4 ms·

When Netflix first launched, it was great - they had a massive catalogue of older/pre-existing content, and were making a bunch of their own new, original conte

When Netflix first launched, it was great - they had a massive catalogue of older/pre-existing content, and were making a bunch of their own new, original content that likely wouldn't have been made elsewhere. Their UX was also pretty great - and made finding interesting content easy. They made it dead-easy to sign up, there was no pushy retention teams or hoops to jump through if you wanted to cancel. That's why I paid them. Amazon Video launched here, and they had some content that I was interested in, but their UX from day one has been awful. They insist on adding pre-roll ads, despite that I'm paying them. The video quality was pretty awful and was quite regularly at something like 480p quality on my (4k) TV. Yes their X-Ray tech is neat, but the ads just drive me up the wall. There was a time that I would've happily paid for HBO - they had/have some really great content (at least in the US), but they are or were not available in AU outside of a $120+/month PayTV device that I really didn't want. Now there are dozens of streaming services, with their own $15-30/month fees, which will have (or not) selections of some of the content I want, each with their own uniquely awful and annoying interfaces or quirks of whether they will or won't play on my TV or device.

sshagent 4y ago
I can't imagine anyone at 'Amazon Video' actually uses the service, else they'd realise that the UI is horrific...and whole service is terrible. I only have it as its "free" with my delivery options.
- bombcar 4y ago
  It works well enough if you’re just playing content you already have and not searching.
- istjohn 4y ago
  IMO, Amazon is awful at UI design across the board--including the core shopping experience.
  - gonzo41 4y ago
    It's a feature not a bug, familiarity is the feature. It never massively changes on purpose.
- nicolas_t 4y ago
  I watch some shows on Amazon Prime Video despite the shitty UI because they are great but it does mean that I do no discovery through the app.
- what-the-grump 4y ago
  I don't think its a revenue generator for them, I think its we have to have X. Music, video, etc. Look at Audiable, still exists kind of outside of Amazon.com If they really want to make it into a thing, it cannot be within amazon.com. Call it something else, rip out and make it into a service not an addon to prime.
  - sshagent 4y ago
    I kinda get that. But why not just tidy that UI up, and make it a good viewing experience and who knows maybe more of us will watch the seasons they have available and rent/purchase the ones that aren't. Instead of the car wreck of a UI experience
sjostrom7 4y ago
And if they have the content you're looking for today, it'll be gone next week...
- pirate-Loo6uoDu 4y ago
  I have a decent rip of The Expanse and an amazon prime account!
whoomp12342 4y ago
if they did it right, its a great reason to go legit. But I agree entirely with everything you just said
pmoriarty 4y ago
"When Netflix first launched, it was great - they had a massive catalogue of older/pre-existing content, and were making a bunch of their own new, original content that likely wouldn't have been made elsewhere." The movie selection on NetFlix's DVD service[1] is still fantastic. The movie selection on their streaming service[2] is absolutely atrocious. Not sure what accounts for the discrepancy. [1] - https://dvd.netflix.com/ https://dvd.netflix.com/ [2] - https://www.netflix.com/ https://www.netflix.com/
- birdyrooster 4y ago
  They used to be the only bidder now they are bidding against dozens of streaming services competing in different niches. Their DVD business has no competition.
  - pmoriarty 4y ago
    You'd think that with all that competition, NetFlix's streaming service would be much better in order to compete with other companies (which have a far better selection). But somehow they get away with having a crappy selection, despite having lots of competitors. Conversely, since NetFlix's DVD service doesn't have any competitors they could get away with having a crappy selection, but they have a great selection, and it's been great for at least a decade. So it still doesn't make sense.
    - aidenn0 4y ago
      Cost of adding a niche title to NF DVD service is probably less than $1000, since they won't need many copies. I doubt they can get streaming rights for any feature length film still in copyright for under $1000.
      - pmoriarty 4y ago
        Amazon Prime Video does it, as does Youtube. Both of these have way, way, way better selections than NetFlix streaming.
- 4y ago
iRomain 4y ago
I have a subscription to Disney+ here in Thailand... 1. I could not download the right Disney+ app on my Android TV because my Google account is French 2. I could download the right app on my iPhone (after temporarily switching stores which is a PITA) so I bought a cable to stream from my iPhone to my TV but the app doesn’t allow me to 3. I bought a Raspberry Pi and installed Plex and al. I can now watch the Disney movies easily on my TV. I have a subscription to Netflix… 1. I went off-internet for a week, so I synced a couple of movies to be available offline. 2. I started watching one on the first day and 48h hours later it expired… 3. Next time I will use my Plex setup! I must be very dumb to keep paying for these two subscriptions!

