From better recommendations to integrating Rotten Tomatoes, get the most out of your Netflix subscription with these valuable tips and tricks.
Making the most of your monthly subscription is much more than watching as many episodes of “The Walking Dead” in one night as possible. It’s about effortlessly digging up the best available flicks, so that by the end of the month, you know you got your money’s worth, and then some.
Sadly, there’s no magic potion that will bring “Game of Thrones” to Netflix, but there are some best practices and little-known tools that will quickly transform you into a Netflix-watching maven.
1. Bookmark InstantWatcher
Netflix’s clunky content interface is hardly conducive to browsing titles. Instead, use InstantWatcher.com. Although the site might look like it was built overnight, it does a stupendous job of showing you what matters most on Netflix.
You’ll see popular titles, along with noteworthy releases. But, best of all, InstantWatcher lists the titles that will soon be removed from Netflix, so you can catch them before they’re gone.
Screenshot by Sharon Vaknin/CNET
2. Put Rotten Tomatoes in your Netflix
If you consider Rotten Tomatoes to be the last word on deeming a movie watch-worthy, you’ll love this trick.
With this hack, you can get Rotten Tomato scores within Netflix, saving you the trip each time you want to look up a movie. Once enabled, the Tomato score will appear next to the movie details when you hover over a thumbnail on Netflix.com.
To get the hack, begin by installing the Greasemonkey add-on for Firefox. Alternatively, if you use Chrome, install Tampermonkey instead. These extensions let you endlessly hack your browser and let you modify Web sites to your liking. For a deep dive into Greasemonkey, check out our getting-started guide.
Screenshot by Sharon Vaknin/CNET
However, you don’t need to be a Greasemonkey master to get Rotten Tomato scores in Netflix. Once you’ve installed the add-on, head on over to the RottenFlix page and click “Install” in the upper-right. Confirm that you’d like to install it, and you’re set!
Now, head on over to Netflix.com and hover over a movie thumbnail. Within moments, a little tomato icon will pop up. Click it, and the Tomato score will be revealed. And, if you click that score, you’ll be taken the the Rotten Tomato page for that movie. Neat!
3. Teach Netflix to give you accurate recommendations
When you launch Netflix on your computer or streaming device, you’ll immediately see the movies and TV shows Netflix thinks you’ll like. Unfortunately, many times, it’s wrong.
There are two ways to improve these recommendations so accurate, you’ll actually look forward to them.
First, always (always, always) rate movies after watching them. It only takes a moment, and will improve Netflix’s recommendation engine. Secondly, complete the Taste Preferences survey. To do so, log into your Netflix account in your browser, hover over the Taste Profile menu, and select Taste Preferences.
The survey is extensive, and would take quite a while to complete entirely, so instead, choose from the different survey categories and answer the questions most important to you.
Screenshot by Sharon Vaknin/CNET
4. Use your phone or tablet as a Netflix remote
If you stream Netflix with your PS3, this little-known trick will make your life a whole lot easier. Once you have the Netflix app installed on your iOS or Android device, connect your device to the same local network as your PS3.
Without further setup, you should be able to control the interface on your TV with the app. So, for example, if you tap a movie, the app will prompt you to play it on your PS3. Here’s a video a YouTuber put together to show you how it works:
Screenshot by Sharon Vaknin/CNET
5. Choose your streaming quality
More and more of us are signing ISP contracts whereby we’re bound to annoying data caps. If you’re one of these customers, you might want to lower you streaming quality, minimizing the amount of data you use when streaming Netflix titles.
To change your video quality, head to this settings page. You can choose from .3GB per hour to 2.3GB per hour.
Netflix and other services offer movie recommendations based on user ratings. FlickChart bases its recommendations based on which movies you prefer, and can offer better options for many users.
Most of us have used Netflix or iTunes recommendations to check out movies or TV shows, and while they can be pretty good, they do offer up duds from time to time — especially duds that happen to be quite popular. FlickChart aims to fix this by offering recommendations based on relative ranking of movies instead of a five-star system, and can deliver much more focused movie options. Here’s how to use it:
- Point your browser to Flick Chart and set up a free account. They don’t want much info from you.
