Are you a Netflix subscriber? Share your experiences - £250 voucher up for grabs

[KatieBMumsnet]

Netflix would like to know what Mumsnetters think of their entertainment subscription service.

If you currently use or have used Netflix in the past, what do you think? Do you use Netflix on a regular basis? If so, how do you use it - do you mainly watch movies or are you addicted to a particular TV series? When do you watch on your own, with your partner or with your family?

What role does Entertainment play in your familys life and how does Netflix fit in?

What about the dedicated Netflix Kids section - do your DCs use this to watch their favourite shows?

If you have never tried Netflix before, what are your impressions of it? Is it something you'd try? If so, why? If not, why not?

Everyone who adds their thoughts will be entered into a prize draw to win a £250 Love2Shop voucher (this prize draw has already taken place).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw,

MNHQ

• NB: vouchers will be sent to the winner by MNHQ

We love netflix. Dd loves the childrens section and being to pick her programme.

It's so easy to stop and cone back to a programme and just fits in better than live tv.

I subscribed a few months ago in order to ditch my sky account because Netflix is so much less expensive. The choice is somewhat limited but for the price it's a real bargain. We watch a tv show as we have dinner each night - breaking bad or the it show or so etching like that. At the weekend we'll usually watch a film.

I would appreciate a simple guide to how Netflix works, I have looked at the website but it is not at all clear, just wants me to sign up for a free trial. I do not want to sign up for something I do not understand.

I would like an old fashioned 'user guide' for someone who is a total technophobe before I have to commit to anything. .

'Entertainment' as such is not that important in our family life - mainly because we all have such different tastes and trying to find a tv show or film that all three of us enjoy is almost impossible - can't really think of anything apart from the Olympics that we all watch together . We recently tried to watch 'Chariots of Fire' together, thinking DS (12) would enjoy it but he got bored and gave up. DH & I loved re-watching it though . I would love to be the sort of family that sits together to watch something - but what ? Cannot stand anything like X Factor/Strictly/I'm a Celebrity etc.

We have used it a lot. Whilst living abroad we relied on it. Now back in the UK we use it mostly for TV series. Sometimes films but find the choice limited. Overall happy though. Netflix streams a lot better than other sites we've tried.
Its me and my DH who use it - most evenings actually as we'll normally have a series on the go. Haven't tried kids section - it's too much hassle wiring up TV and laptop when it's only for half an hour cartoons before bedtime so we use normal tv for that

I was a subscribed to both Netflix and lovefilm I have however cancelled my lovefilm subscription as the choice of tv series is much larger on netflix.
I use netflix mainly for tv but my DS (4.11) watches movies and some tv through netflixkids. I feel confident leaving him watching something while I potter around and don't worry about him stumbling across something inappropriate

I use it a lot and was originally blown away but am now finding it hard to find interesting new films to watch. Best for starting at the beginning of a long series (I am working through the us office) and just keep on going. Streaming is pretty impressive even over a slow connection.

I have use Netflix in the past to watch
Breaking Bad. We also watched quite a few kids films on it. I was pretty impressed with it as it seemed to have a lot of choice and was easy to use

I subscribe to Netflix mainly for the box sets, we rarely watch films as they aren't very recent. However. My daughters enjoy the kids netflix.

If you have never tried Netflix before, what are your impressions of it? Is it something [you'd] try? If so, why? If not, why not?

I've never tried it. I assumed it was live LoveFilms which I had tried and I wasn't impressed with that service so I never looked in to Netflix.

I have done a bit of googling since looking at this thread. I might be willing to get a Tivo with Virgin so I can have Netflix on my TV but I'll need to wait until I'm off mat leave. I need something idiot proof - I can't be trying to network my wireless internet to some newfangled device!

We are current subscribers, and like it a lot but are frustrated there is not more choice available, especially for old films. I searched for musicals the other day, wanting to snuggle down with dd, and there were so few to choose from which was a shame.

Do you use Netflix on a regular basis? If so, how do you use it - do you mainly watch movies or are you addicted to a particular TV series? We use Netflix regularly, through both the Wii (this is quite slow and difficult) and our new blu ray dvd player which is great. Kids love the tv series and the kids movies, and I like being able to pick a few old films I haven't seen for ages. We still have a Sky subscription, but are planning to get rid of that and use Netflix so I need to properly investigate the box sets and what's available which I haven't done yet.

We sometimes all watch together and sometimes alone. I will quite often put something on while I am sewing or doing other things (which is why I'd like more musicals so I can sing along!)

