You'll Never Think Of Netflix The Same Way After Learning These 12 Secrets

by N/A, 9 years ago | 1 min read

Despite your love of binge-watching, you probably still don't know these facts about Netflix.Â

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1. They think you make your choices quickly.

They spend $150 million try to improve the recommended titles feature each year. According to their research, a user only spends about two minutes browsing before they decide what to watch.Â

2. Binge-watching might be linked to depression.

AÂ 2015 study from UTÂ found that people who binge-watch tend to be more likely to suffer from depression, lack of self-control, or loneliness.Â

3. Early subscribers got something they weren't expecting.

In 1998, Netflix sold and rented DVDs. They offered footage of Bill Clinton's Grand Jury Testimony, but a mistake was made at the duplicating house and some people who ordered it actually ended up with copies of Chinese pornography.Â

11. They've done a lot of research on spoilers.

They had cultural anthropologist Grant McCracken look at how spoilers affected someone's viewing habits. They also created a site where users can submit information about movie and t.v. shows about how easy they are to spoil for people.Â

4. There was a major glitch in 2014.

Show and movie descriptions got mixed together during an odd mix up in 2014. This didn't last long, but a few users made sure to take screenshots.Â

5. They can bring back cancelled shows.

Networks have been watching the success of shows to determine whether or not they'll revive them on Netflix. Fox is in talks with Netflix for Prison Break, 24 and X-Files reboots.Â

6. The Netflix staff used to make house calls.

In it's early days, the heads of Netflix were interested in how users interacted with their interface to select titles. So, they called up customers that lived near their headquarters and asked if they could stop by to watch them use the site.

7. Netflix doesn't release ratings, but you can still access them.

Netflix doesn't release information about viewership for specific programming, but third-party companies plan to.Â NielsenÂ plans to record data from streaming services.Â

8. They don't think people tell the truth about what they watch.

The VP of Product Innovation told Wired that people tend to tell others that they watch documentaries and foreign films, but that isn't really the case.Â

9. It went by a different name.

Â Directpix.com, Replay.com, and Luna.com were all possble names. Kibble.com was the temporary placeholder until execs could decide on a name.

10. There's something called "God Mode."

A developer created thisÂ hackÂ Â so that users no longer have to wait for menus to load horizontally. This allows users to see all of their options at once in a horizontal menu.Â

12. You can access a secret menu.

Pressing Shift + Alt+ a left mouse click pulls up a troubleshooting menu that lets you adjust the bit stream rate of whatever you're watching so that it doesn't buffer.