Is it me or Netflix content is awful

[Bud]

Do not know about Netflix in US, in Canada it is pretty bad in terms of content to my view. I am only interested in documentaries. Here in Canada it is 50% about Hitler and Nazis, 50% about jails and drugs, the rest is tiny number of nature, exploration and science. So-called "Netflix Originals" are the worst ones, childish low journalistic level. Considering dumping the account but decided to check with the crowd. What do you say?

[Halcyon]

I tried Australian Netflix for a month and cancelled it. I found a lot of mainstream content that was to my taste simply wasn't available. For example:

The Office (US)
Futurama
Family Guy
The Simpsons
Hogan's Heroes
Everybody Loves Raymond

There was *a lot* of stuff I've never heard of and not to say they aren't worth watching, I just know what I like and tend to re-watch the same shows depending on my mood.

Until they cut the crap with this whole Geo-blocking nonsense, I won't even consider signing up for a paid account. Stan in Australia has a far better selection, is cheaper than Netflix (a flat $10/month even for HD content) and you can use up to 4 devices at a time without paying extra. Yes, Stan geo-block too, but their offering is much better than Netflix.

[EEVblog]

I tweeted the other month that I was stunned at the number of Apocolyptic Netflix original movies. I have seen like a half dozen now and they that's not all of them.
They seem to take one idea and then produce countless variants. At least they are keeping half the film industry employed.

[EEVblog]

Until they cut the crap with this whole Geo-blocking nonsense, I won't even consider signing up for a paid account. Stan in Australia has a far better selection, is cheaper than Netflix (a flat $10/month even for HD content) and you can use up to 4 devices at a time without paying extra. Yes, Stan geo-block too, but their offering is much better than Netflix.

Do Stan do original content?
Some Netflix stuff is top-notch. Designated Survivor and Stranger Things for example. Although Designated Survivor ended up just pushing some political or social agenda in every episode.
The stand-alone Netflix movies I've never found bad, but some are much much better than others.
I do find Geoblocking reprehensible, I'm not sure if they do that with their own content though? it's likely pushed by the content owners.

[james_s]

I used to really like Netflix, but the library steadily deteriorated and then they started to focus on all the stupid original content which I'm not even the slightest bit interested in. On top of that they started screwing with the UI, adding idiotic features like auto-play if you linger on something long enough to read the description, or irritating music. I dumped it and set up a Plex server with my own content and never looked back. I became spoiled by the convenience of streaming but bit by bit they lost almost all of the content I was actually interested in watching. Ripping your whole movie collection is a bit of a hassle but once it's done the library never loses anything.

[EEVblog]

On top of that they started screwing with the UI, adding idiotic features like auto-play if you linger on something long enough to read the description, or irritating music.

I HATE that!

[EEVblog]

To keep it on topic, I've seen a special on Netflix about battery technology, haven't watched it yet.
Search for the Super Battery:
https://www.netflix.com/watch/80991272

[Mr. Scram]

That's one of my biggest gripes against streaming services. The content and presentation is ever changing and you just have to roll with it. It's not like a proper collections where you can browse through older material and watch whatever you like. It's more like a cinema with a limited collection for a limited time.

[Halcyon]

That's one of my biggest gripes against streaming services. The content and presentation is ever changing and you just have to roll with it. It's not like a proper collections where you can browse through older material and watch whatever you like. It's more like a cinema with a limited collection for a limited time.

Precisely. I think in some ways while it is helping to reduce piracy and downloading from torrents for the average user, it's encouraging those who want to watch content on their terms, to keep downloading. This is one of the reasons why I will continue to download content by whatever means possible, also downloading copyrighted material is not illegal in Australia (yet).

[Synthtech]

Some of their original content is fantastic but there is way too much SJW ideology programming and, as Dave pointed out, to much of Hollywood’s nasty obsession with doom and apocalyptic themes.

[Jeroen3]

Also, Netflix hides movies. They prefer that you watch series, since that gives a higher chance that you will keep paying.

[The Soulman]

The stand-alone Netflix movies I've never found bad, but some are much much better than others.

Haven't seen them all but the ones I saw where below par, anything you could recommend?

I do find Geoblocking reprehensible, I'm not sure if they do that with their own content though? it's likely pushed by the content owners.

