Hi! It's me, Meghan.Perhaps you've noticed some changes in the search results page. I'd like to hear what you think of them.
I'll point out a couple of elements:
We added bigger box shots and better genre matches, as well as a column on the right with movies that you can watch instantly. We also show all formats - so you can tell at a glance, for any movie, if it's available on DVD (and if it's Blu-ray), to watch instantly, or to buy.
We took out the tabs to simplify the page. There's more to come, but I'm interested in hearing what you think of this set of changes. There are still some specific things that you'd like to see happen (like searching synopses, for example), and many of those items are still in progress. I hope you find it easier and more useful.
174 comments:
Is it true that Netflix is going to stop carrying HD-DVD? I saw in your post that you only mentioned Blu-Ray and I read somewhere else today that HD-DVD is on it's way out.
If so, I think it's an extremely poor move on Netflix's part hopping on the bandwagon and abandoning anybody that fell victim to the format war. While I know that most studios are Blu-Ray, I don't see why Netflix would just forgo carrying the movies and shows that are on HD-DVD currently and are to be released in the future. Until the format war is officially over (i.e. only one format is available), I don't see how Netflix can think that this is a positive move. Hopefully others will join in and let Netflix know that this isn't acceptable before it's too late. I know that my subscription is going to be cancelled soon, let alone anyone else out there that has a lonely HD-DVD player.
I think the new search feature is OK, but the removal of the "releasing this week" feature is VERY frustrating! I don't have time to keep up with what is releasing each week, and the old system of showing all titles coming out for a given week was by far easier than the current system. Is this a ploy by netflix to keep more of the new release DVD's available instead of having "short" or "long" wait times? This feature needs to come back or I may not!!!!
Hate it. MUCH harder to scan results, which is presumably the point of a search results page.
Some of the details are good in theory (all formats as one!) but the room taken up for any one result is over the top.
I have also never used the related stuff to the side.
And, I'll agree with the new releases comment. I use the RSS feed, so please don't kill that one at least. New releases is how I add 99% of movies in my queue(s).
Hi, I just registered to Netflix (currently in my FREE trial and I have to decide if I will continue or not).
I am quite baffled by the lack of a specific functionality on your site, wich is to sort movies by release date.
It's such a basic thing that you don't offer (the only explanation I can think of is that you would want to hide the fact that you don't have much new releases, but since Netflix is quite a big company, I assume that you do get most new releases).
The problem is accute for someone like me intererested in French movies. When I go to the French movie section, I get listings based on user rating, which means browsing through tons of movies before I find the new releases. Now, you do have a box with "new releases" but you only have 2 movies in there without a functionality that would allow me to "see more French new releases"). The New realeases main page has foreign movies, but not French ones only.
So I am aksing you to please listen to a new customer (I am the future of your company) and add this functionality throughout your site, that would enable people to get freedom as to how they search and sort movies. I could then go to the French page and sort by release date, and get the latest movies accessible. That would not preclude me from exploring other movies. As of now, the lack of release date sorting makes your company look like a dusty old shop trying to mask its lack of new releases with classics. I love classics! but I love new releases too, and if I can't find the French new releases, the site is not of much use to me, and I am now considering wheather to transform my trial into a paid relationship with Netflix or not.
Please give freedom to your customers. Don't hold them hostage of your marketing policy trying to position yourself as a repository of all movies without emphasis on new releases. Enable your customers to sort search results and channels by release date. Thanks you. And if you forward my email to your CEO, double thank you (and please don't forget the user interface people, they get paid a lot, they should hear what the users are saying). And if you give me my freedom back to search and sort as I want, then triple thank you, and also thank me, since I'm then likely to not only transform my trial in a paid relationship but also to upgrade to a higher plan.
Best,
a User
I don't mind the changes too much, but I do agree about it not being as easy to scan through the pages now.
I also agree with Lord Kaio. I am very disappointed in the move to Blu only. I cancelled my subscription with Blockbuster to come to Netflix based solely on the fact that Netflix carries HD-DVD. I do agree that BD is aviable format, but it is not as stable or mature as what HD-DVD technology at this point. It just seems that this move is premature, and I find it frustrating.
1) The new "browse" is pretty, but does not serve its function well, as, prior, it was easier to see new releases "at a glance". And I don't have time to sit and scroll through all the variations and box shots.
2) If you drop HD-DVD I will drop Netflix. That is, unless you are willing to supplement my purchase of a Blu-Ray player, so that its price matches that of the much cheaper (and more stable) HD-DVD.
3) I am serious about 2
4) Neither Blu-Ray or HD-DVD are significant sales/rentals, so any move on your part to jump on a bandwagon is premature, and will save relatively little (if any) of your time and money. So please don't insult us with a song and dance routine. Did you get paid off by the Blu-Ray camp,or what?
Thanks to everyone that's commented on the HD-DVD drop. Perhaps we can get this on Digg or some other social news sites to get some momentum going?
Personally, I like the new search page. I rarely, if ever, use the search function as a way of browsing for random movies. Rather, when I search, I'm looking for something specific, so I don't really notice if it's harder to dig through the results or not. Like most search engine users, I rarely look past the first five results, and almost never go past the first page.
