Life is so hard to imagine without Netflix, especially amidst the global pandemic. Though there are a whole lot of streaming services out there, Netflix seems to have a special place in our hearts and for all the right reasons. So, it will not be wrong to say that Netflix is one of the best creations ever. There is so much to choose from in terms of movies and TV shows on Netflix that there’s no way you can’t get the perfect punch of entertainment in a single setting. Netflix has transformed the whole TV watching experience and made it possible for us to enjoy non-stop streaming of our choice while sitting in our living room. Over the past years, the company that started as a clumsy start-up has now become one of the most dominating sources of entertainment across the globe and changed the way entertainment media was consumed earlier.
Not only that, its collection of original series is one of a kind and never fails to create a big impact on the audience who just cannot get enough of them. Of course, the massive success of Netflix is also linked with the widespread availability of high-speed internet connection. People can get a Netflix subscription because they have access to a steady and fast internet service like RCN internet that makes it possible to enjoy seamless online streaming without any lags. After all, streaming services cannot work without uninterrupted internet connectivity and an internet-enabled device. That’s pretty much all that is needed. But how much do you know about your favorite streaming service? Here we are with the top facts about the company we all admire so much:
Netflix had a Different Name
Netflix was originally known as Kibble. Netflix’s co-founder named it after his dog, Kibble. It was a temporary name and was later was changed to Netflix. Well, thank God, “Kibble and chill” would have sounded so weird, wouldn’t it?
The Binge-Watching Term
Netflix coined the term “binge-watch” which became an instant hit. This term was there around the 90s but it became extremely popular around the 2010s. It was an instrumental phase introduced by Netflix when it started releasing its exclusive series. People were thrilled to escape the week-by-week waiting game for catching the next episode of their favorite show and instead, got a chance to watch a TV season all at once, and over and over again, whenever they wanted!
Largest Traffic Contributor
Netflix is responsible for as much as 30% to 40% of the internet traffic in North America, which is almost double the traffic accounted for by YouTube and a lot higher than that of iTunes. Therefore, Netflix is way ahead of its competitors in the traffic jam game.
Accessibility around the World
Netflix is accessible across the world in over 190 countries except a few, including China, Syria, North Korea, and Crimea. This is why it has a massive subscriber following throughout the world with a gigantic online library of more than a petabyte (1 petabyte is equal to around 1,047,576 gigabytes). That’s huge!
Netflix Designs its Hardware
Since Netflix streams a huge amount of content equivalent to 1024 terabytes and more, it needs powerful hardware to handle it. You’ll be interested to hear that Netflix designs its hardware, making use of servers including a hard disk-based and another one that is flash drive-based. This hardware design is updated annually.
Netflix’s First-Ever Film
Many of you might not know about “Example Show” that you can still find on Netflix. This eleven-minute film was the first test film to check the frame rates and audio sync. It is not exactly a film but a collection of scenes mainly aimed to test the video and audio quality and other technicalities.
Buffering is Adjustable on Netflix
Yes, you heard right. There is a secret menu you can use to adjust the buffering and bit rate. For that, in the case of a PC, you can press Shift + Alt + left-click. A troubleshooting menu will appear on your PC screen, which allows you to set the bit rate of the stream so it does not buffer.
Which Ranks Higher – Netflix or HBO?
No doubt, both Netflix and HBO are among the giants of content creation and always seem to be competing to cross each other in the rankings. In early 2014, Netflix seemed to edge out HBO and make it to the top but Netflix avoids revealing its numbers and is contented to take the #2 spot rather than disclosing the figures.
Wrapping Up
The aforementioned facts are surely a fun read and make us love Netflix more. Technically speaking, Netflix has been around longer than Google and continues to grow in terms of subscribers and popularity. Happy binge-watching!