Also could be as simple as product placement targeted at a specific region/country.

[The Soulman]

The evening before yesterday we've watched "the naked gun" had a good traditional laugh and all was well.
Yesterday evening still in the mood for more nonsense we planned watching part 2, nope not there, and 33 1/3 also not there. 
Huhmm how about "Snatch"? nope, "The Matrix"? nope, "The Transporter"? kinda, only transporter3. ok fine.
So we watched that (with low quality audio and left and right swapped?) a poor netfix experience overall.

Another thing, when searching for a title that isn't there it immediately starts giving suggestions that I don't
wan't, just tell me "we are to cheap to keep the film you've requested in stock".
And every film (or serie) fits in almost all category so searching for something you like from those is futile. 

If I had a say in this netflix was out the door a year ago, but I don't... 

[JPortici]

Do Stan do original content?
Some Netflix stuff is top-notch. Designated Survivor and Stranger Things for example.

And Bojack Horseman, House of cards, Narcos, Better Call Saul. I also liked Marseille, but mostly because i like gerard depardieu.
Then there are some other little gems somewhere, but all the rest, i didn't like it at all.
It seems you can have either utterly beautiful or utterly crap content, nothing in the middle.

(this is probably regional content) Recently they added a lot of italian "gangster"/crime movies from the first 2000 like A.C.A.B. and Suburra (and the companion series is very well done. Can't wait for season two)

They seem to take one idea and then produce countless variants.

yeah, i really liked that episode of south park

[borjam]

Some Netflix stuff is top-notch. Designated Survivor and Stranger Things for example. Although Designated Survivor ended up just pushing some political or social agenda in every episode.
The stand-alone Netflix movies I've never found bad, but some are much much better than others.
I do find Geoblocking reprehensible, I'm not sure if they do that with their own content though? it's likely pushed by the content owners.

It's a mixed bag, like everything else. House of Cards was briliant but the latest season is a huge flop. By the way, they also have the original BBC series which is top notch.

They have made a good movement by producing Suburra (HBO in Spain is offering the three seasons of Gomorrah) and they are buying good content from many countries. I could recommend for example the Spanish "Fariña" about the drug trafficking gangs in Galicia (the Spanish Galicia, Northwestern Spain). They are also offering "La Casa de Papel" which seems to be enjoying some international success.

Geoblocking sucks but it's somewhat unavoidable for now. It affects even their own productions. For example, House of Cards in Spain is a season behind on Netflix because before they decided to land in Spain they sold the Spanish rights to Canal Plus, now Telefonica Movistar. I guess it's been the same in other countries. The same happens now with Better Call Saul for example.

[EEVblog]

The evening before yesterday we've watched "the naked gun" had a good traditional laugh and all was well.
Yesterday evening still in the mood for more nonsense we planned watching part 2, nope not there, and 33 1/3 also not there. 
Huhmm how about "Snatch"? nope, "The Matrix"? nope, "The Transporter"? kinda, only transporter3. ok fine.

Yeah, they never seem to have multi-parts of anything, really annoying.

[Bud]

That is what exactly i do not like, it is full of gangs drugs jails, no thank you very much. That crap seems to prevail in enormous proportion.

[geekGee]

I watch quite a lot of Netflix mainly for binge watching TV series.  I like the content for the most part.

What I hate with Netflix is my home of Bermuda, an English speaking island in the mid-North Atlantic, is lumped in with the Latin America region.  Consequently for some reason, very frustratingly, about half of movies require watching with Spanish subtitles.  My two options are watch dubbed in Spanish with no subtitles or English with Spanish subtitles.  When English audio is enabled, subtitles can't be turned off and must be Spanish.

Thankfully, I haven't had this issue with TV shows or Netflix produced movies.

[Bud]

I once tried a suggestion i found on Inet to use a VPN to get access to the other country and by it you get that country's Netflix programming. I tried with OpenVPN, popped out in some place in the US and my login credentials still worked but i did not find much difference in content, maybe i did not look careful enough. If i connected to China it would probably be more obvious.

[HighVoltage]

Netflix Germany sucks for quality documentaries.
After one month free, no more Netflix for me.

BBC still has the best documentaries in my opinion.
I rather download what I really want to watch.

