software update in the future).

The detail from 4K is a noticeable bump over the Full HD offering, the only downside being that things can be a little grainy because there’s just so much resolution on display, which highlights the limitations of capture sometimes. 

Netflix’s move to adopt and offer HDR again repeats this position. More than sheer resolution, HDR has the advantage of widening the contrast and the colours for greater visual effect. Again, it gives you the opportunity to use your TV to maximum potential, where Blu-ray and broadcast currently doesn’t go. 

Netflix is also good at telling you what quality a programme is available in. Although this doesn’t apply to phones or tablets, when you open a programme on your TV, Netflix will report the quality it’s available in – Ultra HD 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision – for you to view. This is a great guide to know what to expect.

• What is HDR, what TVs support HDR, and what HDR content can I watch?

Netflix streaming: Variable bitrates and network demands

The downside of streaming 4K content is that there’s a lot of data needed to bring those wonderful visuals. Although this is compressed compared to the content you’ll find on a typical Blu-ray disc, there’s still a lot of data to move. Netflix says that an Ultra HD title uses about 7GB an hour – so you’ll want to make sure you’ve got a service provider (ISP) that can deliver the necessary services in your area.

Netflix uses a variable bitrate solution which changes the quality of what you’re watching based on a number of connection factors. Wrapped up in this method is the ability to start instantly watching with very little buffering. In the olden days, you’d have to wait for enough video to cache before you started watching. The modern approach, however, is to start in low quality and ramp it up once the stream is established.

Netflix’s system is reliable and works well. We’ve been using the service for a number of years and, generally speaking, it works better than rival systems from Amazon, Now TV or BBC iPlayer. You’ll notice that the opening scene of a movie or TV series is a bit blocky, before “clicking” into full sharpness at the maximum resolution moments later. Many TVs will give you information on what quality is playing via a press of the info button on the remote.

The experience, of course, is defined by your home setup: a wired connection is more stable than Wi-Fi, for example, although we’ve streamed 4K HDR content over Wi-Fi without issue. The further your TV is from your router, the greater the need for a wired connection to ensure you’re getting the best out of it.

Of course, you’ll also need the bandwidth to support it from your internet package, as well as the data allowance. Some ISPs are now offering Netflix as a bundle, with associated data allowance to accommodate its use without affecting your other daily use.

Pocket-lint

You can govern the data use through your Netflix account. In the playback settings you can opt for low, medium or high video quality, and this is a universal setting that applies across your account. You can, however, also limit the streaming quality on mobile apps to ensure you don’t blow your mobile data limit. You can also opt to only watch on Wi-Fi only on the mobile Netflix app.

One of the biggest downsides to Netflix is that there’s no option to download content to take with you. This is now something that’s offered from the likes of BBC iPlayer, Amazon and Sky’s services, but Netflix is looking at streaming only as its solution. The disadvantage is that you can’t pre-load a phone or tablet with content when you’re flying, for example.

There’s potentially a legitimate reason for this: Netflix produces shows but doesn’t always maintain rights to their distribution via other mediums; House of Cards, for example, is released by Sony on physical DVD/Blu-ray – which also includes UltraViolet download capability which, we assume, would be a clash of contractual interests. Not that it helps the average Netflix consumer, though.

Netflix review: Content is king

As good as the Netflix service itself is, it’s content that’s king.

It’s here that you really have to make a decision. In the past, Netflix was about a collection of movies to watch. They were typically older – the sort of thing you’d sit back and watch, with only a handful of premium new releases.

The content makeup of Netflix has evolved greatly over the years, with the service now focusing on offering much more by the way of TV series (or “box sets” if you want to go by that term). One of the big hits of the past was offering Breaking Bad in its entirety (and in 4K), as it makes more sense to subscribe to Netflix than it does to run out and buy a physical boxset.

Pocket-lint

There’s also a lot of content from known producers that find its way into Netflix: Luther and Peaky Blinders, for example, broadcast on British TV before moving into Netflix. Although these help give the service depth, rather than drawing you in to see something you can’t get elsewhere.

Aside from moving to offer more TV, the greatest move has been exclusive Netflix Originals programming. House of Cards, arguably, was the big hitter that really brought this home, along with Emmy Awards, but the focus on Netflix Originals has seen Netflix become essential viewing, and arguably, these are the best titles on offer.

Things don’t stay in Netflix forever though, it isn’t an ever-expanding catalogue of titles. Not only is it worth keeping your eyes on new additions, it’s also worth seeing what’s leaving Netflix, to make sure you don’t miss that movie you’ve so far not found time for.

