All that’s changed thanks to Netflix’s offline playback feature. This lets you download Netflix videos and TV shows to your iPhone, iPad or Android handset, perfect for watching on your phone without an Internet connection.

Just tap the title of a downloaded Netflix video to start watching, or tap Edit to delete a video from your device’s storage.

The new “Download & Go” feature comes in the latest version of the Netflix app, so make sure to install the update before trying to download any shows.

Once you fire up the updated Netflix app, you’ll be greeted by a “Download & Go” splash screen. Tap “Find something to download” to see a list of Netflix videos available for download.

When you find a TV show or movie you want to save for offline viewing, just tap the Download button (the one that looks like a downward arrow) on its title page or next to the episode title. Keep in mind that not all Netflix titles are available for download yet, so make sure to browse the “Available for Download” category if you’re looking for videos to watch offline.

To find all the Netflix videos you’ve downloaded, tap the main menu button in the top-left corner of the Netflix interface (you may have to tap the “Back” button a few times to get there), then tap My Downloads. Go ahead and tap a title to start watching, or tap the Edit button to delete a video from your device.

Selecting the “Higher” setting for Netflix downloads will make your offline shows look a bit sharper, but they’ll also consume more storage.

So, how much storage do Netflix videos gobble up? That depends on the length of the title and the video quality—and as usual, the sharper the picture, the more storage space you’ll need.

Using the “Standard” setting for video quality (which you can adjust by tapping the main menu button, followed by App Settings and then Video Quality), a 21-minute episode of “The Office” used a reasonable 88 megabytes of storage on my iPhone, with the same episode swelling to about 114 MB when I switched to “Higher” quality.

The storage difference between “Standard” and “Higher” video quality was more dramatic with the 107-minute movie “Adventureland,” which took up 487 MB at the Standard setting and a whopping 1.8 GB at the Higher setting.

And here’s an odd thing: you can’t assume a shorter video will automatically take up less storage space than a longer one. For example, the two-hour movie “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” used about 192 MB of storage at “Standard” quality, while the 95-minute “Burn After Reading” gobbled up 392 MB at the same video-quality setting. Go figure.

Bonus tip

To delete all your downloaded Netflix videos at one, tap the main menu button, tap App Settings, then tap the Trash button next to “Delete All Downloads.”

Click here for more Netflix tips!

The post How Do I Download Netflix Videos to My iPhone or Android phone? appeared first on here's the thing.

Hi Mary Ellen! That’s a tough situation. Normally, I’d suggest saving money by simply moving your Wi-Fi router closer to your Roku. But since we’re dealing with a weak Wi-Fi signal that’s shared, I’m guessing that moving the router closer to your condo isn’t an option (although it doesn’t hurt to ask, right?).

All that said, I actually do have a few of suggestions that might help you squeeze a bit more bandwidth out of your weak Wi-Fi signal, starting with…

Try a Wi-Fi Extender

As long as your condo’s shared Wi-Fi router isn’t too far away, a wireless extender may do the trick. A Wi-Fi extender piggybacks onto to an existing Wi-Fi access point to create its own local network, which essentially extending the range of the original network.

A Wi-Fi extender piggybacks onto to an existing Wi-Fi access point to create its own local network.

Setting up a Wi-Fi extender is easy. All you need to do is power it up, then use the extender’s configuration utility to choose a nearby Wi-Fi signal to extend. If the router you’re trying to extend is locked, you’ll need its password. You can then give the extender its own SSID (the name the extender uses to identify itself when you’re searching for Wi-Fi signals) and connect your Roku and other devices to the extender rather than your condo’s Wi-Fi router. You could also just keep the same SSID as the shared router, but doing so would make it tough to tell whether your devices are connected to the extender or the (weaker) shared signal.

While Wi-Fi extenders are easy to use, they’re not necessarily cheap. The one I use in my Brooklyn apartment goes for about $100, and the cheapest extender recommended by The Wirecutter costs about $65.

The other issue is performance. If your condo’s shared Wi-Fi router is too far away or if there’s too many other competing Wi-Fi signals nearby (which I’m guessing is the case, given that you live in a condo), an extender may not be able to connect to the shared router—or, even if it can, the boosted signal might not be strong enough for smooth streaming video.

Unfortunately, the only way to find out if a Wi-Fi extender will work in your particular situation is to try one, so you might want to make sure you’re protected by a 30-day return policy before you break out your credit card.

Note: If you do decide to go for a Wi-Fi extender, you should do your best to ensure that the extender uses one frequency band to connect to the main Wi-Fi router and another for connecting to other Wi-Fi devices, like your Roku. Most Wi-Fi extenders these days are dual-band, giving you the choice or either the speedy but short-range 5 Ghz band, or the longer-range but slower 2.4 Ghz band. If your extender uses the same frequency band for connecting both to your condo’s shared Wi-Fi and connecting to your Roku, you’ll degrade wireless performance for everyone on the network, not just you. If all that sounds complicated, well, it is; luckily, Wirecutter has tips (scroll down to the paragraph that begins “The main problem with…”) on the best way to configure your extender.