One thing I would say is that the searching and interface is really poor and only half thought out, I would go back to the drawing board on that. Also, please can you have some way of locking content? We have searched to see if there can be a pin for general access to the service, but can't find one. Yes, you have kidszone, but if the kids are watching on their own then they can just as easily access the whole store. A pin option for each person's individual account would be great, and then kids accounts could be linked only to Kids Zone for browsing. If I have got this wrong and there is some way of doing this already, someone please let me know!

We love it - have used it for films and tv series and I think it is a great service. I was off sick from work for a couple of weeks and Netflix was invaluable during this time! There are a few things we have shown to my toddler but we mainly use it just for us.

We currently subscribe to netflixs me myself my husband and two child also use it, we have it streamed up the bedrooms and in the sitting room it gives us all the freedom to watch what we want when we want.

The children love the kids tv series and will often sit over dinner discussing what they've watched giggling away to each other.

My husband and I have watched tv series that we may have no watched on tv but have throughly enjoyed them we also love the netflixs original series.

i am a subscriber - signed up just over a month ago i think in order to watch a particular series and then got hooked as it's so simple and instant. i have always been quite err,herm... creative about how i source the things i want to view so didn't think it would be for me but actually it being so instant and there being so much to browse is well worth the cost imo so i'm keeping it.

i haven't had ds on it but i have used it to find a family film we could watch together instantly and will use it like this agian.

We love Netflix in our house, my son is autistic and money is tight so we rely on the TV for our entertainment on a regular basis.

I love the fact that Netflix has a dedicated Children's section and DS enjoys going through it to see what is on there.

I am loving Dexter at the moment and if Netflix care to add Seasons 7 & 8 of Dexter I will be their devoted fan forever.

Good lot of Dr Who there at the moment too

Netflix is also really good value for money...£5.99 a month and a massive content compared with NowTV by Sky at an eye watering £15.99 a month.

Love it.

We got Netflix initially to watch breaking bad as everyone kept raving about how wonderful it was.. and it was :) every night dh and I snuggled on the sofa to watch 2 episodes a time until it was done. And now we are a bit lost! Haven't found anything as good to replace it yet. Everyone says sons of anarchy is good but 3 episodes in and it isn't breaking bad good :(
Nevermind... we will keep trying!

Orange is the new black is brilliant too. I loved that.

My kids dont really use it as they prefer either cbbc or cbeebies but sometimes we do watch a family film.

The one thing its missing is new releases. We have just had to pay £6 this month to borrow films from our local library as they have newer films in there - the purge, world war z and the internship. Its a shame we have to go elsewhere to get newer films.

Other than that its great!

If you currently use or have used Netflix in the past, what do you think?

Used Netflix for a while about 18 months or so ago, stopped the subscription after a few months as there didn't seem to be much choice, re-joined when DS2 was born (6 months ago) and its much better now

If so, how do you use it - do you mainly watch movies or are you addicted to a particular TV series? When do you watch on your own, with your partner or with your family?

I tend to watch tv shows (love Numbers!) DP watches films and DS1 watches the kids stuff, we watch family films together (Cloudy with a chance of meatballs etc)

Do you use Netflix on a regular basis?

Daily

What role does Entertainment play in your familys life and how does Netflix fit in?

We watch tv daily, sometimes just half an hour or so to keep DS1 entertained whilst I do chores quickly, sometimes (especially at the minute when they're full of a cold and I need them to sit still/rest and its freezing outside) its more, Netflix probably accounts for 50% or so of our viewing

What about the dedicated Netflix Kids section - do your DCs use this to watch their favourite shows?

Yep, DS1 will often bring me the ps3 control and ask for 'a film', usually cars or cwacom, prefers cbeebies for the programmes though (Mr Maker/Iconicles)

I got a subscription as a present when I went on mat leave with DD1 (now nearly 10mo). It got a lot of use via apple tv and ipad before she arrived and when she was tiny and feeding non stop. Now I watch on my phone with headphones when putting her to bed. I mainly watch tv - enjoyed Spooks, Teachers, that one with Hugh Dennis about the family.... The film selection is less enticing but I enjoyed the Iron Lady and a few silly rom coms.

I like the idea of the children's section for when DD is older.