Netflix also has a relative weakness when it comes to blockbuster movies. Although you still have a wide selection of films, Netflix has no method for getting access to the very latest titles, unlike Amazon, which will let you rent the latest movie for a fee through the same service as you might subscribe too. Although Netflix is clearer – you pay your money, you watch what you find – Amazon notable offers access to more on a pay-per-view system.

And let’s not forget, Amazon has its own original programming too, which isn’t available on Netflix: The Man In High Castle, Transparent, Mozart in the Jungle and many more. Which might mean you’ll not only want that £8.99/month Netflix subscription (if you’re all about 4K), but Amazon Prime Instant Video for an additional £5.99/month too.

Verdict

The question of whether you should subscribe to Netflix offers an easy answer: it’s unquestionably a yes.

Netflix has made itself an entertainment essential, providing access from all quarters, along with easy navigation and great features like multiple accounts and syncing – so it’s easy to pause and resume no matter the device you’re using – as well as series autoplay for ultimate binge watching comfort.

Chromecast support, as well as Dial support (an alternative casting platform offered by Netflix), means it’s very easy to get Netflix on your TV, with a huge outlay on another box to offer it.

The best Netflix offering is through those 4K-capable apps, on the Xbox One S, YouView 4K box or through native smart TV apps (where applicable). This is where Netflix really cements itself: it provides you with rich ultra-high definition 4K content in glorious HDR, meaning you can really get the best from your TV.

Netflix is synonymous with entertainment in 2016. If you don’t Netflix and chill, you’re missing out.

Google might launch a new ‘Google Wi-Fi’ router at October event

Google’s a couple weeks away from announcing new hardware, including a home router product, according to a new report.

Android Police claimed the Mountain View, CA-based company has developed something called Google Wi-Fi. Consumers can reportedly expect this Wi-Fi device to be unveiled on 4 October during Google’s #MadebyGoogle event, where Google is also expected to introduce two flagship phones under the brand “Pixel”, rather than Nexus, though they’re still designed to showcase Android.

Google Wi-Fi will apparently be able to link up with multiple units, allowing it to form a mesh network of sorts, kind of like Eero. The device will cost $129, and it’s not yet clear if it will be related to the company’s existing OnHub router range or something different. Android Police suggested it will be similar to OnHub in that it offers smart features and a better range than most routers.

Keep in mind OnHub routers are made by other companies, and Google is marketing its October event under the “Made by Google” tagline, which suggests everything we see at the show will be Google-branded and maybe even Google-made. Other things expected to be unveiled on 4 October include the Google Home speaker and a 4K-capable Chromecast dubbed Chromecast Ultra.

You can read more about all those devices from Pocket-lint’s roundup.

UPS testing drones to deliver emergency medical supplies

Remember when Amazon announced Prime Air drone delivery back in 2013? Following the excited hubbub, other services including UPS scrambled to try out competitive airbone services. But then everyone ran into a slew of logistics and regulations issues, which have taken years to untangle. In the past few months, Google was given FAA approval for drone deliveries and Amazon might bypass regulation entirely for its air shipping. But UPS is going in a different direction: Testing UAVs to ferry emergency medical supplies.

The shipping service began trials this week in rural Massachusetts. A test flight on Thursday carried a package from Beverly, a town north of Boston, to Children’s Island. It was handled by local drone maker CyPhy, in which UPS owns a stake. Though the FAA passed restrictions on “non-hobbyist” drone use at the end of August, the shipping company will appeal for exceptions to those rules, including one limiting flight to line-of-sight.

As for the concept of delivering medical supplies via drones? A US start-up has been ferrying blood and vaccines in Rwanda since July, which UPS announced it was financially backing in May.

Source: Reuters

A tech accelerator grows in Brooklyn

At its peak, the Brooklyn Navy Yard employed as many as 70,000 people, building maritime vessels like the USS Maine, Missouri and Monitor. Military shipbuilding isn’t coming back to Brooklyn anytime soon, and neither are those particular jobs. But industry is returning to the borough — just not shipping in the military sense. Think more along the lines of product shipping, thanks to facilities like tech incubator New Lab. This is about more than giving startups a place to set up shop. New Lab is about building a community — not just to employ more New Yorkers, but to spur further innovation in one of the largest cities in the world.

New Lab isn’t like some other incubators you might be familiar with; you won’t find a bunch of software developers crammed into a tiny midtown office or suburban home. It’s a hardware accelerator, like HAX, which means that the tenants are focused on building physical products and bringing them to market. That presents different challenges than those a software startup might face: While an app developer can put together its project solely with a computer, hardware needs to be prototyped. That means a company needs machining equipment and plenty of space.

