Is it me or Netflix content is awful

[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.