Channel Issues & Questions

[reddice]

"mikebdoss" wrote:

"reddice" wrote:
I don't know what is worse the profane violent trailers or the horrible PD music on the licensed content.  So far only the PS4 and Roku 3 in the living room which I disconnected due to 480p only playback but the 2nd Gen Fire TV stick so far does not have auto preview neither does my 2nd Gen Fire TV box and Roku Premier

You know you're allowed to cancel Netflix, right? You don't have to use it? It's for entertainment, and it doesn't sound like you get any enjoyment from it. 

Believe it or not there is still a few things left I am still watching.

[Emissary35]

I've complained again to Netflix about this annoying and forced auto preview as well as the post play at the end of videos.  As usual I got the standard lip service how my comments will be sent in and thanks for the feedback but I don't see them doing a dammn thing about it.  They must enjoy alienating portions of their customer base with these useless features otherwise when they roll out they'd come with a disable option but they love forcing anything new on everyone instead.  In the digital age when things should be getting better and more options should be available Netflix's narrow minded way of implementing features seems pretty nonsensical and downright stupid.  Too risk losing even a small number of subscribers because of how the app behaves (having nothing to do with the content that streams) is just crazy.  Best thing we can do is keep complaining and hope that they'll see there is a better way, entertainment shouldn't be this frustrating just because people over there at Netflix think they must come up with new features all the time, I think they lose sight of the fact that an uninterrupted viewing experience is all a lot of people want from Netflix, nothing more, nothing less.

[mikeyts]

The only complaint about a feature that they'll truly listen to is your dropping your subscription. As long as their subscribership continues to grow their tactics are demonstrably working. They couldn't keep all of their customers happy if they tried.

[reddice]

Feedback this feedback that.  Feedback is always ignored by big companies.  I even tell them that on the phone when I complain that a feature I liked is removed.

[Emissary35]

"SEzoom" wrote:

"mikebdoss" wrote:

"bwaslo" wrote:
Gotta agree about the new Netflix interface (a Netflix issue, rather than a Roku issue, as I understand it).  I can't fathom why they would do the "credits shrink" thing, and in particular why they would have gone to any effort at all to include the infuritating 'auto-play' function when you are just looking for some seconds at a video description (or trying to remember what epsiode you were on when others in the house have been watching ahead).  Is there ANYONE ANYWHERE who thinks such a feature would be a good thing to have?   Did Netflix think that feature would up their market share?  I wish I could hear what went on in the design committee when that was dreamed up!

Netflix is a multi-billion dollar company that has scores of people both working on the UI and in user experience. They probably do months of testing with hundreds of users to determine what people want, and what will keep them watching/subscribing (as all companies that size do). Every new feature is calculated and purposeful; they don't just throw things out there for the heck of it. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean others don't, or that it's not the right thing for Netflix's market share. 

mikedboss, you're missing the bigger picture.

Maybe there are some people that like Netflix's attempts to make it something it's not. Netflix is NOT a TV channel. It is a streaming service where the customer selects what to watch from beginning to end at a time of their choosing. Not everyone likes TV and how it constantly interrupts shows with captions about what's on next, news events, commercials, weather alerts, stuff that can be watched online after the show, etc.

If Netflix did testing with accurate sampling, they would have a significant population that does not like shrinking credits and auto-play. So where does your comment fit in? If everyone Netflix sampled liked the new UI as is, they did a poor job assembling an accurate sample of the population. If they had a chunk of people that liked it and a chunk of people that complained about the stuff we are complaining about, why are they forcing the UI out without a simple setting that disables the offensive stuff (shrinking credits, captions on screen when not requested, and constant auto-playing even when user has auto-play set to off)? I've been asking people at work, friends, extended family. Not one person likes any of this stuff. I asked them if they have complained. The near universal response has been: no, but I should. Would it help? A couple people have canceled Netflix over it. Most people just watch the show somewhere else when they can (Vudu mostly). They keep Netflix around for the Originals. Netflix is making a HUGE mistake if they think increased subscriptions reflects happiness with their UI. Increased subscriptions are IN SPITE OF the UI and mostly have to do with original content.