One question I've always had about searching, though, is related to the drop-down that appears whenever I'm typing in the search box at the top of a page. Within a few keystrokes, that box often lists whatever I'm searching for, so I just click on it. So why, if I click on the exact thing that I'm searching for, does it still take me to a search page instead of directly to that movie's page? It seems like I should only get taken to the search page if there is more than one exact match to my selection.
I also want to give a big "thank you" to whoever just added the Play button to all of the movies in my queue that are available for instant viewing. I noticed it for the first time today, and I couldn't be more excited!
Meghan,
I seem to be a lone voice so far, but I really like the changes you have made to Search. I particularly like the split buttons that show whether the movie is available to either add to my queue or play now, and I would love to see those same buttons appear elsewhere in the site, like on the main browse page.
Thanks to you and your team for working so hard to improve my user experience.
I agree with the previous poster that what is seriously missing is the ability to sort by release date.
I won't bother opening the can of worms that is the removal of the Releasing This Week page because you folks at Netflix have already proven that you're just going to ignore us on that. However, the least you could do is give us the ability to find that information ourselves by letting us sort through search results by release date (as well as for putting that functionality on all the pages, most importantly, when browsing by genre).
Changing the cosmetics of the pages is nice and all, but it's very frustrating that you continue to ignore the feedback that you receive, as evidenced by not adding in some very simple changes that would improve the usability of your site immensely.
Being able to find out what new movies have been released within specific genres is a lot more important to me than now being able to see a box cover image that is slightly larger. I realize you guys are working hard to make improvements, but why not make the improvements that really matter and that your customers are actually asking for?
I'm sure whoever's in charge over there is very happy that the uproar over taking away the RTW page has died down, but those of us who it pissed off have not forgotten. The least you could do is put some functionality back into the website that serves to some degree a similar purpose as what was taken away. It's ridiculous that if I want to see, for example, what newer movies have come out from Germany or Japan or even in Documentaries, I need to look through the entire list of films instead of being able to sort them by release date. It baffles the mind why this feature is still being overlooked and held back.
erc said: One question I've always had about searching, though, is related to the drop-down that appears whenever I'm typing in the search box at the top of a page. Within a few keystrokes, that box often lists whatever I'm searching for, so I just click on it. So why, if I click on the exact thing that I'm searching for, does it still take me to a search page instead of directly to that movie's page?
Ditto. This makes no sense and is SOOOOO annoying! Please remove this redundancy!
If so, I think it's an extremely poor move on Netflix's part hopping on the bandwagon and abandoning anybody that fell victim to the format war
So you would like Netflix to go against the grain and continue to support a slowly dieing format? Then why are they not continuing to support Beta?
NetFlix kind of stabbed us all in the back today with its Blu-Ray move. I'll not give you one more dollar. Hope you make a fortune joining the side of the anti-consumer.
I do agree that BD is aviable format, but it is not as stable or mature as what HD-DVD technology at this point. It just seems that this move is premature, and I find it frustrating.
The move is not premature. It's just that you bought into the HD-DVD format and are feeling cornered by the industry. Griping about your decision will not cause Netflix to support a dieing format.
Hope you make a fortune joining the side of the anti-consumer.
Woops, I think you made a typo. You probably meant to say "hope you make a fortune joining the side of the format war winner."
In response to anon's comments:
"So you would like Netflix to go against the grain and continue to support a slowly dieing format? Then why are they not continuing to support Beta?"
and
"The move is not premature. It's just that you bought into the HD-DVD format and are feeling cornered by the industry. Griping about your decision will not cause Netflix to support a dieing format."
It's not that I want Netflix to save HD-DVD from its deathbed, I know it's going to die eventually. I just would like to see them not abandon what they currently have, not to mention that some movies/tv shows are still going to be sold as HD-DVD (not every studio is abandoning the format yet).
I just don't see any positive for Netflix dropping HD-DVD while people are still using it and content is still being released on the format. I, like another poster, picked up Netflix specifically because they carried HD-DVDs.
I can't imagine restocking HD-DVDs (while still available) can be that cost prohibitive (surely they forecast and monitor demand and buy accordingly), not to mention losing any user base that keeps Netflix for specifically the HD-DVD selections.
Personally, I wouldn't have anything against Netflix if this were similar to the old divx (the actual discs, not the digital files) ordeal. But that was a much smaller number of users, at a much higher cost, with alot of overhead.
This time around though, it's a slow goodbye for the format, that's going to still have many, many users (thanks to sub-$200 players), many great (exclusive) releases (Heroes, Transformers) and the same cost as its competing format (if not cheaper now).
Again, I just can't see any real positive from Netflix's side.
If someone has any insight (especially from Netflix themselves), I'd be glad to listen.
I'm not an HD-DVD fanboy by any means, I just got it cause it's HD and it was cheaper than any Blu-Ray player. I'm just kinda miffed because I've always liked the way Netflix treats their users (giving us nice perks like Watch Now and super fast shipping while keeping prices reasonable) and I think this is a huge step in the wrong direction edging Netflix into the dark waters of corporate shadiness.
In short...if this goes though, I shake my fist at the execs at Netflix, and I'm sure angry monkeys (from Family Guy for the uninitiated) will surely point at you for your deeds.