[Brumby]

It's nice to know I'm not missing much anything by not having a subscription to this sort of stuff.

[senso]

The evening before yesterday we've watched "the naked gun" had a good traditional laugh and all was well.
Yesterday evening still in the mood for more nonsense we planned watching part 2, nope not there, and 33 1/3 also not there. 
Huhmm how about "Snatch"? nope, "The Matrix"? nope, "The Transporter"? kinda, only transporter3. ok fine.

Yeah, they never seem to have multi-parts of anything, really annoying.

Blame that on retarded broadcasting deals made by the studios and now every part/episode is permanently tied to some random TV channel/network in each and every country..

Just like copy-right, streaming/broadcast rights is filled with dumb restrictions..

Like Disney can't stream the older StarWars movies until 2024 because Turner owns the broadcast rights:

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/08/as-disney-brings-us-new-star-wars-it-cant-stream-the-originals-until-2024/

[macboy]

I'll add "Orange is the New Black" and "The Crown" to the list of great Netflix productions. They also produce a large number of comedy specials, and quite a few Marvel-based series. Despite their success with series, I have yet to spot a good Netflix-produced movie.

My kids never fail to find stuff to watch on Netflix (in the Kids section).

Overall, I find I get good value, much more so than with any Cable/Satellite/etc. that I've ever had.

[james_s]

Fragmentation is quickly ruining streaming. When Netflix had almost everything it was a great value, but pretty soon every content producer out there decided they wanted a slice of the pie and pulled their content to offer up a "me too" streaming service. The thing is, the big appeal of streaming was the everything in one place aspect. Just because Netflix can get $10/month doesn't mean there's room in the market for a bunch of similar services. Very few people are going to subscribe to more than two streaming services. They're all obsessed with having exclusive content to try to rope in users but in the end all these exclusive deals will just drive people back to downloading torrents.

[BillB]

I've been threatening to drop Netflix for a long time.  For those in other countries, no, it's not a regional thing: the US content sucks as well.  As James said, with all the content producers pulling their stuff to host on their own streaming subscription Netflix has gotten progressively worse.  I agree as well about their own production - a few gems, but mostly crap.  Funny enough, I'm probably like one of the four customers who also subscribe to the Blu-Ray Disc service as well, because I prefer the uncompressed content for the really good movies.  However, I can't remember when Netflix actually had a decent disc available that wasn't a stupid comic-book hero action movie.  (Is that all Hollywood makes anymore?)

Speaking of the over-saturated streaming service market, we also have Hulu and Amazon Prime, but those are almost just as bad.  Hulu used to be great to catch up on TV stuff, but either TV shows have almost all turned to crap or they are losing content to the me-too providers.  Amazon Prime's content is meh, as well. 

I think it's probably time to cut them all, so I can spend more time in the cabin working on my manifesto.

[james_s]

I got really close to subscribing to Hulu, at the time they still had a decent selection of stuff. Unfortunately they also overlay the network logos in the corner which completely spoils the content to me. It's obvious they are/were overlaying it too because if you paused the video it would vanish.

Getting a DVD or bluray of the content is still the best user experience.

[thermistor-guy]

Do not know about Netflix in US, in Canada it is pretty bad in terms of content to my view. I am only interested in documentaries. Here in Canada it is 50% about Hitler and Nazis, 50% about jails and drugs, the rest is tiny number of nature, exploration and science. So-called "Netflix Originals" are the worst ones, childish low journalistic level. Considering dumping the account but decided to check with the crowd. What do you say?

There are some gems on Netflix:

The Vietnam War (by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick; Ken Burns = epic documentary)
Black Mirror (simply brilliant)

Honorable mentions:

Anon (starring Clive Owen)
Altered Carbon (gets silly near the end, but fascinating until then)
Bright (loved the setup; good execution; co-starring our Joel, onya JE)
Helix (season 1 - bit of a tease, but still good; I lost patience with season 2)

I try Netflix the way I try dance music. If a program has good ideas and potential, I'll stay with it and give it a chance to develop. If the lack of talent/creativity is obvious, then I'll cut it immediately and try something else. But like dance music, the great stuff can be hard to find if you're not in the know.

[samnmax]

I think there's worthwhile content hidden inside the mountain of filler (Neflix Spain here). I'm watching Star Trek TNG, Cowboy Bebop... Also I share the account with my parents so the price is reasonable.