- Rank movies. They will show you two, and you pick the one you prefer. If you haven’t seen one or both movies, it’s easy to move on. Note that FlickChart has some wild movie posters in its database, including many international posters, so it can be fun to flick through just to see what pops up.
Step 2: Rank movies on FlickChart. Rob Lightner/CNET
- After you’ve been ranking for a while, you’re shown how to filter the movies you choose from using the top menu. This can help you to more precisely rank the movies you’ve already ranked, focus on particular genres and more.
- You can check statistics and details or leave a comment below the rating window. This can be interesting, but isn’t the most helpful feature offered.
- To see recommendations, just click View All Movies I Haven’t Seen near the bottom left. This brings you to a new page that starts with the movies FlickChart thinks you’ll like best based on your rankings. You create new lists based on movie age, genre, franchise, actor, director, release date and more.
That’s it! There’s a lot packed in here, but it’s mostly only useful if you’ve ranked quite a few flicks. Fortunately, it’s fun and somewhat addictive, so you may want to make FlickChart your go-to decompression break between work tasks.
Netflix has around 100 million users worldwide, so they must be doing something right. But are there things Netflix can do to improve the user experience? We took a look at several potential features that could make Netflix even better than it is.
Feeling Lucky?
There comes a time when we have absolutely no idea what to watch on Netflix due to either too many choices or the fact that we’ve already seen everything we wanted to watch. With a random selection button Netflix could choose a program you have not already viewed on Netflix based on your history and likes.
Aftermath Prediction
Have you ever watched a movie that made you feel really down, dissatisfied, or even angry about the plot after? Netflix could add a feature that indicates what kind of mood you might be in after watching certain programs. Perfect for a gloomy day when you don’t want to feel gloomy after.
Incognito Mode
There are some movies you may not want listed in your history for others to see, (like a low budget short or sexploitation film that you know can’t be any good). Other times you may have taken a chance on a title and realized it was either complete garbage or simply not your taste. If Netflix had an incognito mode (like Google Chrome or Firefox Private Mode), the slight embarrassment of being caught with an “odd” movie or TV show in your Recently Watched list could be avoided.
Integrated Social Media
One thing that really lacks among Netflix users is communication. If Netflix could integrate social media into their service beyond the private Recommend button many people could interact with other users based on similar interests in TV shows and movies. Users could meet new people, share interests, and write reviews (but hopefully not spoilers!).
Director’s Commentary
Some people prefer to have a director’s audio commentary to find out more about their favorite shows or movies. It’s still one reason to buy digital movies, Blu-ray Discs or DVDs with bonus features. Commentaries would be a nice feature to add to more titles since director’s commentary is readily available for “House of Cards.”
Playlists
Have you ever wanted to watch several different shows one after another but found it too tedious to switch after each episode? Netflix could implement a better playlists option to allow binge watching of multiple shows at a time. They already have “My List,” but the option could be improved to create more specific playlists the way audio services like iTunes and iHeart Radio have. The playlists could also be shared via social media.
Editor’s Additions
Bandwidth Indicator
Netflix streams at the best possible quality depending on your bandwidth and Playback Settings. But how cool would it be to have an indicator in the bottom control bar that tells you what your bandwidth is and what video resolution you are getting? Even more, how about letting us know what audio format is streaming?
HDR Indicator
Netflix used to have a small label next to the description that said HDR or the type of HDR spec like Dolby Vision. But those labels have been removed (probably do to customer confusion) and now just say Ultra HD. The problem is if we are trying to watch HDR we want to know if the title is actually offered in HDR. How else will we know? Do something, please!