I have cancelled Netflix! I only needed it to rent HD-DVDs but since you no longer are going to carry them I will rent my HD movies from Xbox Live.
Well, it looks like I'll be canceling. Just got the official notice from Netflix saying that my queue would start to be converted to standard DVDs by the end of this month.
Sigh...I don't want to drop Netflix, but it's of no use to me anymore. :-(
I'm another that's mad that Netflix is dropping HDDVD. I guess if you want to watch a Paramount or Universal HD movie you will have to go elsewhere. That's just dumb to alienate all the people who have HDDVD players. I would assume that they are the ones who really like movies anyways.
"and I would love to see those same buttons appear elsewhere in the site"
I would love to see the Watch Now button appear when I am looking at an actor's filmography page. If I want to watch something with Roy Scheider - as a tribute and as an easy to hand example - I should not need to click each individual movie's link in his filmography to see if it is available to watch instantly. In the Search Results page (which lists only four Roy Scheider films), the button appears; when I click through to his full filmography, no Watch Now/Instantly buttons.
HUH? What's the blazes have all these HD rants got to do with the search engine?
So, to answer your question, Meghan, I'm with Tygger, and like the ongoing improvements a lot. Ideally, as Eric suggests, the drop-down title would take you straight to the movie page, skipping step two of the search. And if the drop-down included dates, that would work for re-makes as well - i.e. '3:10' to Yuma (1957) or (2007). If we didn't know the date we could use that intermediary page to get more info.
I originally thought there should be a way to specify whether we're looking for a movie, actor or director, but this upgraded version managed to nail Robert De Niro with as little as 'de' (someone's earlier complaint). Looking forward to search by plot key-words, which would save us a trip to IMDb!
But at least a smattering of applause from us grumps for your great efforts, right? You'd think all that relaxing in front of the TV would... well... relax us!
I'm with Lord Kaio on the HD-DVD issue. Even though it certainly seems like Blu-Ray will win out in the end, there is still content solely on HD-DVD and will be for some time to come. Most importantly it really is silly to burn all the NETFLIX CUSTOMERS that have HD-DVD.
I'm not cancelling over this -- unless I find out that Netflix is getting pushed some cash to go Blu-Ray exclusive.
I signed up last week for the fact of hd-dvd being availble through your site. I bought the player during the holidays and am pleased with what the pic. quality and sound-actually amazed. It helps me want to see a movie I certainly wasn't motivated to watch in the first place.
Since about half of the movie companies picked sides at the beginning of this, I picked the side that matched my price.
I am in agreement from other posters comments on your company's outlook to the 2 formats.
It's frustrating I just started your using your service and may have to re-think if I want use it. Their are certainly more choices to watch movies as time goes on.
By the way when are you selling used hd-dvd's for $5.99
I noticed a recent problem with the search engine. I searched for a specific movie (just re-released on DVD) - "Pierrot Le Fou."
I typed it in, spelled it completely correctly, and the search results page came up with hundreds of results...and yet "Pierrot Le Fou" was not near the top of the list. (I didn't bother going through the whole list to see if it was on there somewhere.)
I just don't really get that at all. I searched for an exact title - one that DOES exist in your system - and yet your search engine couldn't even find the exact match. Ultimately I just went to Jean-Luc Godard's page and added it from there - no big deal, but it was certainly aggravating.
This is one of the problems I had with Blockbuster's search engine (which is a complete piece of shit, by the way). I've never had that kind of problem with Netflix until now. Perhaps you can figure out that little problem.
Dropping HD-DVD: really bad business decision that is sure to alienate part of the user base. Why do it? It's like deciding to drop a movie studio or two just because they don't make quite as many movies as the biggest studio.
I wish Netflix would reconsider this. The race is not over yet; Sony has proven it manages to fail in proprietary format wars time after time.
Dan
Pierrot Le Fou is at this URL:
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Pierrot_Le_Fou/60031771
Hi Meghan,
As I wrote on the ning-board, I'm not too crazy about the new look. Adding more white space doesn't make it simpler, reducing the number of search results shown per page to 10 doesn't make it simpler, making the covers bigger doesn't make it simpler, nor does removing the subdivision of people/movies (that' in fact, only makes it more confusing to look at).
Example:
"witness prosecution" yields
Witness for the prosecution (1957)
Witness (1985)
Witness (apparently a person)
Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the holocaust.
and 6 more results on that page - out of 179.
Why is that person in the middle of everything? Why are there only 10 results being displayed of 179? And why are there only 179 results for "witness prosecution" when the search "witness for the prosecution" yields 20,255 - despite the fact that it's a narrower search (or at least should be)?
I thought the upgrade of the search engine some months ago was fine, but turning the Search Results into another "New Releases"-page is definitely yet another step in the wrong direction for Netflix. That kind of "simplicity" is not, nor should it be, desirable.
It is not that anyone backed a 'dieing format' - it's that they have HD-DVD hardware, and it costs little for Netflix to stock HD-DVD movies. Why unnecessarily piss off a group of people who are, obviously, fans of both movies and HD?
Beyond which, the amount of BOTH BR an HD-DVD is _tiny_ compared to DVD, and, at the moment HD-DVD has only slightly fewer movies available. In addition, it's been by far the superior format (you'll never have an obsolete HD-DVD player, but nearly all BR players are already obsolete, as they did not lock their code, and started way behind HD-DVD).
