We have a love-hate relationship with Netflix. While we love instant access to thousands of titles, we hate just about everything else involved in the Netflix experience. It’s hard to navigate, titles are limited, and movies vanish like the people on The Leftovers. There’s a better Netflix experience out there, but it’s one that requires a little work. This collection of little tricks will greatly improve your Netflix experience.
A Better Queue
Not only is the browsing in Netflix painful, but you’re also scrolling through a lot of duds. A Better Queue takes care of these things. The site allows you to search all the streaming movies by their Rotten Tomatoes score. And since Rotten Tomatoes is pretty much our go-to for determining whether a movie is worth watching, you’ll quickly find gems hidden in the Netflix wasteland. Want a drama from the last decade that scored at least a 90%? It’s got you covered. Link
Netflix Enhancer
This Chrome extension will do wonders for your Netflix browsing. Now when you hover over and select a movie, included will be both IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes ratings along with trailers. Much better than relying on those red stars for an idea. Link
Media Hint
There are a lot of great movies and shows available on Netflix, only they aren’t always available in your country. You can skirt the issue by using a service like Media Hint. You’ll pay a fee, but you’ll have access to all the global Netflix options. There are other ways you can go about doing this, but they all float in a sort of gray area and you’re pretty much breaking your Netflix agreement by doing it. Hey, we won’t tell anyone. Link
Netflix Roulette
Do you spend 99% of your time on Netflix flipping through movies, reading descriptions, and then ultimately deciding not to even watch anything? A cure for this paralysis by analysis is Netflix Roulette. Put in an actor, a genre, or another determining factor, and who knows what you’ll end up watching. Link
Hacking Netflix
If you want to know the latest movies, documentaries, and shows added to Netflix, there isn’t a better resource than Hacking Netflix. The site is your up to the minute Netflix stop. Link
Hidden Settings
There are a few settings you can mess with that most people don’t know how to access. While a Netflix movie is playing on your computer, hold down Shift+Alt (Shift+Opt on Macs) and left click. You’ll be granted a pulldown menu where you can help fix buffering issues and adjust other settings. Link
/r/NetflixBestOf
It’s not so much a “hack” as just something you should know, but there’s an entire subreddit devoted to discussing the best things on Netflix. The community often recommends real gems you may not be familiar with. Much easier than trying to search away for rarities or questioning whether you’d like that BBC show. Link