Bring Back Star Ratings
The “thumbs up, thumbs down” new rating system on Netflix may be easier for Netflix algorithms to determine what users (or profiles) like best, but it doesn’t leave any room for movies that fall in between. With the previously-used 5-star system (pictured below), Netflix users could decide for themselves whether to watch a 2-star, 3-star, or 4-star title. Now, it’s either like or dislike. What ever happened to, “it was OK?”
Do you have a suggestion for improving Netflix? Let us know in the comments below.
Note: This article has been updated since it’s original publishing. Contributing authors include Qasim Muhammad, Sam Donaldson, and HD Report editors.
Related Articles:
The Best Movies in 4k Ultra HD on Netflix
How To Get Dolby Atmos on Netflix
The Best 4k Ultra HD TV Shows On Netflix
- Tags
- Netflix
RELATED ARTICLES
New Blu-ray & Digital: Tenet, The Expanse S4, The War with Grandpa & more
Review of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy on 4k Blu-ray
AT&T selling Crunchyroll to Sony’s Funimation
4 COMMENTS
Hi i think you need a lock button as when my two year old is watching netfix on tablet hes always clicking off the program i put on for him… it would benifit if u could lock it once playing so he carnt press any buttons many thanks
Now here’s what we REALLY need:
(1) The ability to remove a show/movie from our KEEP WATCHING list. Sometimes we stopped watching because, well, it was $#@!. Stop reminding us of our $#@! choices Netflix!
(2) The ability to simply rate shows/movies in the Netflix interface that we’ve watched, want to watch, loved, hated etc. and have THAT contribute to our recommendations list. The website Mr Films (Mr Movies??) I forget had this functionality in 1996, PLUS it would look at your list and you FRIEND’s list and recommend movies you’d BOTH probably like to see together. Simple, elegant and incredibly useful.
(3) A ‘Here’s what your friends are watching/love” list.
(4) A secret “I watched this rubbish but I don’t want my date/partner to see that I watched it” feature. Basically a ‘remove from my history’ button.
(5) Notifications Better, CLEARER notifications as to WHEN a series is returning.
(6) Notifications: The ability to get alerts when a show/movie we’re eager to watch but that isn’t YET on Netflix is coming.
(7) The ability to block genres, actors or directors we hate. Or at least Kanye. That guy is such a conceited, idiotic prat. He’s almost a black Trump. Donald from the Block. Okay, I know that for commercial reasons this probably isn’t ever going to happen, but we can dream can’t we?
Netflix original programming is what makes them as competitive as HBO. As a costumer, I believe they have created a formula that is changing Television programming as we know it. Customers are now getting what they pay for; uninterrupted programming at an affordable price.
Paying for programing and have to endure commercials is the reason why consumers see netflix as a game changer.
jean claude wan damn is washed up man…….the poll i filled out online was not used when netflix posted my so called choices……
Let’s face it: There are a lot of TV shows and movies out there. How are you going to figure out what’s good and what’s not-so-good? What if Netflix recommendations aren’t working for you? What if you don’t even have Netflix? We’ve scoured the web to bring you 7 useful apps and websites that can point you in the direction of something worth checking out.
1. Metacritic
We’ve been a fan of Metacritic for some time now. It’s comprehensive, it’s easy to navigate, and it can help you sort the wheat from the chaff more easily than most sites. It’s more for checking out what the critics and the population at large are into rather than getting personalized recommendations (though you can leave reviews of your own) and there are plenty of round-ups and lists to browse through, covering particular years, new releases and more.
2. Jinni
Jinni puts some serious science into the business of finding movies and TV shows that you’re going to like. It can import ratings and likes from Facebook, the IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes and Flixter, and lets you tweak your tastes manually too. The engine running Jinni looks into the core features of content you already like rather than simplistic tags or links (such as the same actor or genre), and based on our testing it does a decent job of surfacing new stuff.
3. Foundd
Simple, straightforward and no nonsense, Foundd lets you quickly rate ten films, TV shows or games to get some personalized recommendations thrown your way (and pretty well selected they are too). You can bookmark or dismiss any of the recommendations with a single click. There’s nothing particularly innovative or original about Foundd, but it covers all of the movie recommendation basics capably while stripping out the unnecessary extras.