Use an Ethernet cable

If your shared Wi-Fi router is too far away for a Wi-Fi extender to work, you could try another option: a direct wired connection.

You can always just connect your Roku (or Apple TV, pictured here) to a router directly via Ethernet.

Simply put, you could connect an Ethernet cable to one of the Ethernet ports on the shared Wi-Fi router and then string the cable all the way to your condo. You could then connect the cable directly to your Roku—or, even better, connect it to your own Wi-Fi router, thus creating your own local Wi-Fi network.

The upside of using an wired Ethernet cable is that you won’t have to worry about signal loss between the shared Wi-Fi router and your condo. (There’s always a little signal loss whenever you’re dealing with a lengthy Ethernet cable, but it’s minuscule compared to how much Wi-Fi signals degrade over a comparable distance.)

The downside, of course, is convincing your building manager to let you string Ethernet cable from the shared Wi-Fi router to your unit, plus the hassle of actually running the cable.

Try a powerline networking kit

If dealing with all that Ethernet cable sounds daunting, here’s an idea that might sound more tempting: using the existing electrical wiring in your building to extend your condo’s Wi-Fi signal. A “powerline” networking kit generally comes with a pair of small adapters, each with their own Ethernet ports. You connect one adapter to the main Wi-Fi router via an Ethernet cable (a short cable this time), then plug the adapter itself into a nearby power outlet. Next, you take the second adapter, plug it into another power outlet in a different room (or a different unit, in this case), connect it via Ethernet to your Roku, another Wi-Fi router or any Ethernet-enabled device, and voilà—you’re connected.

Powerline adapters let you set up data networks using standard electrical outlets, but you’ll pay a price in terms of performance. (Image credit: Zytel)

Powerline networking kits are generally a bit cheaper than Wi-Fi extenders (Wirecutter’s top pick is only about $85), and since you only need to plug them into exiting power outlets, there’s no need to string Ethernet cable.

Again, though, you’ll need to check with your building manager to see if they’ll let you connect a powerline adapter to the condo’s shared Wi-Fi router. Also, as with Wi-Fi extenders, powerline data performance will suffer the further the two adapters are from each other.

Other factors that might slow a powerline network’s performance to a crawl include whether the powerline network would need to jump from one electrical circuit to another (probably yes, since the condo’s shared Wi-Fi router isn’t located in your unit), as well as how many other electrical appliances are plugged into those circuits (a lot, I’m guessing).

Downshift your Netflix bandwidth usage

OK, so let’s say the Wi-Fi extender didn’t work, powerline isn’t an option, and you struck out with the super when you asked about Ethernet. Now what?

Change your Netflix bandwidth settings could help smooth out video playback over a weak Wi-Fi signal.

Well, if you use your Roku to watch Netflix videos, there’s another option: lower the amount of bandwidth Netflix needs for streaming. Doing so might let you stream Netflix movies and TV shows over a weak Wi-Fi signal without buffering, although you’ll sacrifice video quality—potentially a lot of video quality—in the process.

Just log in to your Netflix account on a desktop Web browser, hover your mouse over your profile name in the top-right corner of the page, click Your Account in the menu that appears, then click “Playback settings” under the My Profile heading.

Next, pick a setting. Try “Medium” first to see if that plays smoothly; if not, downshift to “Low.” (These playback settings will transfer over to the Netflix app on Roku, by the way.) You might have to settle for VHS-level video quality, but at least the picture won’t freeze every few seconds.

Use (or rather, don’t use) your Android or iOS device as a wireless hotspot 

So, what about tethering your Roku to your hotspot-enabled Android or iOS device—would that work? Perhaps, but unless you’re fine with massive overage charges on your wireless bill, I’d advise against it.

Why? Because streaming video over a cellular data connection could easily blow through your monthly mobile data allowance in a matter of hours, particularly if you’re watching HD-quality video. Even if you’re lucking enough to have an unlimited 4G data plan, your unlimited data usually doesn’t extend to using your phone as a hotspot.

Hope this helps, Mary Ellen, and good luck!

Anyone else have suggestions with how to deal with weak wi-fi signals in shared spaces? If so, post ’em below in the comments.

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Hi Mary! I don’t know a way to view an old snapshot of your Netflix queue, but I think I can do you one better: a list of every Netflix video you’ve ever streamed.

And if you want to delete a video from the list—maybe to nix some of those “Because you watched” recommendations—there’s a way to do that, too.

