Netflix — it’s a beautiful thing.
The massive archive of TV shows and movies is probably enough to keep you preoccupied ... well, forever.
Oh but we’re not talking about staying busy by watching a good movie or an addictive TV show. No, no — if you have Netflix you know just finding something worth watching can be annoyingly time consuming.
So, to avoid the wasted time we’ve found five quick pointers that will help you make the most out of your Netflix experience.
First up — a very easy and well ... kind of obvious tip.
Rate what you watch. Every time you watch something this little blurb pops up — don’t ignore it. Netflix will recommend similar movies or shows to you based on how you rate what you’ve seen.
Speaking of ratings, did you know you can have IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes scores — even trailers embedded into your Netflix account? Awesome!
Here’s how to get the hack — from my own experience it’s easiest to use Chrome. You’ll want to go to the Chrome web store and search Netflix. Netflix Enhancer “old” is the one you’ll want to download, unless you feel like forking up a yearly payment. When you get back to Netflix and hover over a movie title — boom! — IMDb rating. Very nice. If you keep looking around, some even feature Rotten Tomatoes and trailers. How easy was that?
This next one is a third-party site. I tried it at home and, personally, I didn’t love it but it’s pretty highly recommended on tech sites.
This is InstantWatcher.com. Over here on the left you’ll see a list of Netfix’s most-watched in the last 24 hours and on the right is a list of movies and shows that are new to Netflix. There’s a lot to explore on this site so be careful not to get caught up searching — which is exactly what we’re trying to avoid.
Next, let Netflix help you out. Just like the star ratings, it would be really helpful to fill out your taste profile. I’ll admit — I’ve been too lazy to do it until ... right now. This will give Netflix another reference to help give the best recommendations.
One more helpful hint. This one is really simple — and makes life a little better. “A better queue” is a really helpful site. It will show you the best-rated shows and flicks on Netflix and it’s perfect if you’re not comfortable installing the Chrome extension. You can even narrow it down to the genre. Once you find something just click on the poster and it will take you straight to Netflix.
Now you’re ready to rock and roll, or turn into the ultimate couch potato. If you’re interested in more helpful tools for Netflix or anything else, just let us know and Newsy’s got your back.
This video includes an image from Getty Images.
