this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2024
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[–] MrJameGumb@lemmy.world 50 points 5 months ago (2 children)

So now instead of "we have an algorithm to suggest what you might like" it's turning into "you'll watch what we tell you and like it, and good luck trying to find anything else"

[–] tigerjerusalem@lemmy.world 63 points 5 months ago

This also smells like "we're shrinking our catalog and dont want you to notice it, so algorithm!"

[–] MysticKetchup@lemmy.world 24 points 5 months ago (1 children)

And then they'll cancel anything they didn't spam the front page with and blame it on low viewership

[–] InfiniWheel@lemmy.one 20 points 5 months ago

"Our users, who don't have as much free time as they did during the pandemic, didn't binge watch a 13 episode show, one hour per episode, the very day it came out like they did during lockdown? Cancel the show its a flop"

[–] dinckelman@lemmy.world 46 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Maybe they can consider redesigning their monetization strategy, and figuring out the endless licensing issues, so people actually have something to watch, for the money they spend. It's either that, or piracy

[–] pivot_root@lemmy.world 41 points 5 months ago (1 children)

After Netflix started offering streaming, I stopped considering piracy as a worthwhile option. Now, it's actually easier to pirate whatever the fuck you want to watch than figure out what streaming service it's on, and which of your friends has the account you're all sharing.

[–] dinckelman@lemmy.world 14 points 5 months ago (1 children)

If you frequently watch this kind of stuff, your options are to either shuffle subs between 8 different platforms, or just get what you want from alternate sources. It's always a service issue

[–] tpyo@lemmy.world 10 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Not even that for me; most of the random things I want to add to my "to watch" list aren't even on a streaming service

[–] dinckelman@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

Yeah... that was similar to my experience too. When I first got a Netflix sub, i was like okay, let's see this movie then. Oh... not there. Next one then. Also not there. Maybe the other show? Not there either, but on Hulu. Except the paid plain on Hulu served me 16 unskippable ads, each over a minute long, all within the length of a 24 minute tv show episode. Immediately removed both subscriptions

[–] WallEx@feddit.de 3 points 5 months ago

Yeah, "the internet doesn't forget" is rather uddated. The internet only remembers tactics to extract money. If there is no money, you'll get no service mist of the time.

[–] simple@lemm.ee 29 points 5 months ago

Wow. Now there's even MORE wasted space.

[–] Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 21 points 5 months ago (2 children)

If you are excited about this you may be having a stroke, these types of changes from companies like Netflix are never done to make for a better user experience.

[–] Joelk111@lemmy.world 14 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I dunno, I really appreciate the percentage match as compared to a star rating

/s. Maybe the most /s I've ever been on the internet. I hate it so much.

[–] skybox@lemm.ee 4 points 5 months ago

I know it's been years since they changed this but I'm still upset. But it doesn't change much cause I also just look up everything before I watch it since there's no way in hell I trust companies not to filter reviews lol.

[–] MrsDoyle@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago

But but but it saves users from doing "gymnastics with their eyes"!! Jaysus, what a load of bs.

I hate algorithms, they narrow everything down, desperate to squeeze you into a little box. FB knows how old I am, so while I'm stalking my nieces it shows me ads for incontinence pants, tea towels and comfy shoes. It became a complete turn off with Netflix, it's part of the reason I cancelled. Don't miss it.

[–] kylie_kraft@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago (1 children)

the search function is now hidden under six pages of Netflix exclusives and is pay-per-use

[–] pivot_root@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago

Not available anymore because we didn't pay for licensing? Too bad, no refunds on your search.

[–] LordCrom@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Why do companies hype redesigns so much ... I know it's for stupid people to be impressed with. But ultimately it just created a new learning curve for long time users of the application.

[–] CitizenKong@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Well, the UX Design Team has to justify their existence somehow. And if there's one thing they're good at, it's wowing management with snazzy presentations.

Making a snazzy presentation about the necessary overhaul of the data structure of the ingest system architecture is also just generally harder then just showing a flashy, colorful click dummy of the new homepage.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

What happened to "if it ain't broke don't fix it"?

[–] towerful@programming.dev 5 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Hard to justify you're job when all you do is manage a team that does non-visible minor tweaks and improvements that affects like 3% of the user base.
Maintenance isn't constant growth, gotta redesign.

If netflix are embracing new technology (maybe something that allows 1080p playback on any browser, instead of just chrome) and the changes required are significant enough, then a redesign incorporating the big lessons learned from the current design make sense.

