Wow! I didn't think they'd ever change their position on this. Great news! We have Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ subscriptions, and Netflix's UX is significantly better than the other two....
Wow! I didn't think they'd ever change their position on this. Great news!
We have Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ subscriptions, and Netflix's UX is significantly better than the other two. Getting rid of auto-play previews further seals the deal.
Amazon isn't bad but I can never actually find the stupid thing. I end up typing "Prime Video" into the Amazon search box and they've got an override set up so that that just takes you there....
Amazon isn't bad but I can never actually find the stupid thing. I end up typing "Prime Video" into the Amazon search box and they've got an override set up so that that just takes you there. There's no separate domain and there's no button you click to take you there.
Hulu is honestly a hot mess. Buggiest streaming software I've seen. You can't fast forward or rewind through commercials, on Roku arbitrary chunks of your actual show are randomly marked as an advertisement, it's pretty much worse than cable. At least with cable you can pause the commercials and fast forward later. Hulu, nothing. Watching ads is mandatory. Thankfully uBlock Origin deals with it nicely on the website.
The biggest issue with Amazon is the fact that HD and 4K versions of the exact same show are considered separate programs in their UI. If I start a show on my 1080p TV in the basement then watch...
The biggest issue with Amazon is the fact that HD and 4K versions of the exact same show are considered separate programs in their UI. If I start a show on my 1080p TV in the basement then watch the next episode on my 4K TV, I have to manually search for the 4K version and figure out which episode I left off on. Then I have two identical partially watched seasons in my "continue watching" section, even if I've technically watched all episodes, just mixed and matched across seasons.
I don't understand how someone built this system, showed it to their manager, and got the go-ahead to publish it like this. No other service that supports 4K has this problem.
When you’re in the middle of watching a series, Netflix surfaces the tile for that show so you can get back to it quickly on a return visit. It remembers exactly where you left off, and will queue...
When you’re in the middle of watching a series, Netflix surfaces the tile for that show so you can get back to it quickly on a return visit. It remembers exactly where you left off, and will queue up the next episode automatically. If you stopped in the middle of an episode, it’ll return you right to where you were.
Disney+ really falls down in this area. You have to scroll down past the big “featured” banner carousel, the top-level category tiles, and the “recommended for you” and “originals” rows before it shows you “continue watching,” which is below the fold. If you finished your last session with an episode’s end credits playing, you may be returned to that instead of the next in series. If you pull up the show’s full episode list, it’ll highlight the first one instead of your last watched. IIRC, it also doesn’t indicate which have been watched and which haven’t, so you have to remember. Another complaint is that some content isn’t coming to the platform for a few months, but is listed in the app now anyway. You don’t get any indication that it can’t be watched, until you actually click into it and try to play it. This leads to disappointment, and also makes the catalog appear fuller than it actually is.
I haven’t spent much time in the Amazon app but I’m always frustrated when I do. Everything takes 3 or 4 more clicks that it should, and nothing’s located in a sensible or intuitive place. My biggest gripe is more about their business model: a lot of content is free with Amazon Prime but it’s all mixed in with paid stuff. It feels like browsing a store instead of a library. The app is plastered with all the well known movies you might want to see, but if you’re not looking to spend money your choices are more bargain-basement. The worst is when a some seasons of a TV series are free, but others are not.
This is long overdue. I subscribe to a number of streaming services and Netflix has become something I hate using because that "feature" is terribly annoying. If I weren't getting it for free...
This is long overdue. I subscribe to a number of streaming services and Netflix has become something I hate using because that "feature" is terribly annoying. If I weren't getting it for free because of my mobile provider I would've cancelled it a year ago because of it. But I could see myself using Netflix more now that I can disable it.
OMG! This is awesome. The defaults make using the app on my TV a nightmare. I have to scroll as quickly as possible to avoid the preview starting. (And why the @#$* does it have audio when it...
OMG! This is awesome. The defaults make using the app on my TV a nightmare. I have to scroll as quickly as possible to avoid the preview starting. (And why the @#$* does it have audio when it auto-plays? WTF?) Then if it does start, I have to hit the Siri button to stop it. So f-ing annoying.
FWIW, the TV app on the AppleTV also lets you both turn the motion graphics off and it allows you to change what's shown on the home screen to something you've subscribed to instead of some random crap the studios want to push at you. It's in the Prefs. It has a similar effect for the TV app as the settings described in the article have for the Netflix app.
I feel like I'm the only one who actually likes the auto playing previews when browsing titles. What bothers me is the auto playing promos that play over the credits unless you dismiss it. It...
I feel like I'm the only one who actually likes the auto playing previews when browsing titles. What bothers me is the auto playing promos that play over the credits unless you dismiss it. It looks like there isn't an option to turn those off though.
Oh man, I hate this so much! I just want to see what the artists made. I don't want any other crap anywhere on the screen while it's playing. I never want to skip the intro, or go immediately to...
What bothers me is the auto playing promos that play over the credits unless you dismiss it.
Oh man, I hate this so much! I just want to see what the artists made. I don't want any other crap anywhere on the screen while it's playing. I never want to skip the intro, or go immediately to the next episode, or see a large ad for a different show. Just fucking play the goddamned thing I asked you to play, and play all of it unadulterated for its entirety. (Note: Obviously, show me the transport controls if I pause, rewind, fast-forward, etc. But at least on a computer, place them off the video FFS!)