4. Letterboxd
Letterboxd is first and foremost for tracking your own movie watching, but you can quickly get tips about new films by checking out some of the many lists on the site and following other users whose tastes you share. The interface is slick and polished, and keeping a log of movies you’ve seen becomes a joy rather than a chore. You’ll find most of the user reviews on the site are thoughtful and detailed enough to help you discover a gem or avoid a turkey.
5. Televisor
Type in a television show you like and find something else similar that you might like too—that’s how straightforward it is to use Televisor. Each results page offers plenty of detail, enabling you to make a more informed choice about your next series, and you can choose between new releases and classic shows. There are also links to Netflix, Hulu and Amazon built into the Televisor site. For the same format built for movie recommendations, try Movievisor .
6. SynopsiTV
SynopsiTV’s recommendation engine is all about your own personal choices and tastes rather than the opinions of other people. Movies and TV shows are covered and you can log what you’ve watched as well as get tips on what else might interest you. There are also several other ways to find new content: You can search by genre, actor, year and various other criteria, or follow other users on the site and see how compatible your tastes are with them.
7. IMDB
The site that we all relied on back when the Internet was mostly text set in Times New Roman is still going strong. The beauty of the Internet Movie Database is that there are so many avenues to pursue when it comes to recommendations—check out the top 250 films of all time , see films related to your favorites (“People who liked this also liked. “), look up one of the many polls run on the site or have a browse through lists created by individual users.
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DISCUSSION
I need a site to tell me where to watch everything. I have Amazon Prime, Netflix and Hulu+. Then there’s also Crackle, HBO Go and others. I watch via Amazon Fire Tv or on my laptop. I’d like 1 good interface or app that links to given content on the various sites. Bonus points if I can prioritize sites – I’d rather watch on Netflix than Hulu, for example.
@bsovvy
July 11, 2020, 9:00am EDT
Netflix isn’t just an English language streaming service with content from around the globe. You can easily watch films and shows in other languages. There are also options for changing the language of the audio, subtitles, or on your profile, no matter where you live. Let’s explore!
How to Change the Language on Your Netflix Profile
Netflix usually determines the language it uses based on your location. For example, in the U.S., you’ll get English, but in Brazil, your profile would appear in Portuguese by default.
If you have multiple Netflix profiles, you can set one (or more) of them to use another language. If you’re learning a new language, this might help you become more proficient. It can also separate your Netflix recommendations between languages if you’re multilingual.
Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to change your Netflix profile language on an iPhone, iPad, Android app, or other platforms. You have to do this in a web browser, but the settings you change will be applied across your Netflix account.
After you launch your browser and log in to Netflix, there are a few ways you can change the language on your profile.
Change the Language on Your Netflix Profile via the “Manage Profiles” Menu
The quickest way to change the language on your Netflix profile is via the “Manage Profiles” menu.
If you’re already signed in to the profile you want to change on Netflix, click your profile icon at the top right, and then click “Manage Profiles.”
In the main profile selection screen, click “Manage Profiles” again.
Click the profile you want to edit.
You’ll then see various options, including renaming your profile, setting parental controls, and so on.
Click the “Language” drop-down menu, select the language to which you want to change your profile, and then click “Save.”
You’re returned to the profile selection screen. Click “Done” to confirm your changes.
The language Netflix displays in that profile will now be the one you selected. Additionally, if a TV show or movie you’re watching has audio streams or subtitles available in that language, Netflix will use these by default.
Change the Language on Your Netflix Profile in the “Account” Menu
You can also change your Netflix profile’s language in the “Account” menu. To access it, just click your profile icon at the top right, and then select “Account.”
Scroll to the “Profile and Parental Controls” section, and then tap the downward arrow next to the profile you want to change.
The current language applied to that profile will be listed in the “Language” section; click “Change” to select a different one.
Select a new language from the list that appears, and then click “Save.”