I have two main gripes about Netflix. One is that they need to have many more recent films. I recently googled a list of academy award nominated films for the last 10 years and Netflix had only about three of them. There are far too many third rate films that are utter rubbish straight to DVD crap, which we have started to watch because (and this is my second gripe) there is not enough information given about the film. Really basic stuff like director and main actors is not provided - I don't want to have to sit with the iPad googling the films for more info, I want it to be there in the first place! Tbh, we are thinking of ending our subscription because of these problems, after we've finished watching the second series of The Killing though! The range of TV series is very good, but the main reason We took out a subscription was to watch films.

If you currently use or have used Netflix in the past, what do you think? Do you use Netflix on a regular basis? If so, how do you use it - do you mainly watch movies or are you addicted to a particular TV series? When do you watch on your own, with your partner or with your family?

Recent subscriber - about 3 weeks up to now! I got fed up with not being able to find anything to watch on free view, I didn't want to take up a sky subscription as I've not found it worth the money in the past and free online streaming is a bit hit and miss and fraught with dodgy websites. I liked the upfront nature of how to pay and the promise that you could cancel anytime without any hassle if it wasn't to your liking. I've had lovefilm before, which I've stopped using as even posting the discs back has become a bit of a chore and you don't really get that much control over what they send you. Lovefilms on demand service is rubbish, nothing even slightly recent or even any good.

So far I'm dead impressed, we don't watch everyday, but the automatic series link seems to have us hooked - we can watch three or four episodes of something at a time once we get going. We've been watching Sons of Anarchy together and I've been watching Orange is the New Black and Hemlock Grove on my own. The film choice is pretty good and I've put lots of things onto my list to watch. Most of my picks so far have been things that I just wouldn't have seen as we don't tend to buy box sets or anything like that. The recommendations have been pretty good and I think that the rating is easy to use and seems to be flagging up things that I'm interested in.

What role does Entertainment play in your familys life and how does Netflix fit in? We're not big telly watchers, so it suits us to have on demand as our main source of screen entertainment. We're pretty selective about having the tv on and don't watch everyday. We use it on the tv through a windows media centre and I've tried the ipad app too to watch in bed. I was a bit apprehensive about how well the streaming would work as were a bit rural and our broadband is not always that great. It doesn't seem to hog the resources and streams fine, even with other devices using the same connection at the same time.

What about the dedicated Netflix Kids section - do your DCs use this to watch their favourite shows?
We don't have children, so we haven't looked at this section, but I'm a big cartoon fan, so I might have a look.

I had heard good things from friends about Netflix, which is why I thought we'd give it a try - I think it's reasonably priced and unless the quality of content drops and we can't find anything to watch, I think we'll be sticking with it for the foreseeable future.

I bloody love it. Am on maternity leave and my DP kindly pays for it for me.

So far, four months in, we have watched series 1-3 of breaking bad in the evening together (ironically I bought the DVD's but watching it through our smart TV is so much easier than faffing around with discs) and I have watched Dexter series 1-7 and orange is the new black during the day. We have also watched a couple of films together too.

Both of us think it represents excellent value for money and I have just persuaded a friend of mine about to go on maternity leave to get it too!

I subscribe for DD but to be honest I find the selection of films is not that great.

My DD is a fan of old black and white children's films and 40s/50s colour children's films and it would be nice to see more classic children's films

I don't use it myself often but I had a recent hospital stay and watched a few films but again the choice was a little limited.

Overall it's better than lovefilm though

does anyone know how to cancel bloody lovefilm? they've been taking my money for over a year without ever having sent anything after i signed up for a free trial and amazon voucher (promoted on here) but nothing came so i thought it hadn't worked and forgot about it only to find months and months on they'd been charging me. i've emailed repeatedly to no avail and it's not a direct debit so presumably debiting from my card and i don't know to cancel the payment.

sorry just picking brains. i was supposed to get a £20 amazon voucher that never came which was what tempted me to do the free trial.

We love Netflix - the only trouble is deciding as a couple what we want to watch of an evening as there is lots of choice, unlike other streaming services we've tried (NOWTV/Love film) - Blink Box kept crashing and we've had virgin media for so long that the content is a bit meh and the navigation, dear christ that system is awful.

The kids section is a god send as the kids can easily navigate and choose what they like and there is a really good selection of things that pass my appropriateness test!

We barely watch live TV as a result, mainly to avoid adverts or inappropriate news contents (or sport results!) - so Netflix has entirely changed our viewing habits.

I have been using Netflix for 6 months or so. It's mostly me and the children watching. They watch films as it does have a great selection (i ban icarly, maiko mermaids, etc).
Unfortunately the selection of adult films is really disappointing, if it wasn't for the attractive price and the children films i would have switched to love film.