The bottom is dropping out of Netflix • Hacker News Board

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#111

Post by listless » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 3:09 PM UTC

jimmar wrote: post #102

Lots of people are complaining about terrible content on Netflix. Years ago, Netflix was praised for its "long tail"--basically it could have content that appealed to people with diverse interests. But it seems like people now see the long tail as useless junk and would prefer a shorter tail with more concentrated quality.

Apple TV seems to do this well. Too many choices appears to be just as bad as no choices. I don’t go to Netflix because there’s just too much. It literally makes my anxiety rise just being in there.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#112

Post by DoingIsLearning » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 3:10 PM UTC

bradly wrote: post #103

cercatrova wrote: post #101

It's easier just to pirate than keep up with all these streaming services. - You get the benefit of high quality (true 4k, not stream compressed "4k") and no buffering. - Plex, Radarr, Sonarr automatically downloads and categorizes your content for you, you can just sit back and enjoy your content. - Edit: Plex et al are not the *only* ways to download content, not sure why some replies are thinking so. I too can typ…

Not being able to set or see an actual resolution when using Netflix on my TV is so frustrating.

Even without a widget I can definitely see that with Netflix I am getting 720p on a 4k TV, even more frequently when watching childrens shows. I have a 200Mbps internet link, Disney+ plays 4k just fine.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#113

Post by fetus8 » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 3:11 PM UTC

prasadjoglekar wrote: post #95

OskarS wrote: post #60

The thing I find interesting with Netflix is how much they spend on content and what a terrible rate of return it has. Look at Apple TV+, they're absolutely TINY compared to Netflix in both library size and money spent on new production, but they have arguably more hits than Netflix. Like, since when has any drama on Netflix been as buzzy or as good as Severance on Apple TV+? When was the last time they had a comedy…

"The thing I find interesting with Netflix is how much they spend on content and what a terrible rate of return it has." Bingo - that's the real reason for the long term (or secular ) decline we're seeing. With 0% interest rates, it didn't matter what the payoff time horizon for Netflix was. With 4% interest rates, longer horizons are gone. Couple that with Netflix being a discretionary expense, and we see the compou…

$12 a month? The cheapest Netflix plan is $10 for STANDARD definition. $15 for HD on two screens, and $20 a month for 4K resolution.

I think bumping up past $15 has hurt them a lot too. $20 a month for a streaming service is outrageous.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#114

Post by regularfry » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 3:12 PM UTC

jimmar wrote: post #102

Lots of people are complaining about terrible content on Netflix. Years ago, Netflix was praised for its "long tail"--basically it could have content that appealed to people with diverse interests. But it seems like people now see the long tail as useless junk and would prefer a shorter tail with more concentrated quality.

Long tail works as long as the people in the tail can find the content relevant to them. If browsing and search is bad enough that it doesn't seem to be there, it might as well not be.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#115

Post by smm11 » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 3:12 PM UTC

Netflix used to offer movies that were previously shown in theaters. You could get a DVD in the mail, and watch a movie you hadn't seen otherwise. When streaming became a thing years later, you could again watch a movie you hadn't seen otherwise.

We used to watch five to ten movies a month via Netflix. We haven't used it in two or three years now.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#116

Post by unboxingelf » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 3:12 PM UTC

cercatrova wrote: post #101

It's easier just to pirate than keep up with all these streaming services. - You get the benefit of high quality (true 4k, not stream compressed "4k") and no buffering. - Plex, Radarr, Sonarr automatically downloads and categorizes your content for you, you can just sit back and enjoy your content. - Edit: Plex et al are not the *only* ways to download content, not sure why some replies are thinking so. I too can typ…

Having not touched this since early days of TPB, is there a decent overview to approaches in 2022 you could point me to? E.g. has torrenting moved to the cloud or are most running vpns? Asking for a friend.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#117

Post by FpUser » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 3:13 PM UTC

bradly wrote: post #103

cercatrova wrote: post #101

It's easier just to pirate than keep up with all these streaming services. - You get the benefit of high quality (true 4k, not stream compressed "4k") and no buffering. - Plex, Radarr, Sonarr automatically downloads and categorizes your content for you, you can just sit back and enjoy your content. - Edit: Plex et al are not the *only* ways to download content, not sure why some replies are thinking so. I too can typ…

Not being able to set or see an actual resolution when using Netflix on my TV is so frustrating.

Resolution on its own does not mean much. To me all that matters if it is visually ok.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#118

Post by zach_garwood » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 3:14 PM UTC

Since Netflix is sticking with the binge-watch release model they pioneered, I wish they would provide a 1 or 2 week-long "binge" one-time payment option. They could charge as much as for a month's subscription, but you wouldn't have to deal with canceling your subscription when you're done watching the 2 or 3 shows you actually signed up to watch. $20 for a limited time, no hassle binge is a pretty good deal; it's cheaper than buying a single movie on Prime Video and much cheaper than buying movie tickets for me and my partner.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#119

Post by cynusx » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 3:14 PM UTC

ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #92

Honestly for me I just do not know all the content Netflix has because the browsing is so bad. I wish instead of pushing shows to me best on algorithms, it would just let me browse categories and recent additions etc in a simpler way. Maybe categorised by year.

Or just allow you to hide movies that you've already watched or decided you don't want to watch

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#120

Post by GLGirty » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 3:14 PM UTC

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #77

sudden_dystopia wrote: post #22

Interesting analysis. I find it interesting that so many people spend so much time watching tv in the first place. Growing up, I was one of those people but about a decade ago I lost interest in pretty much anything on television. There are certain shows that I will watch on occasion that get me hooked, but I usually struggle to find anything that is actually worth my time and end up just turning the tv off after sur…

I only use Netflix and Prime, and both feel really stale to me. It's all "content" - good to very good production values designed to fill a gap and appeal to a demographic. But very repetitive and production line, with no passion projects, nothing too arty or quirky, nothing outside of the box, no surprises. Some of it is quite watchable, but none of it is exciting or fresh. It's all some combination of stock soapy c…

You're right, but Netflix has been punished for taking risks. Look at the spike in churn rate with the release of 'cuties': https://thestreamable.com/news/report-netflix-saw-3-6-millio...