Netflix will change your language settings to the one you chose. If you watch any content that’s available in that language, Netflix will default to it for the audio and subtitles.
How to Change the Audio and Subtitle Language on Netflix
If you only want to change the audio and subtitle language on one program, you can do this during playback. Netflix will default to your chosen profile language, but you can switch to any others that are available.
However, by default, Netflix only displays up to seven alternative languages you can switch to during playback. If the language you want isn’t listed, you’ll have to switch your profile language to it as we covered above.
The methods below outline how to change the language of Netflix audio and subtitles during playback via the web and on mobile. However, the steps should be similar on other devices, including smart TVs.
How to Change the Netflix Audio and Subtitle Language on the Web
To do this on the web, start playing the TV show or movie, and then hover your mouse over it until the options menu appears at the bottom.
Click the Audio and Subtitles icon at the bottom right.
A list of available audio streams and subtitle languages will be listed in the pop-up menu.
Click the language to which you want to switch the audio stream or for which you want to enable subtitles.
The audio stream will immediately change to the new language. If you enabled subtitles, these will begin to appear at the bottom of the video.
How to Change the Netflix Audio and Subtitle Language on Mobile
The process for changing the audio and subtitle language is similar on the Netflix app for iPhone, iPad, or Android. Simply begin playing the show or film in the Netflix app, and then tap the screen to see the playback options.
Tap “Audio and Subtitles” to access the languages that are available.
Select a language from the “Audio” or “Subtitles” section, and then tap “Apply” to confirm your settings.
The audio will now be in your chosen language. Subtitles are disabled by default, but they should now appear in your video.
Netflix and chill is great when you’re loved up. But, when that love dies, Netflix can serve as a constant reminder of your ex and the shows you once watched together.
That’s because of one big Netflix feature: its suggested viewing algorithm.
To come up with viewing suggestions, the algorithm behind Netflix’s “Recommended For You” section computes the films or programs you’ve watched, the ratings you’ve given those shows, and the ratings given by other members with similar tastes to yours. Meanwhile, the “Because You Watched” algorithm computes shows you’ve watched to recommend shows with similar metadata.
That’s great when you’re the only person using your profile on your Netflix account, but once another person’s tastes are added to the equation, the algorithm also starts to cater to things they’ve watched on your profile, giving you recommendations that aren’t right for you.
So, if your ex was really into watching Come Fly With Me, you might get a recommendation based on that. Not ideal.
Image: rachel thompson / mashable
But you don’t actually have to put up with those pesky reminders of your former lover and their terrible taste in TV and films. You can remove all traces of them — and everything you ever watched together — from your Netflix viewing history so your once carefully curated algorithm will get back to suggesting stuff you actually like . if you know how.
How to fix it
“The answer is to go to your settings and remove your Netflix history,” said a spokesperson for Netflix.
To do this, go to your Netflix profile and hover your curser over your name in the top right corner of the screen. Select “Your Account” from the dropdown menu.
Image: rachel thompson / mashable
Scroll to the bottom of the page to “My Profile” and select “Viewing Activity”. This will give you a list of literally everything you’ve ever watched since you joined Netflix.
Image: rachel thompson / mashable
Click on the “X” on the show or movie you want to remove. If it’s a series, click on “remove series?” to save you the bother of clicking “X” on every individual episode.
Image: rachel thompson / mashable
It’ll take 24 hours for Netflix to remove the offending shows and films from all your devices, and after that you should begin to see changes to your recommendations.
“When removing your Netflix history, you will essentially remove recommendations that have been created by Netflix algorithms as a result of viewing those shows/films,” says a Netflix spokesperson.
If your ex was cheeky enough to rate any shows or movies they might have watched on your account, you can get rid of those too. On your “My Activity” page, select “Rating” to see a list of everything you’ve ever rated. Click on the “X” to delete any ratings that might be affecting your algorithm.
Image: rachel thompson / mashable
Next time you’re enjoying some Netflix and chill, consider setting up a separate profile on your account so your date’s preferences don’t interfere with your finely tuned recommendations.
