5 Tips for the Best Streaming Experience
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Introduction
Long gone are the days of cable (source 1, source 2). It still exists, mind you, but most prefer subscribing to their favorite streaming services instead. No commercials, no waiting for your favorite program: streaming allows viewers to watch whatever they want, whenever they want.
But they can always be improved upon. So today, let's go over five ways you can improve your streaming experience.
5 Streaming Tips
1. Enable Parental Controls if You Have Kids
Kids are naturally curious. While helpful in some cases, this curiosity can lead to them clicking on things they shouldn’t, especially when it comes to streaming all the mature content hosted on Netflix and other services.
To keep your kid from wandering off the family-friendly path, you can enable parental controls on most, if not all, streaming services. Parental controls allow you to limit the type of content your kids can watch, create kid-friendly profiles for them, and even limit how long they can spend watching shows and movies.
2. Set a Strong Password to Avoid Hackers
The accounts you use for Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, etc., contain confidential information that, if leaked, would cause trouble for you. A good example is your payment information stored on your accounts so your subscription can auto-renew without hassle.
It’s essential to protect your streaming accounts with a strong password. Using a password generator and keeping your passwords bundled together in a password locker is the best way to ensure the security of your accounts.
3. Gain Access to More Content With a VPN
In the past few years, companies have become stricter on who is allowed to view their content. Unfortunately, this means that depending on your location—what country you are located in—you may be unable to watch the shows and movies you want to. This is an all-too-common practice known as “geo-restricting.”
However, there are ways around geo-restriction practices, the best one being through a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Since a VPN routes your connection through a server located in any country you choose, you can use a VPN for Netflix to trick Netflix into believing you’re in a different country. Thus, you can avoid the geo-restrictions set upon you in your home country.
4. Take Advantage of Browser Extensions
There are still a few areas that Netflix and other streaming services could work on. For example, most streaming services don’t offer the ability to watch content with friends in a group chat, nor do they show IMDB scores of the show/movie you’re watching.
This is where browser extensions come in. See, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video benefit from user-made browser extensions, where users can add their own functions to the services. The most popular example is adding scores and ratings within these apps.
5. Bundle Live TV With Your Streaming Service
While Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and other streaming services have been phasing cable out slowly over the past decade, there is still a need for live television—not everything comes to streaming services. Fortunately, some services offer live television streaming along with their usual selection.
Hulu is a good example. For a moderately more expensive plan, you'll get access to every TV channel you need, along with Hulu's regular streaming catalog. It's expensive but worth it if you need those extra channels (ABC, ESPN, etc.)
Conclusion
It's hard to avoid subscribing to at least one streaming service nowadays. However, with Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and Disney producing original content only for their services, you also probably feel compelled to subscribe to multiple services.
If you’re new to the streaming world, you’re probably in need of a few tips. From VPNs to security, there are plenty of ways you can improve your streaming experience.