Just tap the little “x” to delete a video from your Netflix viewing history.

Here’s what you do…

• First, hover your mouse over your username on the main Netflix home screen, then click “Your Account.” If you’re using the Netflix app for iOS or Android, tap the three-line “hamburger” button in the top corner of the screen, then tap “Account.”
• Scroll down and click (or tap) “Viewing activity”—and there it is, a list of everything you’ve ever streamed. Or, if you’re still into physical media, rented, from Netflix. For me, the my Netflix queue goes all the way back to 2007.
• You can delete a title from the list by clicking the little “x” next to its name.

Don’t see a video that you watched on the list? Maybe it’s because you streamed the title using a different Netflix profile. Go back and switch profiles (just click or tap your username in the top corner of the screen), then head back to the “My Activity” screen.

Hope that helps, Mary. Still have questions? Let me know!

Bonus tip

See the switch in the top corner of the “My Activity” screen? By default, it’s set to “Watching.” Toggle the switch to “Rating” (the star) to see a list of all the Netflix titles you’ve rated.

The post How Do I See and Edit My List of Previously Watched Netflix Videos appeared first on here's the thing.

You can also dial up—or down—how much bandwidth you use when you stream Netflix over your phone’s cellular connection, change the font and color of subtitles, and even get creative with your searches.

Take control of your List

Remember the old Netflix Queue? It’s still around, although you may have to dig around for you queue—or rather, “Your List,” as it’s now called—on your Netflix home screen depending on how often you use it.

Once you change the Order in My List setting, Netflix will stop messing with the order of your List titles.

Once you find your list in your Netflix account, you may notice that it’s not quite in the state you left it—that is, Netflix may have shuffled the titles on your list according to its secret recommendation sauce.

If you want your list to appear in the order you left it, try this:

• From your desktop browser, hover your mouse over your username in the top-right corner of the screen, click Your Account, then click Order in My List (in the My Profile section).
• Click the Manual Ordering option, then click the blue Save button.

To reorder your list, you’ll have to visit Netflix in a desktop browser. Once you do, click the My List heading, then drag and drop videos to reorder them.

Change your video quality

It’s pretty amazing that you can watch HD Netflix videos over your Android or iOS device—and it’s also incredibly easy to blow through your monthly cellular data allowance in the process.

You can change Netflix’s cellular bandwidth setting directly from your iOS or Android device.

That’s why on-the-go Netflix watchers would be well advised to adjust a setting that’ll let you limit how much cellular bandwidth you use while streaming videos.

First, open the Netflix app on your iOS or Android handset, tap the three-line “hamburger” button in the top corner of the screen, then tap App Settings. On Android devices, tap Cellular Data Usage; for iOS devices, the Cellular Data Usage setting is the one and only options.

The default setting for Cellular Data Usage is Automatic, which means Netflix will determine the right amount of cellular data based on the quality of your cellular signal, the location of your device, and various other arcane factors. To take control yourself, uncheck the Automatic setting and pick an option.

If you don’t mind a picture that’s a little softer than DVD quality, go ahead and pick the Low setting, which will consume about 1GB of data every four hours—relatively conservative as far as video streaming goes.

If you simply must have a razor-sharp image for your Netflix account, you can merge into the fast lane with the High setting, which burns through a gig of data every hour. And if you’re one of those lucky souls who still has an unlimited data plan, you can go full throttle with the aptly named Unlimited setting.

Change the way subtitles look

Having a hard time reading the default yellow subtitles on certain Netflix videos, or just want to jazz up the way subtitles look? There’s a Netflix setting that’ll let you change the color, font, size, and even styling of subtitles.

Want the subtitles in your Netflix videos to be purple? No problem.

On a desktop browser, go to the Netflix home page, hover your mouse over your username, click Your Account, then click Subtitle Appearance in the My Profile section.

Now, go ahead and tweak. There are seven fonts and eight colors to choose from, and you can also boost or shrink the font size as well as pick a “shadow” setting for the subtitles. When you’re done, click the blue Save button.

A couple of caveats about the Subtitle Appearance setting: in my most recent tests, custom subtitle settings only seemed to work in desktop browsers and on the Android version of the Netflix app.

Also, some Netflix videos have “burned in” subtitles that can’t be changed.

Get creative with your Netflix searches

Not all that long ago, Netflix’s search feature would only let you search for movie and TV show titles. If you typed in, say, “Clint Eastwood,” you might get a couple of Biography channel shows on the “Dirty Harry” star, but no hits like “Unforgiven” or “Mystic River.”

You can now search Netflix for actor names and even genres.

The good news is that Netflix’s search box has gotten a lot more clever in recent months. Search on “Clint Eastwood” now and you’ll see all the movies he’s acted in and directed. You can even search on a genre, like “Romantic Comedies” or “Zombie Horror Movies.”