Netflix has around 100 million users worldwide, so they must be doing something right. But are there things Netflix can do to improve the user experience? We took a look at several potential features that could make Netflix even better than it is.
Feeling Lucky?
There comes a time when we have absolutely no idea what to watch on Netflix due to either too many choices or the fact that we’ve already seen everything we wanted to watch. With a random selection button Netflix could choose a program you have not already viewed on Netflix based on your history and likes.
Aftermath Prediction
Have you ever watched a movie that made you feel really down, dissatisfied, or even angry about the plot after? Netflix could add a feature that indicates what kind of mood you might be in after watching certain programs. Perfect for a gloomy day when you don’t want to feel gloomy after.
Incognito Mode
There are some movies you may not want listed in your history for others to see, (like a low budget short or sexploitation film that you know can’t be any good). Other times you may have taken a chance on a title and realized it was either complete garbage or simply not your taste. If Netflix had an incognito mode (like Google Chrome or Firefox Private Mode), the slight embarrassment of being caught with an “odd” movie or TV show in your Recently Watched list could be avoided.
Integrated Social Media
One thing that really lacks among Netflix users is communication. If Netflix could integrate social media into their service beyond the private Recommend button many people could interact with other users based on similar interests in TV shows and movies. Users could meet new people, share interests, and write reviews (but hopefully not spoilers!).
Director’s Commentary
Some people prefer to have a director’s audio commentary to find out more about their favorite shows or movies. It’s still one reason to buy digital movies, Blu-ray Discs or DVDs with bonus features. Commentaries would be a nice feature to add to more titles since director’s commentary is readily available for “House of Cards.”
Playlists
Have you ever wanted to watch several different shows one after another but found it too tedious to switch after each episode? Netflix could implement a better playlists option to allow binge watching of multiple shows at a time. They already have “My List,” but the option could be improved to create more specific playlists the way audio services like iTunes and iHeart Radio have. The playlists could also be shared via social media.
Editor’s Additions
Bandwidth Indicator
Netflix streams at the best possible quality depending on your bandwidth and Playback Settings. But how cool would it be to have an indicator in the bottom control bar that tells you what your bandwidth is and what video resolution you are getting? Even more, how about letting us know what audio format is streaming?
HDR Indicator
Netflix used to have a small label next to the description that said HDR or the type of HDR spec like Dolby Vision. But those labels have been removed (probably do to customer confusion) and now just say Ultra HD. The problem is if we are trying to watch HDR we want to know if the title is actually offered in HDR. How else will we know? Do something, please!
Bring Back Star Ratings
The “thumbs up, thumbs down” new rating system on Netflix may be easier for Netflix algorithms to determine what users (or profiles) like best, but it doesn’t leave any room for movies that fall in between. With the previously-used 5-star system (pictured below), Netflix users could decide for themselves whether to watch a 2-star, 3-star, or 4-star title. Now, it’s either like or dislike. What ever happened to, “it was OK?”
Do you have a suggestion for improving Netflix? Let us know in the comments below.
Note: This article has been updated since it’s original publishing. Contributing authors include Qasim Muhammad, Sam Donaldson, and HD Report editors.
Related Articles:
The Best Movies in 4k Ultra HD on Netflix
How To Get Dolby Atmos on Netflix
The Best 4k Ultra HD TV Shows On Netflix
- Tags
- Netflix
RELATED ARTICLES
New Blu-ray & Digital: Tenet, The Expanse S4, The War with Grandpa & more
Review of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy on 4k Blu-ray
AT&T selling Crunchyroll to Sony’s Funimation
4 COMMENTS
Hi i think you need a lock button as when my two year old is watching netfix on tablet hes always clicking off the program i put on for him… it would benifit if u could lock it once playing so he carnt press any buttons many thanks
Now here’s what we REALLY need:
(1) The ability to remove a show/movie from our KEEP WATCHING list. Sometimes we stopped watching because, well, it was $#@!. Stop reminding us of our $#@! choices Netflix!