There is absolutely no business sense in dropping HD-DVD - that is UNLESS they've been paid off by the BR camp.
As I have an entire queue devoted SOLELY to HD-DVD, of course I'm pissed. Wouldn't you be? That in order for me to enjoy high def movies on my TV I'm going to go get a BR player? The same BR players which go obsolete and yet STILL cost a fortune more?
Yeah, just as soon as Netflix pays for it. Until then, Netflix has screwed me over, and can do the same to themselves, thankyouverymuch.
As for as "why HD DVD" comments in a format thread....because Netflix, cowardly, has not provided us (yet) with a thread of our own. So here we are.
Is there no longer any shame? It's rude and inconsiderate to hijack a blog comment thread like this. Meghan was nice enough to come on here looking for our thoughts about her search engine project and she gets this?
This is not a place to bitch and gripe about off-topic subjects and to threaten account closure with hopes of evoking change. Look at it as an opportunity for us all to provide constructive and genuine feedback to help make Netflix a better place to enjoy movies - and that involves being considerate and on topic.
I wouldn't be surprised if this opportunity were someday taken away from us.
and it costs little for Netflix to stock HD-DVD movies.
no, actually it costs a lot.
Why unnecessarily piss off a group of people who are, obviously, fans of both movies and HD?
a fairly small group but it is necessary as that format is going away. I don't want them to support HD-DVD. They should support Blu-Ray now.
In addition, it's been by far the superior format
The question is not about format superiority. It's about which format won the war.
There is absolutely no business sense in dropping HD-DVD
Yes there is. It lost the war and is going away.
As I have an entire queue devoted SOLELY to HD-DVD, of course I'm pissed. Wouldn't you be?
Yes, I would be. But I wouldn't be coming to Netflix complaining about why HD-DVD is losing. I assume you're going to the discussion boards of the studios that back Blue_Ray and giving them an earful too.
Until then, Netflix has screwed me over, and can do the same to themselves, thankyouverymuch
Immaturity aside, it's not Netflix that screwed you over. You kind of .. umm, jumped the gun a bit early going with HD-DVD. Now it's your problem, not Netflix's.
As for as "why HD DVD" comments in a format thread....because Netflix, cowardly, has not provided us (yet) with a thread of our own. So here we are
Go start a Blu-Ray forum and cry there. Leave us alone.
@Chris -
How odd. "Pierrot Le Fou" came up for me just fine. In fact the drop-down included it by the time I'd gotten to 'Pie'. But I did find that if you go on typing and write 'Pierot...' by mistake, then it disappeares, which doesn't make too much sense, with either French or English misspellings.
@Spindaddydad -
Hear, hear.
Spindaddy -- it's actually not off topic because the post references movies being available in DVD or BluRay. Moreover, if NetFlix doesn't want to receive customer feedback if it's negative, then they'll quickly become like all of the other companies that chose to stick their head in the sand rather than consider what their customers are telling them.
If it's cheaper for NetFlix only to carry one HD format, then they should come out and say that's why they are making the change. Don't send your users an e-mail in which you blatantly LIE.
From the duplicitous e-mail ... "In order to provide the best selection of high-definition titles for our members, we have decided to go exclusively with Blu-ray as well."
Huh? Last time I checked Universal, Paramount, and DreamWorks films were only in HD DVD, so how has NetFlix just helped provide the best selection of titles to its members?
Please don't insult your customers' intelligence. I have loved NetFlix up until today -- but having access to HD DVD movies was a big part of why I am a NetFlix subscriber. I may have just been annoyed if you had honestly told me about the reason for dropping HD DVDs, but your seeming lack of respect for your customers (both in terms of their intelligence and their wants) has me looking for another service provider.
if NetFlix doesn't want to receive customer feedback if it's negative, then they'll quickly become like all of the other companies that chose to stick their head in the sand
If they wanted our feedback (neg or pos) on which HD format to choose, I think they would have started a blog topic for it. Since they didn't, we have to assume they've made the decision and are moving forward. Those who want to discuss the HD format wars should search the blog. I'm sure there are already topics that cover it and those would be a better place to comment than here.
Netflix, you suck. Thanks for going with Blue Ray. HD DVD is better. Big mistake. later dudes I'll be going somewhere else. But first thing I'm going to do is short your stock.
Netflix, you suck. Thanks for going with Blue Ray. HD DVD is better. Big mistake. later dudes I'll be going somewhere else. But first thing I'm going to do is short your stock.
Why not move to Blockbuster. Oh wait... they switched to Blu-Ray too. Well, there's always GameznFlix
The new " Search Updates " are ho hum... I saw them and thought to myself... oh they have changed something else on here that doesn't really matter or help anyone a whole lot.
I'm not like some of the posters on here saying that I will close my account and stuff....
Because Netflix is still The Greatest thing that has ever happened to a Movie Freak like me.
But Since the Summer of 2004 when I became a member of Netflix I have noticed like others have mentioned... The functionality of the sight on how people look for movies ( mainly movies they do not yet know about ) Like (to beat a horse that has been dead many times over) The Releasing This Week Page. HAS GONE DOWNHILL!!!