HOWEVER, some days ago I watched Back to the Future. I planned to watch the sequels in the next days, and I kept seeing recommendations to watch BTTF III, so I assumed the 3 movies would be there.

Well, I just checked, and they have BTTF and BTTF III, but NO BACK TO THE FUTURE II !!!   

[Kjelt]

Netflix has great series.
The problem I have with the streaming services is that it is pay per month and in order to follow the popular series, you need a lot of them: Netflix, HBO, Disney, Amazon, more coming up...........
This is rediculous, it is about time they shift to pay per view or pay per series (first episode free than decide if you want to continue).

Say the software companies would follow this business model then you want Acrobat Reader you have to pay $150 a month but you get all Adobe photo and video software suites for it. But you only want Reader. 
I better keep quiet because I hear the software companies already thinking: what a great idea 

[Mr. Scram]

Netflix has great series.
The problem I have with the streaming services is that it is pay per month and in order to follow the popular series, you need a lot of them: Netflix, HBO, Disney, Amazon, more coming up...........
This is rediculous, it is about time they shift to pay per view or pay per series (first episode free than decide if you want to continue).

Say the software companies would follow this business model then you want Acrobat Reader you have to pay $150 a month but you get all Adobe photo and video software suites for it. But you only want Reader. 
I better keep quiet because I hear the software companies already thinking: what a great idea 

That's exactly where software companies are already moving. Microsoft is pushing hard to make Office365 the standard. Adobe is subscription only nowadays. Autodesk is quicky doing the same. You have to keep paying or you lose access to everything you did so far. I don't think many people like it, but you don't really get to choose.

[tooki]

Do not know about Netflix in US, in Canada it is pretty bad in terms of content to my view. I am only interested in documentaries. Here in Canada it is 50% about Hitler and Nazis, 50% about jails and drugs, the rest is tiny number of nature, exploration and science. So-called "Netflix Originals" are the worst ones, childish low journalistic level. Considering dumping the account but decided to check with the crowd. What do you say?

I wouldn’t say that Netflix’s strength is documentaries.


Beyond documentaries, I think Netflix is producing (or securing exclusive worldwide rights to) some of the best TV series out there, this is not to be underestimated. Some of my favorites are Black Mirror, Sense8, Orange is the New Black, Orphan Black, Chewing Gum, Santa Clarita Diet, Money Heist, Better Call Saul, ST: Discovery, London Spy, and 13 Reasons Why.


To people who want it as a permanent back stock of old series... well, they cycle through things! The price would surely be a lot higher if they licensed everything all the time.

I watch quite a lot of Netflix mainly for binge watching TV series.  I like the content for the most part.

What I hate with Netflix is my home of Bermuda, an English speaking island in the mid-North Atlantic, is lumped in with the Latin America region.  Consequently for some reason, very frustratingly, about half of movies require watching with Spanish subtitles.  My two options are watch dubbed in Spanish with no subtitles or English with Spanish subtitles.  When English audio is enabled, subtitles can't be turned off and must be Spanish.

Thankfully, I haven't had this issue with TV shows or Netflix produced movies.

Isn’t the world of media licensing wonderful? I think people don’t realize this is why Netflix content varies by country: Nearly everything already has a distribution agreement for each damned country, so Netflix has to negotiate with the local distributor for each movie or TV show! The exceptions (which clearly Netflix has been pushing for, since surely it’s a LOT less work and cost) are the shows Netflix secures worldwide distribution for and then calls “Netflix Originals”, like Black Mirror (worldwide, poached from itv), Better Call Saul and Star Trek: Discovery (worldwide distribution rights except for North America), and Sense8 (bona fide Netflix original, produced for netflix). But this is only possible where there aren’t existing distribution rights contracts in place.

So yeah, it’s crazy, sometimes you get a US-made movie, but here in Switzerland they had to license it from the Swiss distributor, who then can’t license the English closed captions... 

