Live data from Hacker News

A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

netflixcodes.me

21–30 of 87 posts

Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#21
It would be nice if Netflix made it easier to browse content rather than choosing what categories to display and show to you.

It can get stuck thinking your really like a genre, and the recommendation engine can penalize you too much for too many likes or dislikes.

Now that the website is a bit more focused towards streaming-on-computer it's somewhat harder to browse and prepare a queue.

It feels that some content is cheaper to stream and it wants to present that content first, and also that they don't really want you to be aware of the size of the catalog either.

Tempting to go back to DVD plan for a while, really, which I would do if the US Post Office was remotely reliable. If only there was a way to rent-stream BlueRay/DVD ISOs securely to a Netflix app, and have their whole catalog legally available and not bifurcated into streaming and non-streaming, that would be really cool.

Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno...I find the selection to easily surpass what I'd find available on basic cable on any given day. If it cost $30-50/mo (or whatever they charge for a pretty basic cable package these days) I'd reconsider but for under $10/mo I find it to fill that gap of "something to flick through and find something I wouldn't mind watching" quite nicely.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a subscriber and will likely continue to be. I agree that Netflix is a better deal for the consumer than most cable packages, but they're constantly competing for content with Hulu, Amazon, HBO, YouTube, etc.

YouTube and Twitch have grown to become about 90% of my video consumption. The increasingly cheap pro-sumer quality A/V equipment and software have made the production values go up significantly in recent years, making the regular production of high-quality shows much more viable.

Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#23
post #17
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe Netflix is claiming Trailer Park Boys now. That is totally Canadian. It's not a rocket appliance.

Wasn't Red Green on Netflix at one point, too?

Not sure. Was it the Red Green Show or "The New Red Green Show"? I think PBS took it over at some point.

Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#24
post #2

I don't understand Netflix's aversion to letting me find shows I'm interested in. It's so hard to just browse the full catalog, even by really general categories like "Action" or "Comedy". When I pull up the Netflix app on my console all I get are 20-25 movies in each category, plus my Queue and a few recommendations.

It seems that they're trying to prevent users from realizing how light their catalog really is.

First: I love me some Netflix. But that doesn't mean I think they can't improve, so:

Second: I don't see how this is the case ("...prevent users from realizing how light their catalog really is.". Looking at what they show me when I search or browse already makes the selection look anemic. Using a few of these codes helped me find stuff I didn't know was there.

Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#25
post #17
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe Netflix is claiming Trailer Park Boys now. That is totally Canadian. It's not a rocket appliance.

Wasn't Red Green on Netflix at one point, too?

I can't remember, but it's all on youtube now: https://www.youtube.com/user/RedGreenTV

Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#26
post #2

I don't understand Netflix's aversion to letting me find shows I'm interested in. It's so hard to just browse the full catalog, even by really general categories like "Action" or "Comedy". When I pull up the Netflix app on my console all I get are 20-25 movies in each category, plus my Queue and a few recommendations.

It seems that they're trying to prevent users from realizing how light their catalog really is.

Exactly. Given how expensive content is to license/produce, their goal is not to have tons of stuff you want to watch right now. They want to have just enough stuff that you don't leave (either because of the current catalog, or because a new season of HoC or something else you care about is around the corner).

They structure their site so that you don't realize that they don't want to make you super happy—they just want to keep you barely happy.

Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#28
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a subscriber and will likely continue to be. I agree that Netflix is a better deal for the consumer than most cable packages, but they're constantly competing for content with Hulu, Amazon, HBO, YouTube, etc.

YouTube and Twitch have grown to become about 90% of my video consumption. The increasingly cheap pro-sumer quality A/V equipment and software have made the production values go up significantly in recent years, making the regular production of high-quality shows much more viable.

Any recommendations? :)

Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#30

The best shows are those that don't fit a particular category, or that grow to move between categories. Lots of great british TV bounces between comedy and drama (sherlock, cuffs). Some American shows cannot be pinned to a specific age range (simpsons). I still laugh when I see TopGear listed as "informational/other" by my cable company. Also ... (i just noticed) Australian Movies 5230 Belgian Movies 262 Korean Movie…

http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/56181

"Canadian Movies" via the Netflix Subgenre UI

Post reply on HN