This lockdown has turned us into massive streamers, not sure about you, but we have been chugging down series after series, movie after movie back to back with little to no breaks in between to process the stories we have been watching.
But you can’t blame us. There is nothing more we can do about it right now as we are still under various levels of lockdown with little to no social life whatsoever. And hence streaming is our only option, for now, to get us past this tough time and so on. And luckily, the libraries for streaming are getting diverse day by day but users are still highly unfamiliar with it.
Did you know that 2020 was the year of streaming wars between all the old and new streaming services? And they gave old contenders like Netflix and Amazon Prime a run for their money. But were they able to succeed? Remotely yes, if you ask us. Their main agenda was to get popular and at least good enough to be considered as a threat towards Netflix and Prime Video, and all the new services like Disney Plus, HBO Max, Peacock TV, and Apple TV+ achieved their goals with flying colors.
But there is something about Netflix that still keeps it on the top of the market, and that is its vast amount of content and the fact that it is globally available in over 180 countries, give or take. This makes it reachable to the most number of the audience without any issue such as international payments, price, and so on.
But when we talk about diversifying our streaming library, Netflix may have a few hidden tools that one can use to get access towards an even better and bigger catalog. Our main goal for this blog is to get as many names as we can get in order to open up a bigger streaming category. For that, we might just have the right fit for you.
1. Get a Premium VPN
If you are a tech noob like we were, then you will not be familiar with this technological tool. VPN or a Virtual Private Network is a safety tool that provides the user security while they browse online. It can change your IP address from one of its own so your location will shift virtually, with a single click. But how will this diversify your streaming library you ask?
Well, Netflix may be available worldwide, but it has a different set of catalog in each region due to geo-restrictions and copyright issues. But a VPN can help you in changing Netflix country from one region to another easily. All you have to do is connect to a different region, like the US as it has the trendiest and the most popular titles of them all. After that, if you log in to your usual Netflix account a totally new library will be at your disposal. And yes, this is completely legal as well.
2. Subscribe to other Streaming Services
Getting a VPN is the first step towards all this. After that, it’s all a piece of cake. With a VPN, you get access to various other streaming services that are normally blocked for the rest of the world. This includes various titles like Hulu, which is the US and Japan-exclusive streaming service along with other services that emerged recently like HBO Max, Peacock TV. And let’s not forget Disney+ a house favorite across all regions. And all these hold a ton of great movies and shows including various originals.
All these streaming services are restricted to only a handful of regions, and they hold a ton of content that we are not familiar with. Did you know that Peacock TV has all the Harry Potter movies on their streaming catalog? We didn’t either until now. And the fact that Peacock TV has a free subscription plan too? We will get to that later. But there is a lot to explore and invest in if you like it.
3. Venture into Free Streaming
Did you know that there are various free streaming services waiting to be explored by people like us? Various streaming services like BBC iPlayer, Channel 4, and Peacock TV are offering free services to their users. All you have to do is subscribe and you’re good to go. Once you have done so, a variety of titles and shows are ready to be streamed by you from anywhere.
These services are available in a few countries only, which means that you will require a VPN, but after that, it’s an easy way to stream anything you like. And don’t forget, this all is completely legal. Moreover, they are available on almost any Android or iOS device, making them accessible to watch.
4. Get away from the Mainstream
If you are looking for new things to watch, then you must get away from the mainstream titles that you would usually watch. Most of our content library gets restricted when we choose titles from a specific genre only. This diminishes the chances of you getting any exposure to any such title or genre that may be an amazing watch. For example, anime and manga are a new and emerging genre that people are venturing into. This includes all the Studio Ghibli projects which are extremely artistic and a sight for sore eyes with their hand-drawn animations.
Another genre that not everyone ventures into is Crime. If you ask us, it is one of the most exciting genres for movies and TV shows of them all. The delivery, story, and dialogues. We have seen some of the most amazing movies based on criminal stories and so on. They have a gripping storyline and a great way to capture the attention of their user, which not everyone can do. The Departed, Shutter Island are some of the movies to name a few.
Final Thoughts
Apart from streaming, there are other ways through which one can get their time to pass during a lockdown, like learning or teaching how to cook, getting a crafty hobby, painting, and more. While we do enjoy streaming, we don’t recommend you to stick in front of the screen. Take the time to also workout, and look after your mental health while you have the means to do so.
Hopefully, our guidance regarding building a diverse streaming library helped you out immensely.