Not sure if you keep hiring new people or if it has been the same since the beginning.
But to give you a analogy : it seems like the people who make the changes are like:
Baby Boomer Generation People making decisions on what is " hip " with the New Generation of kids i.e. music, clothing, MOVIES.
I understand that Netflix has millions and millions of customers.
And a Large percentage of them are "Computer Dumb" and what the hell just plain "Dumb". And they need the most simple thing possible to find their movies but man alive! Do we really need these Sliders to find So called New Releases " you need to have written.. these are the Releases we have available to Rent Now you real new realeases are on long waits So please Rent this Steven Segal Movie" .
But that being said.. I will always be a Netflix Customer as long as nothing Drastic happens with the Pricing and they continue to have their unbeleivably Huge Catalog of Movies
:
I look forward to a world without irony in which people don't complain about people making off-topic posts and thereby become the unintended subject of their misplaced condemnation.
Let's show some decency and stop the off-topic posts about off-topic posts.
Rather than complain about other posts, I suggest that people read them and use it as an opportunity "for us all to provide constructive and genuine feedback to help make Netflix a better place to enjoy movies".
I will be cancelling my Netflix account and moving to Blockbuster if Blockbuster continues to carry HD-DVD unless Netflix changes their mind. I'll stick around until HD-DVDs stop showing up (unless of course, all HD movies become available on BluRay, then which the point is moot, but this won't happen as long as studios like Universal are on the HD-DVD exclusive list).
I have both players, so it isn't that I can't watch HD period, but there are several HD movies I like that are ONLY available in HD-DVD and not BluRay. If ALL HD-DVD movies come out in BluRay then point is moot and I will stick with Netflix.
I would like to be able to sort within my search results. If I have 1,000 results and still can't find what I'm looking for I would like to be able to sort by release date or title.
@ Susurrus - We're naturally all riveted by your upcoming movie rental plans, but how's about the HD contingent taking their perfectly legitimate beef over to Ning, where the discussion is already under way. This is like someone asking for feedback on the movie they just finished, and everyone starting to discuss a completely different one. That's just rude. No wonder no-one except Michael is ever willing to talk to us - all they get is grief.
I think that these are great improvements. Am very pleased to see a column in my queue showing me what I can view--even of those not available on DVD. All of your changes really were improvements and done thoughtfully. Though I know it's done with the bottom line in mind, in the end. Still, thanks for doing such a good job. I think you should come to Detroit and teach GM and Ford a few things.
I would like to have back the total number of movies you have on queue (even if they are saved). Right now, the queue just counts the number of movies in your queue that are avaialable in Netflix, yet does not tell you how many you have saved (even though it also counts towards your queue.
"Right now, the queue just counts the number of movies in your queue that are available in Netflix, yet does not tell you how many you have saved (even though it also counts towards your queue)."
But does is? Maybe, with the help of popular support, the Saved Section no longer counts towards the 500 total. Any update on this, o ye mighty (and mightily tight lipped!) Netflix gods?
Jake said...
"But does is? Maybe, with the help of popular support, the Saved Section no longer counts towards the 500 total. Any update on this, o ye mighty (and mightily tight lipped!) Netflix gods?
Yes, Saves movies still count towards the limit, which is still 500. My queue (available + saved) is always in the 470-480 range, so I was easily able to test it.
Removing that number has made my life on Netflix exponentially more difficult, and I see absolutely no purpose in why you did so. All your other recent changes are just fine with me because I can adapt to new styles and tweaks, but losing that single number makes my queue management a monumentally monstrous pain in the ass!
I like the changes, most people will find exactly what they want very quickly. I had no problem with the old tabs, but I can see how it would be confusing for others.
But I honestly can't understand why someone who types in, say, "witness prosecution" complains when the listed choices are almost certainly what any user would have wanted.
One question I've always had about searching, though, is related to the drop-down that appears whenever I'm typing in the search box at the top of a page...
It would seem logical to save a step and go straight to the title, but there are a few plausible reasons why they didn't do that.
Keep in mind, that the drop-down is merely a short cut for you to enter a string into the search dialog. The simplest form of this kind of list doesn't contain a lot of data (e.g. the pointer to the exact page).
If you typed in "Suspicion", for example, it would be somewhat ambiguous whether you wanted to go straight to the movie by that exact title or wanted to do a general search.
Since it's the search box, not performing the function you asked it to (i.e. search) is a bit of a hack for a UI.
Also note that a single entry in the list might point to multiple titles.
I seriously doubt the feature is complete. It looks like the kind of thing where a clever engineer was showing off this cool thing he could do and management decided it was useful enough as is to put it into the interface without completely redesigning it with the drop-down in mind. At some point it will do what you expect, but it doesn't seem like a trivial change.
I noticed a recent problem with the search engine. I searched for a specific movie (just re-released on DVD) - "Pierrot Le Fou."
I see this problem too. It's most likely just a bug or a corruption in the index.
@Sam - I had the same thoughts when I posed my earlier question, but I think there are some specific circumstances where you could jump straight to the movie page and still not confuse the user. If I type an entire word or phrase in the search box, then going to the search page makes sense. But if I start typing and then select a specific movie from the drop-down, chances are that I want the page for that specific movie.