sshagent 4y ago

I can't imagine anyone at 'Amazon Video' actually uses the service, else they'd realise that the UI is horrific...and whole service is terrible. I only have it as its "free" with my delivery options.

bombcar 4y ago
It works well enough if you’re just playing content you already have and not searching.
istjohn 4y ago
IMO, Amazon is awful at UI design across the board--including the core shopping experience.
- gonzo41 4y ago
  It's a feature not a bug, familiarity is the feature. It never massively changes on purpose.
nicolas_t 4y ago
I watch some shows on Amazon Prime Video despite the shitty UI because they are great but it does mean that I do no discovery through the app.
what-the-grump 4y ago
I don't think its a revenue generator for them, I think its we have to have X. Music, video, etc. Look at Audiable, still exists kind of outside of Amazon.com If they really want to make it into a thing, it cannot be within amazon.com. Call it something else, rip out and make it into a service not an addon to prime.
- sshagent 4y ago
  I kinda get that. But why not just tidy that UI up, and make it a good viewing experience and who knows maybe more of us will watch the seasons they have available and rent/purchase the ones that aren't. Instead of the car wreck of a UI experience

sjostrom7 4y ago

And if they have the content you're looking for today, it'll be gone next week...

pirate-Loo6uoDu 4y ago
I have a decent rip of The Expanse and an amazon prime account!

whoomp12342 4y ago

if they did it right, its a great reason to go legit. But I agree entirely with everything you just said

pmoriarty 4y ago

"When Netflix first launched, it was great - they had a massive catalogue of older/pre-existing content, and were making a bunch of their own new, original content that likely wouldn't have been made elsewhere." The movie selection on NetFlix's DVD service[1] is still fantastic. The movie selection on their streaming service[2] is absolutely atrocious. Not sure what accounts for the discrepancy. [1] - https://dvd.netflix.com/ https://dvd.netflix.com/ [2] - https://www.netflix.com/ https://www.netflix.com/

birdyrooster 4y ago
They used to be the only bidder now they are bidding against dozens of streaming services competing in different niches. Their DVD business has no competition.
- pmoriarty 4y ago
  You'd think that with all that competition, NetFlix's streaming service would be much better in order to compete with other companies (which have a far better selection). But somehow they get away with having a crappy selection, despite having lots of competitors. Conversely, since NetFlix's DVD service doesn't have any competitors they could get away with having a crappy selection, but they have a great selection, and it's been great for at least a decade. So it still doesn't make sense.
  - aidenn0 4y ago
    Cost of adding a niche title to NF DVD service is probably less than $1000, since they won't need many copies. I doubt they can get streaming rights for any feature length film still in copyright for under $1000.
    - pmoriarty 4y ago
      Amazon Prime Video does it, as does Youtube. Both of these have way, way, way better selections than NetFlix streaming.
4y ago

iRomain 4y ago

I have a subscription to Disney+ here in Thailand... 1. I could not download the right Disney+ app on my Android TV because my Google account is French 2. I could download the right app on my iPhone (after temporarily switching stores which is a PITA) so I bought a cable to stream from my iPhone to my TV but the app doesn’t allow me to 3. I bought a Raspberry Pi and installed Plex and al. I can now watch the Disney movies easily on my TV. I have a subscription to Netflix… 1. I went off-internet for a week, so I synced a couple of movies to be available offline. 2. I started watching one on the first day and 48h hours later it expired… 3. Next time I will use my Plex setup! I must be very dumb to keep paying for these two subscriptions!