[–] Evotech@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Also it creates better morale in house letting people be creative, come up with new stuff, not having to only maintain the old shit that someone else made years ago and you think is less than optimal

[–] ruse8145@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 5 months ago

But what happens when everyone hates the design? How's that for morale?

[–] ruse8145@lemmy.sdf.org 0 points 5 months ago
[–] TheFriar@lemm.ee 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Was the Netflix homesite not broken? It was pretty terrible.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I've been with Netflix for years and never had an issue.

[–] ruse8145@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Stockholm syndrome ;)

But honestly it's been several years for me, since before covid, but at the time it only looked good by virtue of Amazon and Hulu being godawful. Now I just have my own jellyfin server set up with Linux isos, and jellyfish open source UI puts Netflix to shame when it comes to browsing Linux isos

I'll have to check it out. I currently use DLNA on my TV, and the interface is pretty awful. But it works. I've used Kodi on my Raspberry Pi, which is pretty decent, but I haven't tried Jellyfin.

[–] Drewelite@lemmynsfw.com 2 points 5 months ago

That's why. Long time users will flip, so they try and spin it in their favor as hard as they can before release.

[–] lightnegative@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

It's like rebrands.

Most rebrands occur because the average marketing person is pretty average and "rebrand" looks good on your CV.

A couple of million later, half way through, customers hate the new brand and the marketing people who started it have already left for greener pastures

Redesigning a perfectly good design that everyone is used to allows you to put "designed Netflix user interface" on your CV, and since management has to spend a ton of money on it, suddenly your team is worth something

[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 3 points 5 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Hang on each tile for a beat, and it will start playing a clip from the show or movie while offering users a text description along with more info, like the total runtime.

Netflix’s senior director of product experience, Pat Flemming, told Gizmodo the streamer wants to make navigating around the app far easier and cleaner.

He said that in Netflix’s product research, they found users were doing “gymnastics with their eyes,” where they had to look all around their screen for each show or movie’s description, trailer, ratings, and so on.

The “New and Hot” tab will still appear in the mobile app, but Netflix hopes the new version will simplify things enough that it can cater to folks who have no idea what they’re about to watch each night.

Will Netflix eventually add more tabs like “Sports” and “Games” to the top bar to go along with “Shows” and “Movies?” That’s “TBD,” Flemming said, though he said, “you’re thinking about it in a very intuitive way.”

The new app version is being tested by a select few subscribers who will offer feedback before Netflix thinks about pushing the update more broadly.


The original article contains 666 words, the summary contains 193 words. Saved 71%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] Dariusmiles2123@sh.itjust.works -3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

I hate the fact that Netflix is getting more and more expensive, but I still think it’s a really good deal.

There are a lot of shows and interesting movies and I hope it stays that way.

If I had to buy everything I watch on netflix, it would end up being more expensive (4-5 movies a month, 2 tv shows simultaneously).

I still buy blu-rays for my favorite movies even if I only watch them every 4-5 years.

Maybe one day Netflix is gonna end up being more expensive than just buying, but it ain’t the case for now.

And about the redesign, it’s difficult to judge without trying it first, but I ain’t a fan of the bigger thumbnails.

[–] Telodzrum@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Usenet subscriptions are an even better deal.

[–] SomethingBurger@jlai.lu 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] Telodzrum@lemmy.world -5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Paying for better quality and reliable access. Enjoy your torrents, when you grow up and care about bitrate, compression, audio quality, and ease of access come on back and I’ll be happy to walk you through it.

[–] ruse8145@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Don't be a gatekeeping dick. I was there to use limewire and had only learned of Usenet 4 months ago and the benefits are non obvious by design.

[–] Telodzrum@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago

> offers to help someone learn

> gets called gatekeeping dick

[–] Dariusmiles2123@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] ruse8145@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Tons of tutorials out there but think of it as two pieces 1 is a bunch of servers that hold Stuff 1 is an index that tells you what that stuff is

If you're willing to pay $5-15/mo for ease of use, it's a reliable way to get data of all kinds. Some is even legal.

Tldr: It's the client-server version of torrent's peertopeer

[–] Dariusmiles2123@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 months ago

Okay thanks for the explanation. Although I wouldn’t want to download without supporting artists.

[–] demonsword@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago

Well, unfold your jolly roger and then you won't need to buy anything (except maybe a VPN service)