It's certainly not unprecedented for a search box to go directly to a single result if that's the only obvious match. IMDB already does it (though without the help of the drop box). If you search for a rather generic title like "The Prestige," then it still takes you to a search results page, but if you search for something that's obviously specific, like "So I Married an Axe Murderer," then it takes you directly to the movie page.
"Removing that number has made my life on Netflix exponentially more difficult, and I see absolutely no purpose in why you did so. All your other recent changes are just fine with me because I can adapt to new styles and tweaks, but losing that single number makes my queue management a monumentally monstrous pain in the ass!"
I compeltely agree with this and I will like this total to refelct both saved and available movies... at the right corner, like before.
"Removing that number has made my life on Netflix exponentially more difficult..."
Meghan has been reading your comments and she and i just spoke and i think she understands the situation well and didn't mean to make things difficult for y'all. While it isn't possible to promise anything at this point, i think she's going to try to address this in one of the next few software releases. I'm glad you mentioned it and will keep you posted to the best of my ability.
TO THOSE STILL ANGRY AT THE REMOVAL OF THE 'old' NEW RELEASE PAGE!!!
Last week I cancelled my Netflix account, and 11 other people were prepared to do it as well. Well golly jeepers, they notified me at the end of the call "oh by the way" and showed me this :
http://www.netflix.com/AllNewReleases?lnkctr=NavAllNewReleases
Yup it's still there, and thanx to some savvy phone rep, Netflix still has 11 accounts (4 of which are the highest end accounts).
If that link doesn't take you there it's easy: When you are on community blog main page, it's to the right , directly under the red Netflix logo 'DVD's releasing this week'. It takes you right to the old page.
LET NETFLIX KNOW BY PHONE YOU ARE HAPPY THE OLD PAGE IS STILL THERE, AND THAT YOU WILL CANCEL YOUR ACCOUNT IF IT DISAPPEARS! When I spoke to the rep she said it 'probably' wasn't going anywhere, that they ARE indeed getting many complaints.
So know it's there, use it, and call the customer service number to let them know it's wanted.
Yes I know this has nothing to do with this topic, but since the blog continues to ignore the issue I will post it and repost it in every blog. Sue me.
@ Meghan : While you're thinking about how to present the number of DVD's in our queue, would it not make sense to only count the 'saved' movies that have a specific release date towards the 500 total, since there's no guarantee that any of the others will ever be available? In my case now taking up 12 of the 13 slots for no good reason. And, either way, why not just say : "DVD's in your queue 257 (207 + 50 saved)". Simple and clear. Thanks.
@harry
For titles that are in your saved list without a release date there is still a possibility they will eventually get to your queue, so they have to be counted as well. And keep in mind there's actually no guarantee that those with release dates will ever hit your queue either.
The 500 limit is completely arbitrary, it's only purpose is to keep the queue page from growing to a totally unmanageable size. So there's no logical reason why they wouldn't count "Unavailable" saved titles in that total.
I'm not happy at all with the HD changeover to Blueray.Bad move ..I guess it's time for my family and I to change video providers.
@Sam : But no harm in asking, right? And if 500 is 'completely arbitrary', perhaps they could arbitrarily double it and render the whole issue moot? ;)
I left my comments on the new search page on ning, but I just wanted to add that it would be helpful if I could search by synopses, too.
For example, today I decided to create my very first list: all the Doctor Who episodes that are available on dvd -- in order. After spending 20 minutes trying to find the first episode, "An Unearthly Child", I gave up. It turns out, the first three episodes are collectively called "The Beginning" and I had been searching on the name of the episode. If synopses were included in the search, this DVD probably would have been first in the list.
Another helpful feature would be the ability to sort by different criteria (dates would be especially helpful in my quest to put all the DW episodes in order).
I checked out your so-called New Releases category again today and again found it to be of absolutely no use to me. It is too time consuming to scroll through a collection of DVDs I have not interesting in ever seeing.
To quote another comment "the removal of the "releasing this week" feature is VERY frustrating!"
Your feed http://rss.netflix.com/NewReleasesRSS does not come close to the completeness of the old Releasing This Week. I have not yet found the variety of DVDs in the RSS feed of new releases that were in the old format.
For some reason unknown to me you have chosen to alienate a number of users by eliminating Releasing This Week. Why can't you continue this extremely useful old listing format even if you want to keep the, for me, unusable new format.
^^^^^^^^
you are an idiot.... plain and simple.
The " Old " ( and Best ) Releasing This Week Page still exists and not very hard to find...
Since you are so stupid and did not know it has been around still this whole time and now is even posted on the front page of this blog.... I won't explain anymore..
you are not worthy of using it.
@ jeld
Wow. You're mother must be so proud of having raised you to be such a kind and compassionate individual.
There is a time when a man leaves the womb of his Mother and goes out to find that the world is FULL OF STUPID.
and now i leave the next spot for someone to say something smart and witty but at the same time disparaging about me.
The search feature, which used to be just pitiful, is really great now. Aside from that 'Pierrot le fou' glitch - which takes you to 'Dangerous Moves' (La Diagonale du Fou), incidentally - it's been spot-on every time. Let's hear it for Meghan & team!
