So how exactly does Netflix work?

[Secretarchersaddict]

We currently use Freeview for our TV access but I'm beginning to look at whether a streaming service might be a way of avoiding the children being bombarded by ads. All well and good so far, til I realise just how little I know about them ...

So, can any tech savvy Mumsnetters enlighten me:
Is Netflix really ad free? Does it have parental controls to filter out inappropriate content? Is it just American programming? Are there any better options??

I'm willing to put my hands up to being truly ignorant on this one and would appreciate any advice.

TIA

Netflix is just a database of films and TV programmes. Most old, but more and more current and some made by Netflix and not available on any other channels (e.g House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, The Crown) For TV series, the whole series is available for you to watch when you want, for some of the Netflix-made stuff they release an episode weekly, like terrestrial TV.
Yes it's advert free. You pay a monthly subscription.
Yes you can set up a kids only filter.
No you will be signing up to UK Netflix and it will be a mix of UK, US and other stuff....BUT the clever (or frustrating depending on your interest in new media) thing is Netflix learns your viewing preferences and offers you viewing options based on these...the whole database is so huge, the choice would be too mich otherwise. So the headers will be e.g. Comedy, Thrillers etc then under each of these it will say "because you watched. XYZ.." then offer you similar content. It becomes
more sophisticated the more you watch.

But you can also search for something it doesnt suggest, and you'll still see all the new releases

I know this sounds a very silly question but how does it get to your tv? Do you need a satalite dish or is it cable?

I love Netflix. You pay a monthly subscription, hence no ads. You can create different logins under the same account. We have a separate ones for DC and us. DCs is restricted, ours isn't.

They do 30 day free trials. You have to set up a DD to start the trial but they only take the first payment if you don't stop it after a month.

There is loads of British content (and other stuff) definitely not all American.

You need a smart TV or blu Ray DVD player to get it on your telly

Got a TV coming on Friday just for this

You should (I think?) be able to connect your laptop to the TV via an HDMI cable to play video, if you don't have a smart TV.

It is accessible through pretty much every method you can stream video.

We have a satellite dish because we have no reception any other way here, it works fine for Freesat and Netflix. I don't know about standard aerials. In our last house we got it on cable.

We can also connect to it over the wifi, through the Apple TV or on an iPad.

Yes, or you could play it on your TV using a ChromeCast, or via your gaming console. Basically something that picks up the internet and stuffs it inside your telly.

How do you stop life just using your, unrestricted, login?
DH has it for his DD, she has a login, he has one and a couple of her friends have one.
On our house we all just use his, but we could just click on his DD's (it one of her friends).

Thanks for the explanations everyone.

Re alternatives:
Amazon Prime is similar, although i don't think the content is as good. But its the same Prime account you can use for all things Amazon if you buy stuff there generally, upgrading to Prime might worth it.

There was a channel 4 based one too, Walter, for more niche, foreign programming..dont know if thats still available or worth it?

Or Now TV?

You can also buy an Amazon fire stick and use that to receive Netflix

We have freesat, Netflix and use blinkbox for the odd new rental we want to watch (you just pay for whatever you want on blinkbox, no subscription). We use chromecast to watch stuff on the tv. Works really well and between the 3 things we have a lot of choice.

We can't / don't restrict them using our login. They just choose not to click on ours because ours makes it hard for them to find the stuff they want to watch and recommends things they would find boring or scary, while their own login makes it easy for them to find stuff they want to watch because it is appropriately tailored.

You can buy movies on youtube, I believe, without hassle of being tied into a subscription service.

I still * gasp * buy DVDs when I want to see a movie.