Netflix Review: This marks the streaming service in Europe

With "Better Call Saul" or "House of Cards", Netflix in the review is at the forefront of the Europe streaming market. The US service offers a considerable series offer, which is characterized by exclusive self-production. We test what Netflix can do and explain everything worth knowing about prices, operation, quality and compatible end devices.

Netflix's core content and absolute focus are self-financed in-house productions. Here, the company is clearly aware of its long market presence in the US and the associated enormous budget. With "Bloodline", "House of Cards" and "Orange Is the New Black" are only some of the successful in-house productions, with which Netflix can clearly stand out from Amazon and Co. A look at the upcoming releases shows impressively that Netflix understands more and more as a production company with an appropriate streaming offer.

At all, the range of current series is well developed - even away from in-house productions. Many current contents such as "The Blacklist" or "Sherlock" can be found in its entirety. Netflix markets many series exclusively in Europe, including "Better Call Saul". You have to renounce completely at Netflix to HBO productions such as "Game of Thrones" or "Boardwalk Empire". In the following overview, you will find a selection of popular series and their availability at Netflix in comparison with the most important competitors.

The film offer can only be assessed as slightly above-average: similar to the competition, the Netflix servers are only moderately current blockbusters. Worth mentioning are "Skyfall", "Hangover 3", "Man of Steel" and "Inception". There are also some classics like the "Back to the Future" series, "Forrest Gump", "Matrix" or "Rocky". If you are looking for Netflix in the search for a particular blockbuster, you will often be disappointed - but in search of "a blockbuster" the chances for entertaining finds are very good.

For the Europe public, Netflix has some local productions such as "Stromberg", "Herr Lehmann" and "Das Boot" ready. Regional documentation is also available. Apart from Europe productions, all content is available in the English (Original) sound. With just one click, you change the language during playback. In addition, subtitles can always be added in Europe, English and some other languages.

Subscriptions and prices

• 8 Euro - All movies and series in SD resolution on one device
• 10 Euro - All films and series in HD resolution (1080p) on two devices
• 12 Euro - All films and series in HD and 4K resolution on four devices

All options can be canceled monthly and can be tested for one month free of charge.

Operation and navigation: Netflix Review

The Netflix interface is very uniform across platforms and the service is presented on the basis of your current usage behavior. Netflix also shows the top content of different sections. All other films and series you find quickly by search function after entering a Europe or English original. The library can be sorted by genre, as well as quick access to current new releases and in-house productions. All in all, the user interface is minimalist and modern - and thus very clear.

The jump between platforms is seamless, the playback of the stream always continues at the correct time. In particular, mobile apps on smartphones and tablets leave an excellent impression: the applications work very fast and integrate seamlessly into the overall concept. During playback, a smooth transition between, sequences, episodes, language output, and subtitles is possible.

After several years of discussion, an offline mode has now moved into the Android and iOS apps of the streaming service. Even the Windows 10 allows now, however, the first is, however, only Netflix in-house productions as well as those content, which are marketed exclusively at your location by Netflix, for offline playback. It is hoped that the download of all other content will be delivered promptly.

On the home market of the USA, mobile phone contracts, including unlimited traffic, are becoming more and more the rule - so Netflix's mobile concept is fully exploited. The Europe market simply hangs behind.

IOS users can limit the mobile data consumption in the settings: With the lowest quality, four hours of streaming consume about one gigabyte of data - a value that the average scarce data volume is often going to blow up.

Picture and sound quality: Netflix Review

Selected films and series are available in 4K resolution. For example Breaking Bad or House of Cards. In addition to the market launch of new TVs with Ultra HD Premium certification, selected Netflix content is also available in HDR. This broadens the color spectrum - contrasts are stronger, black is blacker and especially dark scenes are more detailed. Currently available in HDR include "Bloodline", "Chef's Table" and many Marvel series.

4K streaming also requires a fast Internet net connection (at least 25 megabits per second). For HD (from 720p) must be given at least 5 Megabits per second. To determine your own connection speed, try our best our DSL speed test.

Netflix's web player is based on the Microsoft Silverlight plug-in, as is the main competitor Amazon Video - but you can also access the integrated HTML5 player. For this, you only need a current version of the browsers Chrome, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Opera or Safari. In the test, the playback works without a rocker or long waiting times in the LAN and WLAN with a VDSL 50,000 line.

Depending on your hardware, you will be able to play many tracks in 5.1 surround sound. On the PC is the Windows app of Netflix mandatory. The home cinema, for example, provides you with surround sound via Playstation.

The technical implementation on game consoles and mobile devices is uniform and good. The operation is also easy here from the hand, loading times are very short. While playback is possible under iOS devices at full HD resolution, Android users have to accept the 480p on smartphones and tablets. Exceptions are few Nexus and Samsung devices.

An overview of the devices and apps supported by selected streaming services can be found on our Interface Overview page.

Extras: Netflix Review

Family-friendly: You can count on up to four users who have their own suggestions and a chronicle. Thanks to children 's accounts, content can be adapted specifically to young target groups. Parallel users can easily access different sites.

Netflix regularly animates its users to evaluate different films and series, so that they can then come up with precise proposals. This, however, quickly becomes patience, as the system here too often draws from a rich pool of completely unknown contents - and gladly an American children's film after the other. Too bad.

Alternative: Use Netflix USA in Europe

Licenses and copyrights prevent Netflix in Europe from offering the same films and series as in the USA. Here we explain how you can use the US Netflix with a Europe account or how you can bypass the Netflix country lock.

Conclusion: Large supply, modern implementation

Netflix offers the currently widest range of online-accessible series, films, and documentaries, almost always with the comfortable choice between Europe and original sound. Exclusive series make the offer unique. The technically current implementation on many end devices convinced.