The latter is plentiful at New Lab, which is housed in an old shipbuilding facility — you can still see the cranes and rails from the structure’s former life, lurking in the rafters. Studios have been constructed across two floors, some appropriating existing office space while others are in new rooms that have been constructed whole cloth on the massive first floor. New Lab can house up to 50 companies, with more than 400 people working in the building. Right now there are 40 companies and 230 individuals calling New Lab their workplace.

Each company can customize its studio to its unique needs and specifications; some spaces have a workshop feel, while others have gone for a more traditional office environment. A lot of the freedom stems from the fact that New Lab has a lot of shared facilities so companies don’t have to worry about constructing their own. That includes obvious things like bathrooms, conference rooms and a café with a cafeteria space — handy in a neighborhood that doesn’t have a lot of shops or restaurants.

However, the most important shared facilities that New Lab offers are its various machining shops, containing equipment like 3D printers and laser cutters. The 3D printers range from the standard countertop models like MakerBot and Ultimaker to the large-scale BigRep that lives on the second floor. Some machines, like laser cutters, can be prohibitively expensive, so regular access to one with personnel and training to help you use it are a godsend to small businesses. (New Lab doesn’t have a water jet cutter yet, though.)

New Lab isn’t just about tangible benefits, however. It hosts regular “show and tell” sessions where creators talk about what they’re working on and solicit feedback from the other tenants. This kind of interaction not only leads to better products but also allows the various companies to collaborate on future projects, innovations that might not be possible if they worked separately.

It helps that the companies span a variety of disciplines and industries. The tenants include Waverly Labs, whose Pilot earpiece is a lot like the universal translator on Star Trek, helping you understand foreign languages on the go. In fact, a lot of the products coming out of New Lab feel like science fiction: StrongArm builds exoskeletons to help industrial workers carry heavy boxes, while BigRep’s 3D printers are big enough to print full-size chairs and tables, some of which furnish the building. Not to be outdone, some of the systems built by Honeybee Robotics have actually been to another planet — the company constructs components for the Mars rovers.

While the HAX accelerator is located in Shenzhen, to place startups closer to where their projects will be manufactured, New Lab’s location in the middle of New York City puts it closer to the consumers who will someday buy these products. The eventual goal is to have public events, where people can come and meet with the companies and attend panels, workshops and even screenings in New Lab’s large meeting space. Unfortunately, as an active industrial park, the Navy Yard is still closed to the public. But that is slowly changing — there’s a distillery at the yard that visitors can go to for tastings and tours, and Brooklyn Brewery is planning to open a beer garden there as well.

For now, New Lab is working on filling its few empty slots — and it’s not lacking for applicants. The current facility’s been operating for a few months in a sort of beta phase, but this week will mark its official grand opening. It will open its doors to the public for a bit of a block party from 7PM to 10PM this Saturday, where you can partake of food trucks and free beer, maybe while also checking out some cool NYC-based tech.

The FBI recommends you cover your laptop’s webcam, for good reason

FBI director James Comey recently recommended that we all cover our webcams with tape for security reasons. Comey believes that doing so is a simple step for people to “take responsibility for their own safety and security.”

Apparently Comey doesn’t want to be spied on. In questions during a conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Comey revealed that cam-covering is commonplace at the FBI and other government offices. “It’s not crazy that the FBI Director cares about personal security as well,” he added. “If you go into any government office, we all have our little camera things that sit on top of the screen, they all have a little lid that closes down on them, you do that, so people who do not have authority don’t look at you, I think that’s a good thing.”

That the FBI’s director covers his cams may be a surprise to some, just as it was when people spotted Mark Zuckerberg’s webcam tape-over in a photo of his Facebook desk this spring.

But many of us who’ve been paying attention to cybercrime and punishment have been covering our webcams for years, and telling all our friends and family to do it, too. What’s more surprising is that it’s taken this long for officials and press to raise the alarm. I mean, they’re just a few years behind, but hey, it’s nice to know they care.

In 2010, a Pennsylvania school narrowly escaped criminal charges when it was caught secretly taking photos of students through the webcams on school-issued laptops. Harriton High School student Blake Robbins filed a civil suit and the FBI launched an investigation when he found out school employees had photographed him 400 times over a two-week period — sometimes when he was partially undressed or sleeping. School officials said its laptops had a tracking system for finding lost or stolen laptops, but admitted that the software program took images every 15 minutes, without telling the user. It turns out they’d snapped around 56,000 privacy-violating pictures of students.