Keep in mind, though, that the Netflix search engine still isn’t Google-smart. If you type in “Clint Eatwood” instead of “Clint Eastwood,” you’ll get a “Your search did not have any matches” error.

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The salesmen told me I’d need an HDMI cable, but they didn’t know the price of the cable or even bother to ask if I had HD service. One salesman didn’t even know what HDMI was. However, his co-worker did. Would I need one for a VCR? Neither of them knew that.

Greetings, and congratulations on surviving the TV department! Sounds like you made it out unscathed, albeit unsatisfied.

A composite video cable, which will connect most VCR players to an HDTV.

Anyway, yes—it is possible to hook up your old VCR player to a new HDTV, even if your VHS deck doesn’t have an HDMI video output (which I’m almost positive it doesn’t, unless you happen to have a newer DVD/VCR combo player).

Note: The following tip deals only with hooking up a VCR to an HDTV for playback only. Want to record, too? Check the “bonus tip” below.

In addition to HDMI inputs (usually labeled “HDMI 1,” “HDMI 2,” etc,), most HDTVs will have at least one set of older video ports (perhaps labeled “Video 1” or something similar) that will work with the vast majority of VCRs.

The most common type of input is called “composite,” and it looks like a small, metal-tipped plug (also known as an “RCA” plug) that should be familiar if you own a home stereo system.

An S-Video cable, which delivers a slightly sharper picture than composite video does.

Another common video input is called “S-Video” (a.k.a. “Super Video”), which comes with a slightly larger plug that has a series of small, delicate-looking pins jutting out of each end.

(Side note: You could also connect your VCR to an HDTV using a coaxial cable, like the one you’d use for a rooftop antenna, but that would involve tuning your HDTV to the right television channel to watch your VCR—pretty annoying, and unnecessary.)

S-Video or composite?

Well, S-Video offers slightly better video quality than a composite video connection, but fewer and fewer HDTVs have S-Video inputs these days. Check the back of your HDTV and VCR, and if you find S-Video connections, great. If not, you’ll have to settle for composite (and to be honest, composite video doesn’t look that much worse than S-Video, so I wouldn’t sweat it).

What about sound?

In addition to composite and/or S-Video inputs and outputs, both your old VCR player and new HDTV should have a set of older, stereo RCA plugs that go with them—one plug (usually red-colored) for the left channel, and a second (typically white) for the right.

S-Video, composite video, and stereo audio inputs on the back of an HDTV.

All you need is a stereo audio cable—which, again, will look familiar to anyone with a home stereo.

Now, when you go HDTV shopping, just make sure the TV set you pick has either an S-Video or composite video input. Remember, you can always ask the sales clerk to show you the back of the set.

What about the cables themselves?

Well, the store may have some for sale, but beware of salespeople hawking overpriced composite cables. Plenty of perfectly good cables are available (both online and in stores) for less than $10 each.

Good luck!

Bonus tip: What about recording with an old VCR?

Hooking up an old VCR player to a new HDTV to watch old VHS tapes is one thing; trying to record with an old VCR is a whole different deal, however.

First of all, your old VCR might not be able to record TV shows at all—not even off an antenna—unless it has a digital TV tuner. If your VCR is more than, say, 10 years old or so, it’ll probably need a DTV converter to receive local TV signals.

Also, even if your VCR can accept a digital TV signal, remember that it can’t record in HD—only SD.

Finally, bad news if you were hoping to record cable TV with your old VCR. The days of getting free, basic-cable TV without a cable box are (alas) mostly over. Sure, you’re welcome to try plugging your cable into the back of your VCR (assuming, again, that your VCR is DTV-ready), but most of the big cable carriers scramble all their channels, including basic-cable channels. And good luck finding a modern cable TV box with VCR-friendly “analog” outputs.

In other words, you’re probably better off recording TV shows with a TiVo (which will work with an over-the-air antenna) or a DVR from your cable company.

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Hi Dolores! Well, I wish I could tell you there’s a cheap, speedy alternative to your cable company for getting broadband Internet. But if I did, I’d be lying.

Don’t get me wrong; there are, indeed, plenty of alternatives to cable Internet access, but they all come with their own sets of pros and cons.

Let’s take a quick tour—and bear in mind, the following are just the broad strokes of what’s available, not a detailed review of Internet service providers and current prices (which are constantly changing).

1. DSL from your phone company

Great for: Bargain-hunting landline users who don’t need super-speedy broadband
…but not for: Speed demons looking to stream crystal-clear HD video; anyone who’s already ditched their landline

Most of the big landline phone companies still offer Internet via DSL, a.k.a. “Digital Subscriber Line,” which arrives on your home router over a standard phone line.

