5 Tips to Upgrade Your Home Streaming Experience

Video-on-demand has been one of the most game-changing innovations when it comes to entertainment. Millions of people have been turning to stream platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime to watch their favorite movies and television shows from the comforts of their homes

Especially since the pandemic forced cinemas around the world to close their doors. True enough, a survey conducted by market research company Invoke found that 75% of consumers are watching more streaming content than ever before.

While the streaming experience is revolutionary as it is, you can elevate your movie nights even more through a few little tricks here and there. To help you out with this, we’ve prepared five tips to help you upgrade your next binge.

Improve Streaming Quality

This first tip addresses one of the most important aspects of the streaming experience: video quality. What many people may not know is that most streaming services cap their data usage by default to conserve users’ data when streaming. Luckily, there is a way to change this if you don’t mind the extra bandwidth.

As we’ve mentioned in our article on How to Change Video Quality in Netflix, all you have to do is go to the app settings of your chosen video-on-demand service and tweak the mobile data usage option. For Netflix, it’s set on “Automatic.” From there, you can select “Maximum Data” so that the app will always stream your videos at the highest quality possible.

Researching and Buying New Equipment

One common critique when it comes to video-on-demand services is how inauthentic it is compared to the cinematic experience. In fact, award-winning director Christopher Nolan has famously criticized streaming, as he believes that there is far too much disparity between watching at home and on the big screen. While there may be some non-negotiable differences for hardcore cinephiles, streaming is nonetheless here to stay while cinemas remain high-risk areas amid COVID.

Fortunately, there are ways to replicate the experience of watching in a movie theater from your home—and it starts with investing in the right equipment. The recommended home theater accessories on Adorama show how accessible quality speakers, projectors, and LED televisions are nowadays. Various options from top brands LG, Bose, and Klipsch provide plug-and-play solutions, allowing even people without technical expertise to build a dynamic home theater system.

Watch with Friends

A huge part of the cinema experience is the social aspect of watching with friends and loved ones, but technology has made it possible despite the distance. The many Google Chrome extensions available such as Netflix Party allow you to watch movies together over the internet. Using video conferencing software like Zoom can also enhance the experience by letting you see and talk to your friends while watching.

Get a VPN

While VPNs (or virtual private networks) are mostly used for security purposes, they can also come in handy when it comes to accessing more diverse content. By using VPNs, you can effectively change your location to another countries.

This allows you to unlock a new selection of films depending on which streaming service you use. This can come in handy especially if there are foreign films that you want to stream but aren’t available in your country’s list of curated films.

Leave a Like (or a Dislike)

Of course, what you watch plays into the entire viewing experience. Video-on-demand services pride themselves on their use of data and algorithms to provide you with recommendations that match your taste. And while the technology has surely come very far, it can still be improved.

In this article on how to get better Netflix recommendations for movies or TV shows, the writer clearly states that all you need to do is simply rate things that you’ve already watched so the streaming service can get a better feel for your preferences. And then its algorithm will take care of the rest.

If you’re looking for more tips on how to get the most out of Netflix and other streaming platforms, check out our other articles on Tricks Wire!