(2) The ability to simply rate shows/movies in the Netflix interface that we’ve watched, want to watch, loved, hated etc. and have THAT contribute to our recommendations list. The website Mr Films (Mr Movies??) I forget had this functionality in 1996, PLUS it would look at your list and you FRIEND’s list and recommend movies you’d BOTH probably like to see together. Simple, elegant and incredibly useful.
(3) A ‘Here’s what your friends are watching/love” list.
(4) A secret “I watched this rubbish but I don’t want my date/partner to see that I watched it” feature. Basically a ‘remove from my history’ button.
(5) Notifications Better, CLEARER notifications as to WHEN a series is returning.
(6) Notifications: The ability to get alerts when a show/movie we’re eager to watch but that isn’t YET on Netflix is coming.
(7) The ability to block genres, actors or directors we hate. Or at least Kanye. That guy is such a conceited, idiotic prat. He’s almost a black Trump. Donald from the Block. Okay, I know that for commercial reasons this probably isn’t ever going to happen, but we can dream can’t we?
Netflix original programming is what makes them as competitive as HBO. As a costumer, I believe they have created a formula that is changing Television programming as we know it. Customers are now getting what they pay for; uninterrupted programming at an affordable price.
Paying for programing and have to endure commercials is the reason why consumers see netflix as a game changer.
jean claude wan damn is washed up man…….the poll i filled out online was not used when netflix posted my so called choices……
As we’ve written about, Netflix’s new ratings system is not only confusing, it’s fundamentally flawed.
That said, the likelihood Netflix starts from scratch here is slim to none. The company has invested significant resources into this new system, and Netflix likely has some statistics that support how well the new system works. Still, there are several small ways Netflix could supplement the current setup to make the experience so much better:
1. Connect with other internet services like Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB for more ratings/information.
I understand Netflix is invested in its own algorithm, but having “a second opinion,” so to speak, would go a long way in tailoring the user experience — and even improving Netflix’s own data. I would love to be able to quickly consult Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB, for instance, since they’re widely-used and generally reliable in terms of recommendations. Netflix would get brownie points if it could let other ratings services connect as well. (I personally still read Roger Ebert’s reviews site, for instance, and would love to see how they reviewed any titles available on Netflix.)
2. Let me choose to watch a trailer.
Netflix recently added an auto-play feature where, if you’re hovering over a title, it will automatically play a trailer or teaser for that movie or show. Trailers can be really helpful in deciding what to watch, but I don’t always want to watch a trailer. And Netflix’s implementation can really get annoying, since there’s no option to turn off the sound as it auto-plays and trying to read the description before the trailer starts is an anxiety-inducing experience that’s unnecessary.
3. Let me choose to see a summary or not.
Sometimes Netflix descriptions aren’t always subtle about the plot. Sometimes, I’d rather be surprised, or choose to read about it if I choose.
4. Let me customize my home screen with the categories I’m actually interested in.
One of the more well-known “secrets” about Netflix is its so-called “hidden categories,” which you can only enable while watching Netflix on a computer since activating them requires changing the URL in certain ways. But compared to the typical categories Netflix shows you, these categories sound so much more specific and interesting. Here are some samples:
- Adult Animation
- Classic Foreign Movies
- Tearjerkers
- Deep Sea Horror Movies
- Romantic Independent Movies
- Basketball Movies
The full list of “hidden” Netflix categories is even more comprehensive — there are over 76,000 specific genres available through Netflix. You can check out the full list here. And so, if people can’t choose what specific movies Netflix suggests, at least let them choose which sections are featured. More options, in terms of deciding your unique user experience, would go a long way in terms of satisfaction.
5. Unhide one of Netflix’s best features: browsing movies based on actors and actresses.
Have you ever seen a movie with a certain actor, then suddenly wanted to see everything they’ve done?