In my neighborhood, for example, Verizon offers all-you-can-eat DSL service for as cheap as $20 a month. Not bad, right?

The only problem, though, is that DSL is relatively slow compared to cable Internet. The fastest ($30-a-month) plan I could get through Verizon DSL is just 15 Mbps (megabits per second) for downloads and 1.1 Mbps for uploads, equivalent to a slower cable Internet plan. (Cable modem download speeds, by the way, can reach speeds well beyond 100 Mbps, although you’ll have to pony up for the privilege.)

Now, don’t get me wrong—15 Mbps download speeds are nothing to sneeze at, especially given the $30/month price tag. But if you’re expecting steady, razor-sharp HD video streaming, you may be disappointed.

2. Wireless data from your 4G LTE hotspot

Great for: Wireless mavens with deep pockets
…but not for: Just about everyone else

This would be a clean and tidy solution, wouldn’t it? Just one company for your cell phone, mobile and home data needs—and just one bill, too.

And since 4G LTE (4G stands for “fourth generation,” by the way, while “LTE” is short for “Long Term Evolution”) is so speedy (indeed, if you’ve got good reception, you could see data downloads spike at 30 Mbps or higher), it’s a viable alternative to cable Internet.

Generally speaking, though, wireless 4G data is hideously expensive compared to most cable Internet plans, and carriers often place strict limits on how much data you can use per month.

Take Verizon Wireless, my current wireless carrier. Verizon’s most generous 4G data plan tops out at just 50 GB of data a month, for a whopping $375 a month—more than twice as much as my old cable TV-plus-Internet bill.

And considering that I plowed through more than 200 GB of data in a recent month through Time Warner Cable (and that’s after watching only about an hour or so of Netflix each night) well…ouch.

3. Satellite Internet

Great for: Cord-cutters in rural areas lacking cable access
…but not for: Those who can get broadband any other way; apartment dwellers who can’t install a satellite dish

Want to get your Internet access from space? Well, you can, but it doesn’t come cheap.

Companies such as HughesNet and ViaSat (which offers home satellite Internet under the Exede brand) offer some pricey and somewhat limited satellite Internet plans, some of which you can buy bundled with DirecTV service.

ViaSat’s cheapest plan, for example, offers just 10 GB of monthly data for a hefty $50 a month, with relatively tame 12 Mbps downloads and 3 Mbps uploads.

Need more monthly data? Unfortunately, ViaSat’s top-of-the-line, $130/month, only offers 25 GB of monthly data, with the same upload and download speeds as the bargain plan. (There is, at least, a “Late NIght Free Zone” option that offers unlimited data usage between midnight and 5 a.m., meaning you could schedule large video downloads in the middle of the night.)

If those prices for limited Internet access sound a little nuts, keep in mind that satellite Internet is often the only broadband option for those who live in rural areas far from cable lines.

4. Fiber-optic cable

Great for: Anyone looking for a speedy, reasonably priced alternative to traditional cable Internet
…but not for: Those not lucky enough to have a fiber-optic carrier in their neighborhood

An increasingly popular alternative to traditional cable for Internet is fiber-optic cable—a bundle of ultra-thin glass fibers that transmit data with light rather than electricity.

Verizon, for one, offers fiber-optic Internet via its FiOS service, while Google is (slowly) getting into the game with Google Fiber.

Pricing-wise, Verizon FiOS’s plans are about par with those of traditional cable companies. Its cheapest plan, for example, offers unlimited data with 15 Mbps downloads and 5 Mbps uploads, for $50 a month—a bit pricey, perhaps, but not totally unreasonable.

Speed demons, meanwhile, will love the top-tier FiOS plans, with $300/month getting you data speeds of 500 Mbps “down” and 100 Mbps “up”—nice. Time Warner Cable service, by way of comparison, tops out at about 100 Mbps down and just 5 Mbps up, albeit at a more palatable price of $64 a month (a price that’s only available to new customers, it should be noted).

Of course, FiOS’s Internet speeds and prices can’t hold a candle to Google’s, which offers an unlimited data—both up and down—at blistering “gigabit” speeds (or about 1,000 Mbps), all for a mere $70 a month.

Well…sign me up, right?

But here’s the thing: while Verizon FiOS is available in hundreds of U.S. cities, Google Fiber is only available in three: Austin, Texas; Provo, Utah; and Kansas City, Missouri.

Sad face.

5. Dial-up service

Great for: Those who want Internet access for less than $10 a month
…but not for: Anyone expecting to watch TV shows or movies over their Internet connections

Yes, you can still sign-up for old-school dial-up Internet. AOL, for example (remember them?) offers a trio of dial-up plans, starting at just $6.99 a month.

That’s cheap, all right, but at a piddly 56 Kbps (that’s kilobytes, not megabytes), your downloads will crawl, and you can forget about HD (or even smooth SD) video streaming.