Aside from institutional malfeasance, there’s been a thriving black market for compromised webcams and the video or photos they can produce, for many years. A clearly startled 2013 BBC reporter claimed the going price for access to a woman’s webcam was priced at $1 per girl, whereas computer webcams belonging to men cost $1 — for one hundred. And even then, three years ago, it was old news. The programs that capture images, take videos and record audio are not expensive, and they do their jobs surreptitiously by overriding the “record” light so victims don’t know they’re being spied on.

BBC’s story was sparked by a case involving a Miss Teen USA contestant. A year before Cassidy Wolf won the 2013 crown, a guy in her high school used a program to hack into the webcam on her computer and take photos of her. She found out when he got into her social media accounts and tried to extort money from her. It turns out that she was one of 12 girls he had taken photos of and threatened for cash. He was sentenced to 18 months behind bars.

The software is typically put on a computer when the victim clicks a link, often through an email, and they infect the computer with a program that hides while letting the computer’s camera be controlled remotely. Known as phishing, it’s the most common form of online hack attack.

The following year, the FBI ran its largest cyber operation to date, in 2014, arresting scores of webcam hackers in over a dozen countries, who had all been using a program called Blackshades. The program has the ability to give its user access to “photographs and other files on the victim’s computer, record all of the keystrokes entered on the victim’s keyboard, steal the passwords to the victim’s online accounts, and even activate the victim’s web camera to spy on the victim — all of which could be done without the victim’s knowledge.” The malicious tool was shown to have been purchased by several thousand hackers in over 100 countries, infecting more than half a million computers around the world.

After her harrowing experience, Ms. Wolf now tapes over all of her webcams, and so should we all. Everything has a camera. Your phone, your laptop, your tablet. If you have a modern device that can get online, it probably has a camera. And if it has a camera, someone looking for cash or scummy thrills has probably figured out how to hack it and turn it on without you knowing. Protecting yourself is as easy as taping it up, just like Zuck and Comey. Sticky notes work well because they have a gentle adhesive, and you can also find privacy stickers for purchase online that are made specifically for putting on (and taking off) web and phone cameras.

Perhaps what’s such a facepalm isn’t the irony of the FBI telling us how not to get spied on, or why cam-covering is such a wacky idea to Comey’s friends. It’s that the FBI is acknowledging to the public that, really, it’s ‘everyone for themselves’ when it comes to technology and personal security.

Which is how some of us have been proceeding all along.

Image: AP Photo/Richard Drew (Blackshades)

MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Wayfarer Leather Messenger Bag From Intrepid Bag Co

For the last few weeks, MacRumors has been running a special giveaway event, highlighting high-quality luxury bags from manufacturers like Pad & Quill, Intrepid Bag Co, Whipping Post, and Saddleback Leather Company, and now our event is coming to an end with one final giveaway from Intrepid Bag Co.

This week, we’re giving away Intrepid Bag Co.’s Wayfarer Leather Messenger Bag, which is superbly designed and undeniably stylish. Made from a thick full grain coffee-colored saddle leather, the Wayfarer Messenger Bag is big enough to hold a 15-inch MacBook Pro and it boasts the most pockets out of any of the bags we’ve given away while also being the most compact.

Measuring in at 16 inches wide by 12 inches tall by 4.5 inches deep, the Wayfarer Messenger Bag has a magazine pocket at the back, a large full-length front pocket, and an interior area featuring a padded MacBook pocket, two deep interior pockets, a main compartment, a pen pocket, a phone pocket, and a pocket with a clasp. The whole bag closes up with two front buckles so the contents stay secure during travel.

With all of the pockets and space inside the Wayfarer Messenger Bag, there was room to hold almost any Apple device and accessory I own (MacBook Pro, Retina MacBook, iPad Pro, iPad mini and iPhone), with leftover space for a lightweight hoodie, a water bottle, loose papers, two notebooks, three small books, and other small bits and bobs.

The Wayfarer Messenger Bag is super rigid and stiff when it arrives, but it should loosen up and wear in with usage, gaining its own unique, lived in look. Along with the aforementioned outside buckles, there’s an adjustable shoulder strap and a separate hand strap for carrying it around.

Intrepid Bag Co’s Messenger Bag was one of the neatest and sharpest I took a look at, with careful stitching, a herringbone lining, and copper accents. Intrepid Bag Co normally prices its Wayfarer Leather Messenger Bag at $469, but one MacRumors reader will win one for free.

To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner and send the prize. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

a Rafflecopter giveawayThe contest will run from today (September 23) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on September 30. The winner will be chosen randomly on September 30 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.

Tags: giveaway, Intrepid Bag Co
Discuss this article in our forums