(What’s even weirder to me is the subtitles and audio on Netflix originals: the end credits show the translation credits for aaaaalll the languages it’s been translated to, which can be a LOT. But Netflix only offers a subset of those languages, for audio and/or captions, in a given country. So I guess that even if Netflix produced a series itself, they can save money by restricting translations?? )

[tszaboo]

Until they cut the crap with this whole Geo-blocking nonsense, I won't even consider signing up for a paid account. Stan in Australia has a far better selection, is cheaper than Netflix (a flat $10/month even for HD content) and you can use up to 4 devices at a time without paying extra. Yes, Stan geo-block too, but their offering is much better than Netflix.

Do Stan do original content?
Some Netflix stuff is top-notch. Designated Survivor and Stranger Things for example. Although Designated Survivor ended up just pushing some political or social agenda in every episode.
The stand-alone Netflix movies I've never found bad, but some are much much better than others.
I do find Geoblocking reprehensible, I'm not sure if they do that with their own content though? it's likely pushed by the content owners.

Then you havent looked hard enought. Some original netflix content is truly terrible. Here is a list:
Bill Nye Saves the World
ARQ  and Sprectal was a B category movies trying to upsell themselves.
Extinsion - someone doesnt understand sci-fi making it.
The Titan - Jesus crist I wanted to remove my eyes with a spoon after this. I watch a movie to the end because there migth be a saving grace halfway, but this one got even worse at the end.

The theory is that they grab everything that they can. And movies make more money in the big screen, so they only can grab the bottom of the barrel.  I really started to check netflix films on rotten tomatoes before watching them.

And they loose all the Disney and Marvel stuff in the future. I dont know how they will take it, but the only way I can see them continue is to reduce the fee or loose subscribers. It is a shame, because it produces excellent series. But it seems like they couldn't secure monopoly like google or facebook. Too bad for us. Get ready for subscribing 4-5 platforms.

Also, when there is a series, which only gets released months after television - > not good enough. You cannot release Mr Robot later, half the experience is reddit. Even if it is not even distributed in the country I'm watching it.

[Bud]

I do not watch movies, let alone series, i am too busy with electronics projects. Documentaries on the other hand work very well as background while working in the shack , occasionally glansing at the screen ( i have two big screen tv mounted on adjacent walls at 90 degrees so i do not need to twist my head too much at any place in the shack),  but bad/ poor documentaries only cause frustration.

[james_s]

Also, when there is a series, which only gets released months after television - > not good enough. You cannot release Mr Robot later, half the experience is reddit. Even if it is not even distributed in the country I'm watching it.

Reddit? I cannot even imagine why I would want to discuss something I was watching on there. I want to watch what I want to watch, when I want to watch it, I don't want to discuss it with a bunch of opinionated people. Then again, with the exception of animated sitcoms I can't think of a single TV series made in the last decade that I'd want to watch at all, IMHO most of the good stuff was made in the 70s-90s.

[onesixright]

Do not know about Netflix in US, in Canada it is pretty bad in terms of content to my view. I am only interested in documentaries. Here in Canada it is 50% about Hitler and Nazis, 50% about jails and drugs, the rest is tiny number of nature, exploration and science. So-called "Netflix Originals" are the worst ones, childish low journalistic level. Considering dumping the account but decided to check with the crowd. What do you say?

The system is flawed with all the copyright bs. Every country pays -more or less the same- yet content is completely different.  I know have Amazon Prime, same shit different day.

When are they finally going to drop that geo-copyright bs  If people want to pay, let them watch!

[james_s]

I tried Prime video for a while when a friend had it. The thing that put me off at the time anyway was there was no way I could find to filter out all the content I would have to pay extra for and only see the stuff I can watch for free with the basic subscription. Since I'm simply not interested in anything that costs extra, it's just clutter to sort through. The watch anything you want for a flat rate model is largely what makes streaming attractive. Otherwise it can be more economical and more flexible to just buy individual content rather than rent it.

[Mr. Scram]

I tried Prime video for a while when a friend had it. The thing that put me off at the time anyway was there was no way I could find to filter out all the content I would have to pay extra for and only see the stuff I can watch for free with the basic subscription. Since I'm simply not interested in anything that costs extra, it's just clutter to sort through. The watch anything you want for a flat rate model is largely what makes streaming attractive. Otherwise it can be more economical and more flexible to just buy individual content rather than rent it.

You see this everywhere. Cable companies also tend to spam their free channels with advertisements for paid content. Not even paying for everything they've got removes those.