I've never noticed this. I've never had any previews automatically start playing. I didn't even know there were previews on Netflix. Maybe they don't do it in their Australian version.
I've never noticed this. I've never had any previews automatically start playing. I didn't even know there were previews on Netflix. Maybe they don't do it in their Australian version.
This is good if you have kids. Auto play makes it extra hard to wean my nephew off Peppa Pig. As for my adult viewing auto play is not an issue. I just wish I could program Netflix to always skip...
This is good if you have kids. Auto play makes it extra hard to wean my nephew off Peppa Pig.
As for my adult viewing auto play is not an issue. I just wish I could program Netflix to always skip intros after I saw them one time.
Wow! I didn't think they'd ever change their position on this. Great news!
We have Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ subscriptions, and Netflix's UX is significantly better than the other two. Getting rid of auto-play previews further seals the deal.
Why do you like Netflix's UX over the others? I haven't used the others that much.
Amazon isn't bad but I can never actually find the stupid thing. I end up typing "Prime Video" into the Amazon search box and they've got an override set up so that that just takes you there. There's no separate domain and there's no button you click to take you there.
Hulu is honestly a hot mess. Buggiest streaming software I've seen. You can't fast forward or rewind through commercials, on Roku arbitrary chunks of your actual show are randomly marked as an advertisement, it's pretty much worse than cable. At least with cable you can pause the commercials and fast forward later. Hulu, nothing. Watching ads is mandatory. Thankfully uBlock Origin deals with it nicely on the website.
It's https://www.primevideo.com
The biggest issue with Amazon is the fact that HD and 4K versions of the exact same show are considered separate programs in their UI. If I start a show on my 1080p TV in the basement then watch the next episode on my 4K TV, I have to manually search for the 4K version and figure out which episode I left off on. Then I have two identical partially watched seasons in my "continue watching" section, even if I've technically watched all episodes, just mixed and matched across seasons.
I don't understand how someone built this system, showed it to their manager, and got the go-ahead to publish it like this. No other service that supports 4K has this problem.
When you’re in the middle of watching a series, Netflix surfaces the tile for that show so you can get back to it quickly on a return visit. It remembers exactly where you left off, and will queue up the next episode automatically. If you stopped in the middle of an episode, it’ll return you right to where you were.
Disney+ really falls down in this area. You have to scroll down past the big “featured” banner carousel, the top-level category tiles, and the “recommended for you” and “originals” rows before it shows you “continue watching,” which is below the fold. If you finished your last session with an episode’s end credits playing, you may be returned to that instead of the next in series. If you pull up the show’s full episode list, it’ll highlight the first one instead of your last watched. IIRC, it also doesn’t indicate which have been watched and which haven’t, so you have to remember. Another complaint is that some content isn’t coming to the platform for a few months, but is listed in the app now anyway. You don’t get any indication that it can’t be watched, until you actually click into it and try to play it. This leads to disappointment, and also makes the catalog appear fuller than it actually is.
I haven’t spent much time in the Amazon app but I’m always frustrated when I do. Everything takes 3 or 4 more clicks that it should, and nothing’s located in a sensible or intuitive place. My biggest gripe is more about their business model: a lot of content is free with Amazon Prime but it’s all mixed in with paid stuff. It feels like browsing a store instead of a library. The app is plastered with all the well known movies you might want to see, but if you’re not looking to spend money your choices are more bargain-basement. The worst is when a some seasons of a TV series are free, but others are not.
This is long overdue. I subscribe to a number of streaming services and Netflix has become something I hate using because that "feature" is terribly annoying. If I weren't getting it for free because of my mobile provider I would've cancelled it a year ago because of it. But I could see myself using Netflix more now that I can disable it.
OMG! This is awesome. The defaults make using the app on my TV a nightmare. I have to scroll as quickly as possible to avoid the preview starting. (And why the @#$* does it have audio when it auto-plays? WTF?) Then if it does start, I have to hit the Siri button to stop it. So f-ing annoying.
FWIW, the TV app on the AppleTV also lets you both turn the motion graphics off and it allows you to change what's shown on the home screen to something you've subscribed to instead of some random crap the studios want to push at you. It's in the Prefs. It has a similar effect for the TV app as the settings described in the article have for the Netflix app.
I feel like I'm the only one who actually likes the auto playing previews when browsing titles. What bothers me is the auto playing promos that play over the credits unless you dismiss it. It looks like there isn't an option to turn those off though.
Oh man, I hate this so much! I just want to see what the artists made. I don't want any other crap anywhere on the screen while it's playing. I never want to skip the intro, or go immediately to the next episode, or see a large ad for a different show. Just fucking play the goddamned thing I asked you to play, and play all of it unadulterated for its entirety. (Note: Obviously, show me the transport controls if I pause, rewind, fast-forward, etc. But at least on a computer, place them off the video FFS!)
I've never noticed this. I've never had any previews automatically start playing. I didn't even know there were previews on Netflix. Maybe they don't do it in their Australian version.
This is good if you have kids. Auto play makes it extra hard to wean my nephew off Peppa Pig.
As for my adult viewing auto play is not an issue. I just wish I could program Netflix to always skip intros after I saw them one time.