10 Netflix Secrets You Did Not Know

How the evolution of Internet and related technologies is changing the way people seek entertainment is amazing. To watch movies of your choice, it is no longer necessary to go to a theater or rely on the so called idiot box. With rise of streaming services like Netflix, watching choicest movies or hit TV shows has become a cakewalk. From its humble beginning as a DVD rental service it has grown from strength to strength and has diversified into TV and film production. While Netflix is being used by millions of users all over the globe, few of them are aware of some interesting facts about the streaming service giant. Let’s take a look at the 10 Netflix secrets you may, or may not, know about.

10 Netflix Secrets You Did Not Know About Netflix

Below listed are some largely unknown facts about Netflix:

Netflix Warehouses

Netflix has several warehouses, but very few people are aware about the location of those warehouses, as it is. They cannot be traced with regular mapping apps. Even the delivery trucks of the company are disguised very well. The reason for such extreme level of secrecy and privacy is the disks possessed by the company are very expensive and they cannot afford to lose them at any cost. That is why the company ensures they cannot be misplaced or stolen while in transit.

Netflix vs Blockbuster

Have you ever thought how the people who set up Netflix, got the idea initially! Reed Hastings, the CEO of the company, developed the idea in 1997. He was reportedly charged by Blockbuster, then a leading company, of $40 as a late fee. This prompted him to set up a company. Possibly no one could conceive his effort will prove to be so successful. Blockbuster also would not accept debit cards, not wise!

Netflix’s Best Kept Secrets

There are several organizations, including MNCs in the world that have strict employee policies. To maintain company secrets and inside facts, the organizations make the employees sign agreements and terms. Netflix makes the employees swear for utmost secrecy for DVD warehouse locations. It is actually quite logical as the breach of information can lead to serious consequences.

War Against Piracy

For streaming giants like Netflix or any other entity that delivers content through the web, piracy remains the Achilles’ heel. Top movie production houses lose millions of dollars owing to illegal download, Torrent sites and web of piracy. To crack down on piracy networks stealing its content, Netflix keeps tab on Bittorent and similar sites. This explains why Netflix content becomes unavailable on P2p sites and VPN apps from time to time.

Rectangular Envelopes?

Netflix sends rectangular envelopes to customers. Have you ever thought why they do not use square shaped ones? This is not a major issue but the actual reason is cost reduction. The courier companies charge more for the square shaped envelopes. Given the huge and ever growing client base of Netflix, even a small difference in parcel cost will prove to be a huge amount for the company.

First Ever To..

Actors, directors, singers, and technicians win prestigious movie awards like Golden Globes that some people still watch but many others do not. But did you know Netflix is the first ever online programming service to grab a television award via the Golden Globes! It went on to win three Golden Globes in fact. Not many online streaming services can match this record, right? Now if the Golden Globes could just stop hating on most Americans, that would be fabulous!

Humble Beginnings

Netflix did not begin its journey as a web based streaming service provider. It was in 2007 that it ventured into web based video streaming. The DVD service Subscribers were given limited digital streaming scope, based on their plans. The company’s digital catalog only had 1,000 titles then.

High Def!

With most studios switching to FullHD and even higher resolution content, can Netflix be far behind? Of course, the company had to hop on the HD bandwagon. As of now, more than 85 percent of shows and almost 90 percent of the movies in its collection are 1080p content. With time, 4K quality content is also growing. Who wants to watch regular TV anyhow?

Netflix Calling

It may sound rather incredible or somewhat hilarious to you, but in the late 1990s, Netflix staff made house calls. This was done to assess how customers interacted with its apps to pick titles. They asked customers near the company’s California location questions over the phone and customers cooperated most of the time. It is not what many startups would do nowadays, but this proves going out of the way can be useful at times.

Netflix Secrets You Should Know

Although Netflix is now a global streaming service, the content you get to watch varies largely depending on where you currently reside. While American Netflix subscribers have access to some of the best movies and TV shows, Netflix binge-watchers in India, for example, aren’t so lucky. What most people don’t know is that you can change your online location using VPN. Thus, unblock US Netflix even though you currently live in UK, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Germany, or anywhere else around the world.

Read our best 4 Netflix VPN review guide to get a better idea about how to bypass regional restrictions.

10 Netflix Secrets You Did Not Know – Summing it up

Netflix, the popular online streaming services has some interesting nuances few know today. It has many feathers in its cap including a Golden Globe win and a vast library of HD quality content. The company also resorts to top-level secrecy to protect its valuable assets and content. Netflix probably will not hire Hillary Clinton to keep its secrets safe! If there are Netflix secrets you think we missed out on, please let us know by leaving a comment below. We’d love to hear your thoughts.