When I got mine, my kids explained it like a cookbook. Mine was the older version of Joy of Cooking (just the essentials) and theirs are the newer versions (lots of extras). When I get into it, it is like the chapters of the book. Many of the chapters are free (there is a listing) and some are fee based. We pay for netflix and Hulu and since I get HBO, we have HBO Go. But, there are many that are free. Once I click on the 'chapter', all the 'recipes (shows) that are available will appear. Then I can click on it to watch it. That is the basic. With some channels like Netflix, you can separate shows that each member wants to watch. So, when you click on your name, all the shows that you have selected to hold will appear. This is sort of a shortcut to your favorite series or movies (like bookmarking your favorite recipes. Once I made this connection in my not-tech-savvy brain, then it became a lot easier. Hope this helps.