I haven't tried the new search feature yet (I usually only search when I know what I'm looking for anyway..) but I absolutely love the new combined add/play buttons everywhere. good work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
!!!!!! HD-DVD PHASE OUT !!!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This HD phase out is ridiculous! Sony hasn’t done anything for the industry since the Walkman. They think they are on top of the hill and like to throw in pipe wrench standards every few years and see what bites. This is no different. Remember the Betamax? BLAH! At least the Betamax had superior quality vs. price. They can have their little turf war, fine! But don’t do it and Netflix subscriber’s expense. Let’s compare, HD-DVD home player (~$150), Blu-ray (~$300+). And as far as the PC market goes HD has the lion’s share. Sony’s policy of buying companies out to exclusively support Blu-Ray and undermine HD is a cop-out! Best Buy has already had their head chewed off and will continue to carry the HD line as a result of customer complaints. Not just shame on Sony, but shame on any retailer that carries a product over another just because of a check under the table. I love Netflix, ALOT, but I can’t continue to support it if it keeps up with this mentality of negating a superior product. I urge anyone reading this to contact Netflix and have your opinion heard; hopefully we can bring them back to their senses!
Thank you, and long live Netflix!
There is a time when a man leaves the womb of his Mother and goes out to find that the world is FULL OF STUPID.
It must be such a burden to be you.
Thanks for all your help regarding "Pierrot Le Fou" - but it's still not working for me.
Don't get me wrong - as I mentioned before, it was easy to add the film simply by going to Godard's page, so I've long since added the film to my queue.
But I went back and re-tried searching for the film - yes, I spelled correctly, and the title even dropped down for me - and ran into the same problems. When I search for "Pierrot Le Fou," the top results are: "Dangerous Moves," Frederic Pierrot, Foued Litayem (?!), "Le Tour de France: 1999 to 2005," "Le Tour de France 2006: Floyd Landis: Hero or Villain?," "2003 Le Tour de France," "Le Tour de France 2005: Magnificent 7," "The Crook," "Girl Slaves of Morgana Le Fay," and "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."
Though to be fair, I'm sure a pro cycling enthusiast would be just delighted with this selection.
Anyway, I only bring it up because I feel it might be indicative of a larger problem with the search engine. The old search page never had this problem (in fact, I had searched for the same movie on this site in the past and it came right up). It's positively Blockbuster-esque.
There is a time when a man leaves the womb of his Mother and goes out to find that the world is FULL OF STUPID.
"...the gods themselves..."
what happened to the "Releasing this week" section of the New releases?????????? is that ever coming back???? i look at the new releases and i always see the SAME ones over and over again...
somebody help me...
is the old format ever coming back??
what happened to the "Releasing this week" section of the New releases?????????? is that ever coming back????
February 13, 2008 3:26 PM
You found your way here. Now do yourself a favor and do a little more digging/reading and find the answers to your query.
The new search feature doesn't seem to let you go as far back into the Netflix catalog. A typical search will yield 1000 results but will only let you go back over the last 100 or so. Am I missing something?
I often search back further than the system is currently letting me for the info on movies I'm looking for. Please add this ability back or let me know where I'm wrong.
"Am I missing something?"
Yes : a sense of urgency. If you're plowing through more than 100 suggestions you really, really need to re-phrase the question.
You are mistaken... I use general terms like director's cut or special edition to look back in the catalog and find new ideas.
If I'm looking for a specific title there is no problem but the search engine is useful for more than just the quick finds.
Netflix is really a terrific resource best used as a combination of search, title information, ratings, and reviews... the further away from this that they move, the less valuable they are for someone like myself who has seen all of the popular films and is working their way through the back catalog.
Was mainly teasing, since you obviously weren't using it in the way most of do. I've long thought that they should have a complete list of everything they carry so we wouldn't have to do all this time consuming digging for new movies, each with own particular strategies -- your's being rather unique and interesting.
The new format sucks. Where is the releasing this week feature. It is the only feature I ever used and the only one really needed . I don't care about others reccomendations or I would ask for them Please bring it back or I will be forced to cancel.
Forgive them, Meghan, for they have but the one dead horse to beat, over and over and over again.
I like the search element that brings up several choices as you're typing your request. One question... Why change the "New Releases" to a Red Box type of set up??? I liked the old way better, like it is on the community blog site. Any one who likes horror movies check out my blog below!
http://tfav1630frgodbeyjr.blogspot.com/
On the main community blog page you can get the old style of "New Releases". Click on it and you will see all the new releases for the week.
I hate the "new releases" scrolling set-up. Please go back to the old version where you spotlight the BIG films that come out each week. NO way to know that anymore and spotlight just the big films everyone wants to see.
I like the new search and understand Netflix decision to go with Blu-Ray. Netflix doesn't ship beta, vhs, or laser disc either, and I wouldn't expect them to.
However, I find the search can give too many hits. Being able to do an advance search where you can enter in title and an actor, would help. Too often I have gone through hundreds of results to find particular movie, simply because the title is very generic (try to see if Netflix carries the anime "Blood+"). Also, being able to search the results or control the pagination are some simple, obvious UI controls that have been missing for a long time.
I'm going to say, no, they don't have "Blood+" in their database yet.
If you do a simple search of "Blood" you'll find an anime called "Blood" as the first hit. While "Blood" is a common term, the search engine does a great job of finding what you probably want and putting it right at the top.
