Exploring the Features of Streaming Platforms in 2021

For years, technology has gone into the creative processes involved in supplying movie content to regular men. From cinematography in 1896 to VHS tapes in the ‘60s to Compact Disks(CDs) in the late 90s, to Cable TV, and finally to online streaming services.

Although most people tend to think of cable TV as a modern invention, the earliest appearance of cable TV is recorded to be in the 1940s. Its influence was only popularized in the late 90s when it started airing shows and movies at scheduled times.

Despite its popularity, the fact that viewers have to wait until the scheduled time to watch their favorite series and movies is why it is losing to Online streaming services.

Statistics reveal that although 66% of all homes still own cable TV, more than 50% of individuals have entirely or partially switched to online streaming platforms. Unlike cable TV, you are given access to every content available on the platform regardless of the account type you subscribe to.

With the best streaming platforms having broadcasting rights from producers worldwide, some content is restricted to only residents within or outside a particular country, region, or continent.

However, this issue can be bypassed by connecting to a VPN server that changes your virtual location in whatever region you choose, granting you access to restricted content.

Nonetheless, streaming services still enjoy large viewership, with Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, and Amazon leading the rest in terms of content available and the number of active subscribers.

Besides the content available due to the rights acquired, streaming services have several features in common that are put in place for the user’s convenience.

Best features of streaming platforms

Subscription Packages

although the price may vary across different services, most streaming platforms have different subscription packages designed to suit different financial situations. Although higher packages come with additional perks, all the content is available to all subscribers.

Personalization

Personalization is the customization of a profile to suit your preferences. It entails selecting the genre of movies and series you prefer so that several in that category may be recommended to you. On some services, the parental control option is part of the personalization feature that can be used to set up a profile for the children to shield them from adult content, recommending kid-friendly shows and movies strictly. 

Search

This feature is common to all platforms online. It helps the user locate specific content without having to spend minutes browsing through the catalog. In some situations, when the user is not searching for something in particular, some filters help you to locate movies in select categories. These filters may include genre, award-winning shows, and movies, or categories.

Download

This feature may be the best one yet. It allows a user to save as much video content as possible at any time to watch later. The feature is convenient when there might be a shortage of internet bandwidth at later times. Given the comfort it affords the subscriber, almost every user can attest to having made use of it at least once.

Subtitles

This is another feature that virtually all streaming services have. There is no doubt that those who prefer to watch video content with active subtitles have had fun customizing the subtitle font, color, and size to suitable requirements. For those who do not like watching movies or shows with subtitles, the feature can be easily turned off in the settings.

Video settings

The quality of the video content can be easily adjusted by the viewer, depending on the capacity of the internet connection and device he/she has access to. It is recommended for those with low network speed or low device capacity to lower the video quality to enable the device/connection to process the megapixels of data faster, preventing buffer problems. Viewers who insist on binging at high video quality are advised to stream at odd times when many would be off the internet and Netflix servers.

 Shortcuts

The commands set on this feature afford the user the luxury to perform actions in real-time without looking for the setting that activates it. Depending on your device, you can use shortcuts to perform tasks like refresh, play next, increase/lower volume, among others.

Conclusion: Features of Streaming Platforms

Top streaming services such as Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, and Amazon Prime lead the rest in terms of quality and global reach. This is due to the investments these companies have made to stay ahead of the rest in terms of worldwide range, high value for kids’ content, great value for adult content, and high quality of original content.

As such, the streaming services industry is worth several billions of dollars, reporting over $24 billion in the United States of America alone for 2020. For active users, using these features will help you get the most out of your subscription.

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