It is reasonable to conclude that Netflix doesn't care what subscribers think based on Netflix's behavior. The credits shrinking has been going on for years. Is it a huge technological problem to add a setting that essentially removes the code that is programmed to insert/inject itself into the content as it is being played? No. It is a conscious decision on Netflix's part to FORCE AN INTERRUPTION on the viewer. Programming code to interrupt the content's stream is quite disrespectful to the viewer, actually. If I was in a movie theater when the credits start to roll and the credits are shrunk down to the corner of the screen and postage stamp sized windows appeared advertising the other movies in the theater, I would be pissed about that too. I guarantee you I would not return to that movie theater. If Netflix released its original programming on DVDs, I guarantee you I would NOT be a streaming subscriber. So, tell me, mikedboss. How good do you think this new UI can really be for Netflix's shareholders in the long run? It comes down to Original Content vs Aggravation Of Having To Watch It On Netflix. Netflix is only scoring a 1/2 here. The real win to shareholders comes from scoring a 2/2. And that only comes when Netflix implements a setting to disable the following three things: 1) shrinking credits, 2) captions on screen when not requested, and 3) constant auto-playing everything.

I couldn't have said it any better myself, my advice is don't even bother directly replying to people on here who are narrow minded and continually defend Netflix's terrible polices.  Some people are flat out Netflix apologists who troll this board simply to complain about people complaining about the features on Netflix.  The shrinking credits are terrible, the auto preview is terrible, the auto play in the background of movies and shows when you are only trying to read the description is terrible, and the controls popping up on the screen as soon as you start a video is also annoying.  Take a look at all of these things and it's just Netflix constantly strutting itself in your face, they are more concerned about shoving app features in your face than in giving you a pleasurable viewing experience.

Netflix is arrogant and narrow minded and as long as not enough people complain and don't cancel their accounts their policies will never change.  The 'big company research' isn't giving accurate results because there are a lot of people that are fed up with the Netflix app and how it tries to dominate your entire viewing experience.  This was the reason a lot of people wanted to get away from cable to stop the advertising annoyances that go along with it.

The primitive Netflix UI is far superior to the current one because it allows anyone to simply scroll through titles without being bothered and when you press play it actually does a very simple and useful thing....it plays the video from beginning to end without anything on the screen from the app!  What a foreign concept to Netflix in 2017!  Even without the profiles the old app will always be better, Netflix could take the time to modify the code to make these 'features aka. annoyances' optional but they don't care.  They just want your money and want you to swallow their app in whatever way they see fit to give it to you, now that isn't a company worth handing your money to each month no matter how good the price.

[atc98092]

While I agree with the comments about the auto play and other issues (and said so in a chat today with Netflix support), I prefer the overall look and feel of the current UI. I fired up my old 2 XS today just to see if it still has the old UI (it does), and remembered how much I don't care for it. My Panasonic ST30 Plasma also still has the old interface, and it, like the one on my 2 XS, is slow and difficult to navigate. If the auto-play could be disabled, I'd be perfectly satisfied with the current version, although the shrinking credits can also be annoying. 

[23rdDjin]

"Emissary35" wrote:

"SEzoom" wrote:

"mikebdoss" wrote:

"bwaslo" wrote:
Gotta agree about the new Netflix interface (a Netflix issue, rather than a Roku issue, as I understand it).  I can't fathom why they would do the "credits shrink" thing, and in particular why they would have gone to any effort at all to include the infuritating 'auto-play' function when you are just looking for some seconds at a video description (or trying to remember what epsiode you were on when others in the house have been watching ahead).  Is there ANYONE ANYWHERE who thinks such a feature would be a good thing to have?   Did Netflix think that feature would up their market share?  I wish I could hear what went on in the design committee when that was dreamed up!

Netflix is a multi-billion dollar company that has scores of people both working on the UI and in user experience. They probably do months of testing with hundreds of users to determine what people want, and what will keep them watching/subscribing (as all companies that size do). Every new feature is calculated and purposeful; they don't just throw things out there for the heck of it. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean others don't, or that it's not the right thing for Netflix's market share. 

mikedboss, you're missing the bigger picture.

Maybe there are some people that like Netflix's attempts to make it something it's not. Netflix is NOT a TV channel. It is a streaming service where the customer selects what to watch from beginning to end at a time of their choosing. Not everyone likes TV and how it constantly interrupts shows with captions about what's on next, news events, commercials, weather alerts, stuff that can be watched online after the show, etc.