Looking for "Blood+" by searching for "Blood" and then paging through dozens of page is kind of desperate, so its not an issue of "too many hits" or issues with the pagination, etc.
If you want "Blood+" just search for "Blood+". If it were in their database, I would hope it would come up first. There might be a problem with indexing non-alphanumeric characters, but that should be addressed directly as a bug, not through any of the workarounds you mentioned.
It would also be considered a bug if the "Blood+" did not come up in the first few hits for "Blood". An understandable bug, but one they should fix (if that were the case).
As a final resort, you can indeed search on the name of the director ("Fukisaku" in this case), and if the director is in the database you will have a nice short list to browse through. There is little need for an advanced search option.
HATE the new set up! I thought at first, "ok, it will just take some time to get used to it" but nope, I still hate it! I want to see the new releases!!!! I feel like I need to go to the video store just to see what is new out...NOT GOOD FOR YOU Netflix!
Another really dumb change. Why are you trying to make your site worse and worse? I read a reference to a movie and could not remember if it was in my queue, so I typed the name The Mist into search. I did not get The Mist, just a few other films with mist or misty somewhere in the title. So I had to go to my queue and try to see if it was there. What is wrong with search?
Then I was trying to search for an actor and you no longer have the People button!
Whoever is approving these changes to your website needs to be fired.
WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO WISE UP AND BRING BACK 'RELEASING THIS WEEK'. My Sunday is not complete without it.
WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO WISE UP AND BRING BACK 'RELEASING THIS WEEK'.
WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO EITHER DEAL WITH IT OR CLOSE YOUR ACCOUNT?
all the complaining about the " RELEASING THIS WEEK" even though I agree with what they are talking about is ANNOYING as hell!!! Especially since IT STILL EXISTS!!! to anyone with half a brain.
I do have to say that whoever at Netflix that came up with the idea for what replaced it, Is A COMPLETE MORON that knows nothing about functionality !!! And probably has a small penis or is a woman.
Spoken like a true Renaissance Man. Preternaturally endowed, one can only assume.
I do not like the new search format. I miss the tabs to allow sorting. Also if the search produces a large number of results say 200. It takes a great deal of time to go through them because you only list 10 items per page.
I think it would be better to give us a full list of titles. then allow us to use the Dynamic HTML popup windows to display more information about the title if we want to know more.
Trying to display 10 items at a time is just frustrating. You do not even provide a clickable list of pages. We have to go through the pages one at a time. Very slow.
I tend to use my netflix account mostly for online usage (traveling, it's easier than packing loads of DVDs). Finding online movies is particularly hard with the current layout. for instance, it is especially hard to find any movie with a specific actor/actress that is in an online movie. The search function lists their movies and has ADD buttons but no blue play button to indicate that option if there is one; consequently i have to click each link to check the movie's main page for the play instantly function.
I'd be a much happier, and probably longer, customer if Netflix could improve this aspect of the search function.
@Meghan.
Generally works great for me, but was puzzled that when I searched for Khrzhanovsky's "4" earlier today, it came up 10th, way below "Fantastic Four", "Saw IV", and such. Does the system take into account the likelyhood/unlikelihood of a title or person based on the volume of previous searches for them? That's the only explanation I could think of for the exact title '4' not heading the list. Thanks.
i just want to say the i HATE the way the new page looks and its extremely hard to find the new releases. the old was much easier and less time consuming. where is the coming soon feature,i dont have time to stay all day on netflix to find a new movie..GO BACK TO THE OLD or atleast make it easier.
Now, you folks do realize that the Netflix search engine is that box in the right hand corner of your screen marked "Search" with the words "movies, actors, directo" in it, right? RIGHT?
I have had an account with Net Flix for a couple years now. I am highly disappointed with the new format. Takes to much time to find new releases and other movies I might want. Liked to older version better. Am considering switching to Block Buster, who has that much time to search for movies??
i hate it very much! i cannot find new release movies now!please put it back to hard to look up!!!
I HATE the new search junk. Why remove "New Releases"? I would not recommend NetFlix to anyone right now!
I'm not happy with the new "Browse" at all. I would like to have the "Releasing This Week" option back. I don't particularly care what was a hot option a year ago. I want to know what is knew and what is releasing soon. Maybe someone at Netflix thought the new "Browse" function was more aesthetically pleasing, but it is flat out not functional at all.
I hate your new search page, I was looking for a place to complain and stumbled upon your "releasing this week" feature. This saved you a customer. I have been visiting competitors sites just to find out what is coming out. I think I have taken delivery of two videos in the last 30days because of your new site. Not cost effective for me. The new search is slow and shows me movies I have already rejected, over, and over, and over.
I noticed others used the word "frustrated", I would not be so polite if this were in person.
Is there a way to search only within the Online Browsing?
Yeah please put the "releasing this week" feature back the way it was. I have no idea why you would get rid of it in the first place. I used to go there once a week and load up the queue but now, instead of checking netflix; I have to search on other web sites to find out whats releasing; which is a little tedious. Just a thought. Actually no; it's a DEMAND! In the name of Astronaut Jones, I command you to put the releasing this week feature back on your site! ~Fin~