Don’t forget, too, that your dial-up modem will need to use your landline whenever you want to go online. In other words, no more always-on Internet access.

6. Your existing cable company

Great for: Existing cable customers who want fast, no-fuss broadband access at a decent price
…but not for: Those looking to stick it to their old cable operator

Wait—aren’t we talking about alternatives to cable Internet?

Well, yes, but the truth is that sticking with your cable modem after cutting the cable TV cord is still an attractive—and often affordable—option. Indeed, that’s what my wife and I ended up doing.

In our case, sticking with Time Warner Cable (ugh) simply made the most sense. DSL service is too slow for us, fiber optic isn’t available on our block (hurry up, Verizon and Google!), satellite is too expensive (and where would the satellite dish go?), and dial-up … ah, no thanks.

We ended up opting for Time Warner’s “Turbo” Internet plan: unlimited data with 30 Mbps downloads and 2 Mbps uploads, all for about $75 a month (or $45 for new subscribers).

That’s still a bit pricey—and no, my wife and I didn’t get the satisfaction of cutting the cord on Time Warner for good. But at least we’re paying far less  than the $160 a month we were paying for Internet plus cable TV (which we never watched anyway).

So, Dolores, that’s a rather long-winded answer to your original question. Hope that helps.

Update [4/30/14]: Dolores responds, “Yes, it does help! The last alternative is the best option for us, too. We don’t especially care about ‘sticking it’ to our cable company. We just want to lower our cost. Thanks for researching this for us!”

Anyone want to chime in with their own cable-cutting experiences, or got a tip about Internet access alternatives? Post ’em below!

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Hi Megan! Great question, and perfect timing. My wife and I just cancelled our cable TV service too (our cable bill kept creeping up and up), and now we’re getting our broadcast TV the old-school way: over the air.

And yes, I did go out and buy a TV antenna just for the occasion, but you might be a little surprised by what I got.

Instead of spending an arm and a leg on a fancy “HD-ready” antenna, I picked up a $9 pair of Radio Shack rabbit ears.

If you’re not sure what kind of antenna you’ll need, visit AntennaWeb.org and plug your street address into its database of local TV stations.

I plunked the thing in back of my 46-inch Sony HDTV, plugged it in, and presto: there were NBC, CBS, and Fox, all in crystal-clear HD. (ABC took a little fiddling with the antenna, but I got a clear signal eventually.)

In other words, any decent “over-the-air” antenna is perfectly capable of receiving HD signals, although the old TV reception rules still apply.

For instance, an indoor antenna will probably only work if you’re within 10 miles of your local TV transmission towers; any further away, and you’ll likely need a rooftop antenna. (I live on the second floor of a Brooklyn brownstone, just a few miles from the TV transmission towers on the Empire State Building, which explains why a cheap indoor antenna worked for me.)

You’ll also need to be mindful of trees, tall buildings, deep valleys, and other local topography that may play havoc with your HD reception.

Last but not least, over-the-air HD signals tend to be pretty finicky. With analog TV, you could still get a picture with a weak signal, albeit one marred by static or faint double-images, a.k.a. “ghosting.” With over-the-air HD transmissions, you’ll either get a perfect picture or nothing at all.

Need help? Visit AntennaWeb.org and plug your street address into its database of local TV stations.

The site will show you all nearby TV stations, along with a color-coded chart of the type of antenna you’ll need to get a solid signal—anything from a small “multi-directional” antenna to a large “directional” model. The chart will also tell you the direction in which your antenna should face for any given TV station.

Hope that helps, Megan, and good luck with your cord cutting. Still have questions? Post ’em below!

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With a little effort, you can shake up your stagnating Netflix list and find some truly enticing movies and TV shows to watch, from timeless classics to guilty pleasures.

Read on for four ways to stock your Netflix list with up better videos, starting with…

1. Get your old Netflix queue back

So, first things first: what happened to our old Netflix queues, and why can’t we order them any way we want?

There’s an easy way to keep Netflix from sorting your “list” automatically.

Well, several months ago, Netflix decided to reboot the whole “queue” concept into something called “My List.”

With the new name came a new feature: automatic ordering, in which Netflix-suggested titles are “promoted” to the top of the list—which is actually more of a grid of movie posters.

If you love the new wall of auto-ordered “My List” videos, great. Want your old queue back—along with the ability to reorder it yourself?

Here’s the trick…

• Hover your mouse over your name in the top-right corner of any Netflix page, then select Your Account from the drop-down menu.
• In the Your Profile section, click the “Order in My List” link.
• Select Manual Ordering in the pop-up window.
• All set? Select My List from the Watch Instantly menu, and presto—it’s your old Netflix queue, back from the dead. Just drag and drop a title to move it up or down your list.

