Buzz Out Loud Lounge forum: So this complaining about Netflix is just ridiculous.

....last I checked, a good majority of devices didn't let you manage your DVD queue. I know the Xbox doesn't. Don't think any of the game consoles do. If they remove DVD queues from all streaming devices, then it's not fragmented now is it?

If you're a netflix subscriber then chances are you have a computer. And if that's the case, then you have NO problem whatsoever.

...if you're "miles away from a computer" as you put it, and you come across a movie recommendation then nine times out of ten you can just pull out your smart phone or whatever and access your queue from the web. In this day and age of connectivity, there's really no excuse. And if you don't have a mobile phone or an internet connected mobile device, then what difference will it make if you're hit with a movie recommendation miles from a computer.

It's not so much of "You got a computer so stop whining", as it is "You can still access this on the web, where you usually have more control than on streaming devices anyway, so why are you complaining??"

Ordering in DVDs by mail is the model of the past. Why clutter their TV streaming UI with a feature that is slowly going obsolete?
They're just being minimalist and forward looking.

The majority of their catalog is disc only. It's premature to focus purely on streaming. However, you can still go on the website to get DVDs. Streaming devices are for just that. Streaming. The devices are being catered for those who have the streaming only plan. It's not like they're taking DVDs away completely.

It almost sounds like people are being lazy and self entitled or something. In this day and age of everything being on the web, are we really complaining about having to go on the web to do something? I have Netflix. I've had it for years. I have a 360 and never once did I wish I could add DVDs from there. In fact, I PREFER being able to do it from the website. Why on EARTH would I want to do it from a streaming device?

genre, similar movies, etc. It is by far the best streaming interface I've seen for Netflix because it really drills deep into the stumble on a movie method. I also have the Netflix on the xbox 360 and my LG blu-ray player and have played with my mom's Roku interface. Again, it would be nice if they could unify these experiences and provide the same functionality.

tells you about a movie and you add it to your queue on your phone do you really want to be told that your only options are to add it to your DVD queue or to watch it right then with no option to add to your instant queue? (as the iPhone app does). Or when you search for a movie on the iPad app it doesn't even show up because unlike the in iPhone app, DVD queue management isn't allowed there? Or when you get done with a movie on your Apple TV and the interface recommends other things you may like it totally ignores all the DVD's that would be perfect for you?

Inconsistant user experiences breed confusion and frustration.

Tv's and all other internet connected devices there would be no apps in the world. When given the choice, people inevitably choose native apps over a generic web interfaces. They are faster and cleaner because they designed specifically for the interface you happen to be using whether that is a 60" screen across the room or a 4" touchscreen in your hand. The immense popularity of apps is message that customers are sending to companies When Netflix takes away functionality from an app on a connected device, or fails to maintain functional parity across all Netflix enabled devices, they show that they haven't heard the message at all.

as much apps as the ones for Android, iOS. The fact that you can't watch DVD's on a Roku or Apple TV is inconsequential because no matter where you do your queue management,you'll always have to wait for the disc. That's true on your computer or your iphone or your connected TV. If I finish a movie and want to browse or search some more on my couch then that is where I should be able to do it. I don;t appreciate being told I've got to move to another device to access the hidden 90% of a service I'm already connected to.

The whole point of being everywhere on every platform is that it never matters where the customer is because there is always a way to accomplish whatever it is they need to get done. When one interface lets you do A,B and G, and another lets you do B, C, F and G and yet another lets you do A,E, F, and G you have produced a horribly fractured and confusing user experience. It's been this way on Netflix for quite some time too. The Playstation let you search but the Xbox didn't at first. Now Roku lets you search but not the whole streaming catalog while the iPad does let you search the whole catalog but won;'t let you add to your instant queue, etc.

If anything Netflix needs to be unifying ALL experiences not further complicating them by selectively removing features. Right now it feels like they have a bunch of development teams that aren't talking to one another.

If Netflix is going to create app interfaces interface just for the streaming only people then they better do that on the website as well for consistency. And they need to do the same for people who have disc and streaming plans. It's not like they don't know who you are and what your plan is the moment you arrive. And yes, in the future we will all stream content but that day is a long ways off (the content companies are making sure of it) and in the meantime you still need to take care of your customers.

Maybe I'm confusing it with one of the 3 versions we've had on xbox. First no search, then only limited search and limited browsing. But being limited to searching only by movie title on Roku is indeed annoying. And when you want to browse instead of search you only see a limited collection of movies. Apple TV is by far the best Netflix interface I've seen. Searching and browsing are both well implemented and drilling down into movies by director, actor, or genre is very nice. The only thing missing are discs. I mean how hard would it be to color code discs, streaming and upcoming releases with red, blue, and green labeling just like they do on the web site?