A while ago rumors started going around that Netflix would be launching in South Africa (and various other regions in 2016). Well, great news is that South African can also finally “Netflix and chill”.
Today the company’s CEO Reed Hastings announced at a press conference in Las Vegas that the video streaming service had been switched on in 130 new countries (including South Africa).
Previously you were redirected to a page telling you that the streaming service was unfortunately not available in South Africa, but now you are invited to sign up for a free month of streaming. I tried it out and I have to say that the amount of content that you get is slightly less than you get in the USA, but it’s definitely worth trying out.
Here are some of the TV Shows that you can stream with a SA Netflix account. Netflix originals are complete, but House of Cards and Orange is the New Black (both very successful Netflix shows) are not available to stream in South Africa.
Here are some of the Action & Adventure Movies that you can watch on Netflix SA.
Here are some of the comedy movies that you can stream:
Besides these 3 genres you can explore various others like Sci-Fi, Horror, Drama, Documentary, etc
I streamed The Shawshank Redemption and Rise of the Guardians using a 4 Mb Uncapped Crystalweb ADSL connection to test it and the picture is clear and streaming is seamless, pretty damn impressive. See the screenshots below:
More info about Netflix
The service is priced in US dollars. The plans are structured exactly the same as in the US. The cheapest package costs $7.99 (R126) per month and offers a single stream in standard definition. There is a package for $9.99 (R158) which allows you to stream to 2 screens in HD and the most expensive plan costs $11.99 (R190) and lets you watch up to 4 simultaneous streams in HD and UHD resolutions.
Also take note that you need at least a 2 Mbps connection to attempt using Netflix, it most probably won’t work or buffer continuously on anything slower than that. I’m not sure how this will perform using Mobile Data.
Sounds worth it, right? There might not be any SA content at the moment, but that could change now that Netflix is officially available here. The amount of movies and TV shows available to stream might not be that much now, but that could also change. Head on over to the Netflix website and try it out.
Watch this space for regular updates in the Entertainment category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
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