If Netflix did testing with accurate sampling, they would have a significant population that does not like shrinking credits and auto-play. So where does your comment fit in? If everyone Netflix sampled liked the new UI as is, they did a poor job assembling an accurate sample of the population. If they had a chunk of people that liked it and a chunk of people that complained about the stuff we are complaining about, why are they forcing the UI out without a simple setting that disables the offensive stuff (shrinking credits, captions on screen when not requested, and constant auto-playing even when user has auto-play set to off)? I've been asking people at work, friends, extended family. Not one person likes any of this stuff. I asked them if they have complained. The near universal response has been: no, but I should. Would it help? A couple people have canceled Netflix over it. Most people just watch the show somewhere else when they can (Vudu mostly). They keep Netflix around for the Originals. Netflix is making a HUGE mistake if they think increased subscriptions reflects happiness with their UI. Increased subscriptions are IN SPITE OF the UI and mostly have to do with original content.

It is reasonable to conclude that Netflix doesn't care what subscribers think based on Netflix's behavior. The credits shrinking has been going on for years. Is it a huge technological problem to add a setting that essentially removes the code that is programmed to insert/inject itself into the content as it is being played? No. It is a conscious decision on Netflix's part to FORCE AN INTERRUPTION on the viewer. Programming code to interrupt the content's stream is quite disrespectful to the viewer, actually. If I was in a movie theater when the credits start to roll and the credits are shrunk down to the corner of the screen and postage stamp sized windows appeared advertising the other movies in the theater, I would be pissed about that too. I guarantee you I would not return to that movie theater. If Netflix released its original programming on DVDs, I guarantee you I would NOT be a streaming subscriber. So, tell me, mikedboss. How good do you think this new UI can really be for Netflix's shareholders in the long run? It comes down to Original Content vs Aggravation Of Having To Watch It On Netflix. Netflix is only scoring a 1/2 here. The real win to shareholders comes from scoring a 2/2. And that only comes when Netflix implements a setting to disable the following three things: 1) shrinking credits, 2) captions on screen when not requested, and 3) constant auto-playing everything.

I couldn't have said it any better myself, my advice is don't even bother directly replying to people on here who are narrow minded and continually defend Netflix's terrible polices.  Some people are flat out Netflix apologists who troll this board simply to complain about people complaining about the features on Netflix. etc. etc etc.

then again, some people appear to troll this board to continually complain about the exact same "features" and policies, day after day after day after day. that would seem better suited for a Netflix oriented forum rather than a constant cluttering of a forum specifically designed for issues with ROKU and ROKU devices. 
a person with an opposing opinion does not make them a troll, nor should it make their opinion any less valid, and does not, by any stretch of imagination, make them "Netflix apologists". to state such as being a fact is disingenuous at the least.

[reddice]

I agree with you Emissary35.  Just wait until Netflix shows there ugly logo on some corner of the screen all the time when watching anything or even worse start showing a NF original full screen trailer as soon as you launch the app or TV show, movie that you can cancel after 5 to 15 seconds with no way to turn off each annoying feature. Then you will still have the Netflix apologists saying that it is a good thing, it is only a service and if you don't like you can cancel.

[mikebdoss]

"reddice" wrote:
I agree with you Emissary35.  Just wait until Netflix shows there ugly logo on some corner of the screen all the time when watching anything or even worse start showing a NF original full screen trailer as soon as you launch the app or TV show, movie that you can cancel after 5 to 15 seconds with no way to turn off each annoying feature. Then you will still have the Netflix apologists saying that it is a good thing, it is only a service and if you don't like you can cancel.

See, that's the thing. No matter what you hate or other people like, it's still a sub-$10/month entertainment service that gives you access to thousands of tv shows and movies. Before 10 years ago, nothing even remotely similar existed anywhere. It's an amazing value, but in the end, it's just entertainment. It is literally one of the least important things in your life, and easily replaceable. 

All that said, it's run by a company that exists to make money. Believe me, if they introduce a feature that causes people to start quitting en masse, you're going to see them change it back (or make it optional) really quick. So far, however, their testing has revealed that people either don't care or generally like the new features, and the cost of having some loud complainers is made up for in others people who like it, watch more often, and don't cancel their subscriptions. I'm not an apologist for Netflix; I'm just giving you the facts as Netflix sees it. 

[reddice]

Okay so force playing original trailers with violence and profanity when browsing is okay in your book.  Not me and once my Roku Premier and FTV gets this I am done with NF.