2. Rate more movies

The big brains at Netflix have spend many years and millions of dollars perfecting the secret sauce in their video recommendation “engine”—you know, the one that tees up movies and TV shows in the “Top Picks” section of your account.

The more movies and TV shows you rate on Netflix, the better your recommendations will be.

OK, but what if you’re not that impressed with the the videos Netflix thinks you want to watch? If that’s the case, you can help improve your personalized Netflix picks by rating some movies yourself.

Here’s how…

• Log into Netflix on the web, hover your mouse over the “Taste Profile” heading at the top of the page, then select “Rate Shows and Movies.”
• On the next page, you’ll see a grid of 20 movies to rate. Go ahead and click a star rating—anything from one to five—for any movie or show you’ve seen. You can also click “Haven’t Seen It” or simply skip anything you’re not familiar with.
• Don’t feel like you have to rate Netflix’s entire video collection in one shot. Instead, try rating a few movies every time you visit the site, and don’t forget to rate the videos you’ve recently streamed.
• Finally, here’s something to keep in mind while rating videos: be honest. Sure, we all know “Citizen Kane” is a great movie, but did you fall asleep the last time to tried to watch it? If so, consider giving it something less than a five-star rating. Remember: the more honest you are, the better Netflix’s recommendations will be.

3. Create a Netflix profile for every family member—including your kids

My little two-year-old daughter loves Barney. Loves it. Can’t get enough. And when she’s home sick, I’ll give in to her sniffly, weepy pleas and dial up her favorite purple dinosaur on Netflix.

Don’t want Barney taking over your Netflix account? If so, make sure to create separate profiles for your kids.

The only problem, though, is that my Netflix suggestions page is now littered with picks only a toddler would love, from “Barney: Let’s Go to the Zoo” to “Thomas & Friends: Sticky Situations.” Ugh.

The solution: Create separate Netflix profiles for each member of your family, particularly your little ones.

Not only will it keep Barney from taking over your list of saved videos, it’ll also come in handy if your significant other has a hankering for a particular genre—say, zombie movies—that you’d rather skip.

• Log in to Netflix on the web, hover your mouse over your name in the top-right corner of the screen, then select “Manage Profiles” from the drop-down menu that appears.
• Click the big “plus” sign next to “Add Profile,” then type in a name and click the “Continue” button. If the new profile is for one of your kids, you can check the box labeled “This is a profile for kids under 12” to add some parental control.

Now, the next time your little one wants to watch Barney or Dora, make sure to switch to her profile when you log into Netflix—and make sure you’re logged into your own profile whenever you’re organizing your list, streaming shows, or rating movies.

4. Sort video categories by rating

Nothing that appealing in the scrolling rows of videos on Netflix’s main page? You might have better luck by diving into a particular genre—and when you do, don’t forget to sort.

Dive into Netflix’s video genres to sort movies and TV shows by star rating.

Netflix lets you sort its various categories and subcategories by year, MPAA rating, and (of course) alphabetically. If you ask me, though, sorting by star rating is the best way to bubble up some videos you’ll definitely want to watch.

• Hover your mouse over the Watch Instantly heading at the top of any Netflix page, then select a genre—anything from Action & Adventure and Comedies to Romance and Thrillers.
• Now, see the “Sort by” menu in the top-right corner of the page? Click the menu, and select either “Suggestions for you” or “Highest rated.”
• Behold! Netflix videos you may actually want to watch.

Got more Netflix tricks you’d like to share? Post ’em below!

Click here for more Netflix tips!

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Well, turns out that our Netflix queues have quietly morphed into a new feature called “My List,” which is slated to roll out to all Netflix users over the next couple of weeks.

Don’t know what a Netflix instant queue is—or was? Well, it’s actually an artifact of Netflix’s old DVD-by-mail service, which only lets you keep a limited number of DVDs (anywhere from one to 8 or so, depending on your subscription plan) at home.

Of course, when it comes to Netflix’s library of on-demand instant videos, you don’t necessarily need an ordered “queue.” A saved “list” of bookmarked, want-to-watch videos seems like a better fit … hence the name change, I’m guessing.

Don’t want your saved My List videos ordered automatically? You can reorder your list manually by changing a single setting.

Anyway, if you visit Netflix.com now, you’ll probably see a new “Your List” row near the top of your page, populated by any movies or TV shows that you’ve previously saved to your old Netflix queue.

Move your mouse over the arrows flanking the “Your List” row to scroll back and forth. You can also add or remove videos from the list by clicking the “Add to/Remove from List” button from a video description page or pop-up.

OK, but what about ordering your queue—er, list? Well, Netflix says it can now sort your list automatically, “presenting you with the titles you’re most likely to want to watch right up front.”