That’s happened to me on several occasions, where I’ve subsequently binged Robert De Niro and Domhnall Gleeson movies after seeing one standout film they’re in, but Netflix could better take advantage of this habit with a simple tweak. Netflix actually does let you browse movies based on an actor or actress, but you have to manually search for that person’s name to see their movies or shows.
Netflix should either put this feature in a separate tab — letting people create a “Favorite Actors” list where you can freely browse their content on Netflix — or tie this feature into every movie or show, so people can quickly click on any member of the cast to see all their available works.
Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider’s parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.
Catalog your DVD collection. Automatically scan your video files. Rate what you’ve watched. Get personalized recommendations matching your tastes. Easily decide what to watch on TV, in theaters, on Netflix. Discover great movies and series that you would have missed otherwise.
We’re living in a golden age with more great shows available than you can possibly watch. Why waste your time watching an average show when you could be watching a much better one? This app understands your tastes and recommends you the shows that you’ll enjoy the most.
Coollector Movie Database is a FREE Mac/Windows software. No crippled feature or time limit. There’s only a 30 seconds window on startup that you can remove by becoming a contributor.
Download Software
(Windows XP and above)
Netflix recommendations
Coollector Movie Database is a welcome alternative to decide what to watch on Netflix. The recommendations are accurate and unbiased, and it’s much easier to browse or filter the whole Netflix catalog (the app knows the catalogs from 30 countries, updated daily).
Netflix is a great service, offering lots of shows for a low price, but their user interface has gone downhill. Many shows are buried and nearly impossible to find, their recommendation system is blatantly biased toward their Netflix Originals, you can only thumb up or thumb down a show, the percent match scores are all wrong, you can’t mark a show as “not interested”, you’re recommended shows you’ve already seen, and the auto-playing previews can be quite intrusive.
Contributors
This software is free, but contributions and donations are welcome. Coollector Movie Database exists since more than 10 years and has been continuously improved. If you’re a fan and want to support our work, you can become an official contributor.
Any of those methods will get you a Contributor Code that removes the 30 seconds startup.
Features
For the movie lover:
Track what movies and series episodes you’ve seen, and how much you’ve liked them. The program will analyze your tastes to give you personalized movie recommendations.
For the video collector:
Remember what DVDs you own, where they’re stored, and which ones you’ve loaned. You’ll easily organize your video files too, by scanning your disk automatically.
Coollector Movie Database is the only program of its kind! It’s a personalized film database and at the same time a video collection organizer. All the alternative softwares are simply video collection organizers, where you start with an empty database, and must download information for each video, one by one.
With Coollector Movie Database, it’s completely different. Right from the start, you have an entire encyclopedia with nearly all the movies and series that exist. Since it’s installed on your computer, you can use it even when you’re offline. The interface is very easy to use, and richly illustrated with film posters, video covers, photographs of actors and crew, and even character screenshots. You can customize the layout to your liking, and make almost any search you can think of, without needing to be a database engineer.
The best part is that you can personalize that movie database. You can rate a film to remember whether it was good or bad. You can track which part of a series you’ve already seen, by rating whole seasons or individual episodes. You can tag the movies and the persons with any words you want. You can organize your video collection, remembering what you own, where it’s stored, or what you’ve loaned to whom. You can create a wish-list with all the movies that you’d like to watch. All those personalizations are clearly visible: movies that you own are highlighted, and colored icons will instantly remind you of how much you like a movie or a person.
Movie lovers will get enough hints to decide what to watch from their own collection, on TV, in theaters, or on streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. Does the movie have actors whom you like? Have you seen other movies from this director? At first glance you’ll have all the answers! To help you even further in your choice, the app displays the IMDb rating and popularity of each movie along with a link to trailers on Youtube. Last but not least, the personalized movie recommendations are an instant way to know how much you’ll like the movies that you haven’t seen yet.
Video collectors will easily catalog their entire DVD collection as well as organize their movie files by scanning their disk very quickly and identifying the files automatically. Once added, you’ll be able to launch the files from within the app and they’ll be played with your favorite media player.
