It’s been a week now since the Netflix launched to 130 countries around the globe including Sri Lanka. Right after the launch of Netflix in Sri Lanka, I started using their service. Let me share my experience with you in Sri Lankan context. I hope if you are going to buy a new Netflix account, this article will help you to make the final decision.
Monthly subscription
As a typical human being, our first concern would be the cost for acquiring the service. Netflix has 3 options as shown in the below image.
Basic $7.99
It’s ideal for people who care less for the HD content. They are the people who would watch YouTube videos at 240P and care little or nothing about it. Also there is a restriction on number of simultaneous users. If you were logged in and streaming content on Netflix, no one else at home would be able to stream any content from Netflix.
Standard $9.99
I would say this is ideal type of account for most of Sri Lankans. You’ll get to watch HD content in this package. Also note that 2 people can simultaneously stream contents from Netflix. You won’t get to play Ultra HD, but it’s ok because most of the Sri Lankans yet to have Television sets that supports 4K.
Premium $11.99
This is ideal for those who own unlimited bandwidth Internet at home. Also if you are going for this account please make sure that you have a Television that supports 4K UHD.
Also remember these prices will differ based on the country you access it from. As per this site, Argentina is the cheapest country to buy a Netflix account.
Data usage
This is a core deciding factor when using a streaming services like Netflix, especially in countries like Sri Lanka. We have limited data limit caps in our country. If you browse in standard quality, you’d burn around 0.7 GB per hour. On the other hand, HD will burn 3GB per hour and Ultra HD will burn 10 GB per hour.
An average Sri Lankan has 25GB per month and it would be a nightmare to watch contents on HD or Ultra HD.
There is an option in Netflix to change the streaming quality. You can change it at https://www.netflix.com/HdToggle.
I usually keep it at LOW and when necessary, I’ll change back to SD or HD. If I have extra bandwidth during the last week of the month, I’d play some contents in HD.
What is NOT Netflix
Netflix library has some of the best TV series and movies in their collection. But it doesn’t mean Netflix has each and every movie and TV series on earth in their collection. Think like Netflix is a TV channel. Time to time they’ll remove old content and add new content to their library.
Sneak into US Netflix library
Netflix has different set of movies and TV series based on the country you are accessing the service from. For example if we access from Sri Lanka, we won’t be able to watch popular AMC shows. AMC’s The Walking Dead, Hell on Wheels are some of the most popular shows of all time. So how would you access the US Netflix library? It’s much simpler than you already thought.
The expensive and reliable way of doing it is by buying a VPN service (TunnelBear, Unblockus, Getflix, Media Hint). Easiest inexpensive way of doing it is by installing this simple Google Chrome plugin.
You can fake the country you are accessing from using this plugin. So Netflix will give you access to the US Netflix library. Enjoy!
No Games of Thrones
I know it’s bad. HBO is holding the exclusive rights on the show. HBO has a service similar to Netflix, known as HBO Now. If you are a HBO Now customer then only you can stream it online legally. But unfortunately HBO Now is more expensive and it’s not available in Sri Lanka yet.
Piracy will go away?
Nope nope nope! It won’t go away anytime soon because Netflix is here in SL. There are still many factors contributing to the piracy in Sri Lanka. Definitely Netflix is going to bring down the number of pirated movies and TV series in Sri Lanka but it won’t end it anytime soon.
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