{"id":2418,"date":"2014-05-08T13:04:37","date_gmt":"2014-05-08T04:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2014-05-08\/2418"},"modified":"2014-05-08T13:04:37","modified_gmt":"2014-05-08T04:04:37","slug":"mini-rant-disappointed-in-netflix-video-streaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2014-05-08\/2418","title":{"rendered":"Mini Rant: Disappointed in Netflix Video Streaming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<p>I've been subscribing to <a href='http:\/\/netflix.com'>Netflix<\/a>'s\nvideo-streaming service for <span class='nobr'>a month<\/span> or so. For $9\nbucks <span class='nobr'>a month<\/span> it's <span class='nobr'>a\ngreat<\/span> deal and <span class='nobr'>I recommend<\/span> it, but that\nbeing said, it's also <span class='nobr'>a big<\/span> disappointment over\nwhat <span class='nobr'>I expected.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p>YouTube has defined what's expected in video streaming, and the Netflix\nexperience is so much worse. <span class='nobr'>One problem<\/span> is that\nthe video quality is usually pretty bad &mdash; blocky and pixelated\n&mdash; even though <span class='nobr'>I have<\/span> <span class='nobr'>a\nvery<\/span> fast connection (even via <a\nhref='https:\/\/www.privateinternetaccess.com\/'>the VPN<\/a> that <span\nclass='nobr'>I require<\/span> to access Netflix from Japan). <span\nclass='nobr'>I can watch<\/span> super-HD 1080p videos on YouTube without\nproblem, but Netflix remains fairly blocky on average. (Only once that\n<span class='nobr'>I recall<\/span> in all this time has it ever kicked into\nbasic-HD mode.)<\/p>\n\n<p>While watching YouTube, if you want to jump back <span class='nobr'>a few<\/span> seconds, or skip forward <span class='nobr'>a few<\/span> seconds, you just\ngrab the little location cursor and move it where you want, and usually playback starts from there immediately,\nbecause these locations not far from your previous playback spot are in the playback buffer. <span class='nobr'>Not so on<\/span> Netflix...\nany movement of the playback cursor &mdash; even just back <span class='nobr'>a few<\/span> seconds &mdash; requires <span class='nobr'>a full<\/span> restart of the\nstream, taking 10+ seconds and reverting to the lowest-quality video. It's maddening.<\/p>\n\n<p>Other problems include...<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Movie selection: I never knew that there were <i>so<\/i> many crappy\nmovies made over the years, but Netflix has conveniently assembled them all\nin one location. <span class='nobr'>To keep things<\/span> consistent, good movies are kept to <span class='nobr'>a\nminimum.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p>Every time I've searched for a specific movie by name, it's not been\navailable. Every. Single. One. Examples include Avatar, 300, Harry Potter,\nInception, Major League, Game of Thrones, <span class='nobr'>The\nSpanish<\/span> Prisoner, Frozen. Not available.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n<li><p>With an inability to find good movies by name, you're left to browse the cesspool of\ncrappy movies to find the occasional good movie that somehow snuck in, but Netflix makes this very difficult\nbecause the rating system is almost useless.<\/p>\n\n<p>First off, they're always shoving <span class='QO'>&#8220;<\/span>rate this movie<span class='QC'>&#8221;<\/span> interstitials into\nyour face, encouraging you to give <span class='nobr'>a haphazard<\/span> answer just to shut the\nthing up. <span class='nobr'>An ignorant<\/span> or unconsidered rating is <i>much<\/i> worse than no\nrating, but they aggressively encourage the former, strongly diluting the meaning and purpose of ratings.<\/p>\n\n<p>While browsing you can mark a move as <span class='QO'>&#8220;<\/span>Not Interested<span class='QC'>&#8221;<\/span>, but there's no description of what this actually means.\nDoes it mean:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Already seen this movie (it was great!) but don't want to see while searching for something new.<\/p><\/li>\n<li><p>Already seen this movie (it was horrible!) and never want to be reminded of it again.<\/p><\/li>\n<li><p>Not interested in this specific movie that I've heard bad things about.<\/p><\/li>\n<li><p>Not interested in this genre\/director\/actor\/subject.<\/p><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>or something else entirely? Does it impact the rating system? Who knows.<\/p>\n\n<p>When they show a rating for a movie, sometimes they show the average customer rating,\nand sometime they show the rating <i>Netflix thinks I'd give<\/i>. While browsing, you'll see one or the other,\nbut they're presented with the same appearance so you actually have to read the fine print to know which they're showing.<\/p>\n\n<p>And if you do want to spend the time to rate <span class='nobr'>a movie,<\/span> there's nothing between <span class='QO'>&#8220;<\/span>Didn't like it<span class='QC'>&#8221;<\/span> and <span class='QO'>&#8220;<\/span>Liked it<span class='QC'>&#8221;<\/span>.