10 Reasons Netflix Sucks
By Mike Jarboe of Eye-Fi Home Theater 7/18/2011 www.albanyinstalls.com
1. Surround sound.
For me, what makes the movie experience is the sound. Surround sound is what brings emotion and excitement into your living room; that’s what home theater is all about. That’s why we spend thousands of dollars on speakers and equipment for that theater experience in our homes. Netflix has a very limited number of devices and titles that are available in surround sound. So sometimes it’s a letdown to watch a title in mere stereo, which just doesn’t have the same feel. Check out this link for more info.
http://www.techofthehub.com/2011/03/hd-and-surround-sound-on-streaming.html
2. User interface consistency
Netflix is available on tons of devices from many different manufacturers. The biggest problem with this is that it leaves users with all different looks and feels, depending on which device they are using. I know it’s not rocket science to find a movie to watch, but sometimes it’s functionality that's left out, such as search ability or adding or removing a title to your queue from the TV. I’ve used everything from Google TV to Vizio Blu-Ray players. I think one of the worst interfaces is the Tivo and that the best is the Roku.
3. The parental control is junk
Currently, the parental controls allow you to block movies with higher-than-allowed maturity ratings from being added to your DVD queue or watched instantly. But that is for the whole queue, so if I select PG nothing above PG will be allowed in my queue. I have kids, and most of my clients have little ones, too, and I assure you I enjoy different types of movies than my children do. My 7-year-old loves to browse our queue to find a show she wants, and there is nothing from stopping her from picking an inappropriate title or seeing cover art that may be questionable for a young child to view.
4. Instant queue can get out of hand.
Managing your queue can get a little overwhelming once you have a lot of titles. I suppose it is OK if you stay on top of it as you are adding them, but it needs to be done from a PC -- and there just isn't a great way to do it. One way is to use third-party software like Queued, but you are still left to manage it all on your own. I think the queue should categorize itself as you add titles by genre. That way you can manipulate from there, or maybe users could have the option to pick “Organize By” and you could have options like genre, date added, alphabetical, etc.
5. No half-star ratings
Any movie geek will agree that some movies need a half-star this way or that. We all think we are the best movie critic, but how can I give an accurate rating if I can’t use fractions?
6. No ability to add to queue from trailers on the Web
When I am watching trailers online from YouTube, imdb, or whatever other video site and I see a title I like, there is always a Facebook, Twitter. etc., icon I can use to share the link/title. I want a Netflix button that adds the title to my queue. If there are any developers out there who can make this happen, I want a percentage of your earnings
7. No social viewing.
Sometimes I want to watch a movie with friends, but I don’t want to leave the house. I would like to see Netflix add a social aspect that allows Netflix “friends” to start a movie at the same time and view it together remotely, and maybe implement a chat window or a microphone to facilitate communication during the movie. A party mode would be cool. Maybe friends could even join in late. Devs, where are you?
8. No affiliate/ reseller abilities for TV installers or dealer accounts.
Home theater companies sell and install Netflix devices and get consumers set up with their accounts. I feel there should be some type of affiliate or reseller system set up for these dealers. Even if it is not in the form of cash payments, there should at least be a way for consumer electronics dealers to track and manage subscriptions for their clients. I spend lots of time in homes explaining Netflix service and usage to my customers. I think there should be some incentive from Netflix. I do think as Netflix competition grows stronger (Amazon, Blockbuster, Hulu, Vudu), they may have to offer something like this to keep consumer electronics dealers recommending Netflix devices/ service.
9. No adult section
No one actually watches this stuff, but it seems to be in high demand. I am sure it would have to be a separate subscription, with login info and password-protected, but it seems this may be a valuable addition to the streaming offering.
10. All the sub-genres
Crime dramas, dramas based on a book, dramas based on real life, foreign dramas, gay and lesbian dramas, indie dramas, Latino dramas, military dramas...you get the idea. It goes on and on, and I find it a little silly. What if I just want a DRAMA?