All well and good, but there’s also an option to sort your list manually. Just click the “My Account” link at the top of the page, then click the “Order in My List” link. You can also click the “See All” link next to Your List on the Netflix.com home page, then click the “Change order to:” button.

Also, keep in mind that the Netflix mobile apps still show a row of Instant Queue videos, but I’m guessing it’ll turn into My List sooner rather than later. Update [9/4/13]: And yes, the Instant Queue

on mobile devices has indeed made the switch to “My List.”

Have questions about the new Netflix “My List” feature, or about Netflix in general? Post ’em below, or send me an email.

Note: Since Netflix appears to be rolling out My List slowly, you may see only some (or even none) of the new My List features in your account quite yet.

The post Where Did My Netflix Instant Queue Go? And What’s This Netflix My List? appeared first on here's the thing.

Hi Shelly! Yep, I hear you: all the numbers and abbreviations that TV manufacturers throw at you can be pretty confusing—not to mention all the features that you supposedly “must” have on your new HDTV.

Well, don’t worry; I can help clear up the whole “Hz” vs. “p” issue—and as you’ll soon see, you don’t need to pick one over the other.

What’s the story with “Hz”?

Let’s start with “Hz,” which refers to the “refresh” rate of your TV—that is, how many times per second it can refresh the image on the screen. Generally speaking, the faster your TV’s refresh rate, the smoother and less blurry the picture.

Back in the day, an HDTV with a refresh rate of 60Hz (or 60 refreshes a second) was considered pretty good. About five or six years ago, TV makers began crowing about the ultra-smooth picture of 120Hz sets; nowadays, refresh rates of 240Hz and up are all the rage.

But here’s the thing: An HDTV with a refresh rate of 240Hz doesn’t necessarily look twice as good as a set with a 120Hz refresh rate. Indeed, even the experts have a hard time telling the difference between a 240Hz HDTV and a 120Hz model—or even between a 120Hz set and one with just a 60Hz refresh rate. In other words, there’s a point of diminishing returns once you hit a refresh rate of about 60Hz or so.

You’ll also see HDTVs with cool-sounding features like “MotionFlow” (from Sony) and “Motion Plus” (on Samsung sets) that use their high refresh rates to artificially smooth the picture on your TV screen, resulting in images that glide across the screen with nary a judder.

Some viewers love the way movies and TV shows look with, say, Sony’s MotionFlow feature turned on. Personally, I find it unnatural and somewhat unnerving, particularly when it comes to movies (which are typically still shot and displayed at just 24 frames per second). Home video experts call the too-smooth picture generated by features like MotionFlow and Motion Plus the “soap opera” effect, with good reason.

Bottom line? An HDTV with a refresh rate of 60Hz or 120Hz will probably look perfectly fine to your eyes. If a blue-shirted sales clerk tries to upsell you to 240Hz, don’t take the bait.

…and what’s the story with 1080p?

OK, so what’s the difference between Hz (as in 120Hz) and “p” (as in 1080p)?

While Hz refers to the refresh rate of your HDTV’s screen, the “p” number tells you the actual resolution of your TV’s display—in other words, how many rows of “pixels” are packed into your HDTV’s display panel. (Incidentally, the “p” in “1080p” stands for “progressive,” not “pixels.” Check out the Bonus Tip below for more details.)

A 1080p HDTV, for example, has 1,080 horizontal lines of resolution, with each line containing 1,920 pixels from one end to the other, for a grand total of more than 2 million pixels.

Meanwhile, a 720p display boasts 1,280 by 720 pixels, for a total of about 920,000 pixels—about half as many as on a 1080p display.

So, does that mean a 1080p HDTV will look twice as sharp as a 720p HD set? Not necessarily.

As with the whole Hz issue, there’s a point of diminishing returns when it comes to resolution—and as I’ve written in an earlier post, many TV experts agree that on a 40-inch or smaller HDTV, the human eye can’t tell the difference between 1080p and 720p.

My recommendation: If you’re shopping for an HDTV set with a screen that’s 40 inches or smaller, 720p should do the trick. Want a screen that’s 42 inches or bigger? Go ahead and spring for 1080p.

Bonus tip

As I mentioned above, the “p” in “1080p” stands for “progressive”—meaning a TV screen that’s capable of drawing a complete frame in a single pass, resulting in a smooth, solid image.

Most older “tube” TV sets, on the other hand,  only support “interlaced” display technology—that is, a display that draws just the even lines of a frame in one pass, and then the odd lines in a second pass.

Confused? Don’t worry. All modern HDTV models boast a progressive-scan display, so there’s really no need to stress over the difference between “progressive” and “interlaced” when shopping for a new big-screen set.

Have more HDTV questions? Let me know in the comments below, or send me an email.

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