\nThere's no <span class='QO'>&#8220;<\/span><i>meh, it was okay<\/i><span class='QC'>&#8221;<\/span>. <span class='nobr'>I'm sure that<\/span> <span class='nobr'>a thousand<\/span> years of consumer research shows that <span class='nobr'>a movie<\/span> rating\nsystem must have exactly five stars, but Netflix picks <span class='nobr'>a lopsided<\/span> five levels that artificially encourages more positive reviews:<\/p>\n\n<table style='margin-left:3em'>\n<tr><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td width='10'><\/td><th style='border-bottom:1px solid gray'>Netflix's Rating System<\/th><th width='30'><\/th><th style='border-bottom:1px solid gray'>What <span class='nobr'>I think<\/span> it Should Be<\/th><\/tr>\n<tr><td>&#10029;<\/td><td>&middot;<\/td><td>&middot;<\/td><td>&middot;<\/td><td>&middot;<\/td><td><\/td><td>Hated it<\/td><td><\/td><td>Hated it<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>&#10029;<\/td><td>&#10029;<\/td><td>&middot;<\/td><td>&middot;<\/td><td>&middot;<\/td><td><\/td><td>Didn't like it<\/td><td><\/td><td>Didn't care for it<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>&#10029;<\/td><td>&#10029;<\/td><td>&#10029;<\/td><td>&middot;<\/td><td>&middot;<\/td><td><\/td><td>Liked it<\/td><td><\/td><td>So-so<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>&#10029;<\/td><td>&#10029;<\/td><td>&#10029;<\/td><td>&#10029;<\/td><td>&middot;<\/td><td><\/td><td>Really liked it<\/td><td><\/td><td>Liked it<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>&#10029;<\/td><td>&#10029;<\/td><td>&#10029;<\/td><td>&#10029;<\/td><td>&#10029;<\/td><td><\/td><td>Loved it!<\/td><td><\/td><td>Really liked it<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n<p>Actually, I think a 10-star system like <a href='http:\/\/imdb.com'>IMDB<\/a> would be much better.\nIMDB gives ratings that actually mean something.<\/p>\n\n<\/li>\n\n<li><p>When you're watching at TV show and the episode reaches the end\ncredits, they show the blurb for the next episode, making it easy to skip\ndirectly to it. <span class='QO'>&#8220;<\/span>Easy<span class='QC'>&#8221;<\/span> is wonderful, but the blurb about the next episode can give away important\nplot points, destroying much of the fun of watching. <span class='nobr'>As far as<\/span> <span class='nobr'>I can<\/span> tell,\nyou can't turn this off.<\/p><\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>The Netflix original production <span class='QO'>&#8220;<\/span><a href='http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/House_of_Cards_%28U.S._TV_series%29'>House of Cards<\/a><span class='QC'>&#8221;<\/span> illustrates how little they\nget the concept of on-demand video. With broadcast TV, especially before\nrecorders and timeshifting, the title sequence of <span class='nobr'>a TV<\/span> show &mdash; those 60 seconds or so of theme\nmusic with actor and production credits over generic video not related to\nthe specific episode &mdash; served the important function of being <span class='nobr'>a time<\/span>\nbuffer during which the viewing audience could tune in and confirm that\nthey've gotten to the right channel at the right time, and if they join in\nearly enough in the sequence, allow them the comfort to use the bathroom or\ngrab something from the fridge without worrying that they'll miss\nsomething.<\/p>\n\n<p>This time-buffer purpose has no meaning in an on-demand world of video streaming and DVD rentals where\nyou press <span class='QO'>&#8220;<\/span>play<span class='QC'>&#8221;<\/span> when you're ready to watch. <span class='nobr'>The title<\/span> sequence can of course be useful to set <span class='nobr'>a mood<\/span> and to give credit to the actors and producers,\nso it makes sense to have it at the start of the first episode, but <i>House of Cards<\/i> has almost two\nminutes of generic title sequence stuff tacked on to the start of <i>each<\/i> of its 26 episodes. <span class='nobr'>It's exactly<\/span> the same every time, so after the first episode it's just maddening to have to suffer the 101 seconds\nof title sequence just to watch the video you wanted to see back when you pressed <span class='QO'>&#8220;<\/span>play<span class='QC'>&#8221;<\/span>. <span class='nobr'>I'd rather<\/span> have commercials.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>All told, the wasted time over the course of\nthe 26 episodes adds up to almost 44 minutes, almost as long as <span class='nobr'>a full<\/span> episode! Clearly, someone doesn't get the concept of <span class='QO'>&#8220;<\/span>on demand<span class='QC'>&#8221;<\/span>. <span class='nobr'>And as I<\/span> mentioned above, Netflix makes it difficult to jump ahead, so you're pretty much stuck watching over and over who designed\nthe costumes, and who the half dozen executive producers were.<\/p>\n\n<p>(That all being said, <i>House of Cards<\/i> is an amazing, riveting, fantastic show. <span class='nobr'>It's painful<\/span> to sit through the title sequence each time,\nbut <i>House of Cards<\/i> by itself makes the Netflix subscription more than worth it.)<\/p>\n\n<p>YYMV.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I've been subscribing to Netflix's video-streaming service for a month or so. For $9 bucks a month it's a great deal and I recommend it, but that being said, it's also a big disappointment over what I expected.<\/p> <p>YouTube has defined what's expected in video streaming, and the Netflix experience is so much worse. One problem is that the video quality is usually pretty bad -- blocky and pixelated -- even though I have a very fast connection (even via the VPN that I require to access Netflix from Japan). I can watch super-HD 1080p videos on YouTube without problem, [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2418"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2418\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}