or why I am cancelling my 6-year-old subscription to Netflix Canada
When Netflix came to Canada, I was still using a cable tv subscription. I was getting fed up with having to channel surf to find something that did not insult my intelligence nor seemed to have more commercials than actual content. With Netflix Canada, the choice of programming here in Canada is not the same as in in the USA. That is because the incumbents own some of the broadcasting rights to old tv series etc.
I used Netflix to watch more than the mind-numbing dribble I found on cable tv. The yearly price of cable tv kept increasing but the quality of the programming did not reflect the price increase so I cancelled my cable tv. For 3 years I did without any cable tv and strictly relied on OTA tv to provide 3 local channels plus Netflix.
Over the past couple of years or so I have found that the Netflix app on the Roku streaming platform sorely lacking updates. After talking with friends this ageing UI is apparently not limited only to the Roku devices. The UI is showing its age in many ways.
- The Netflix app on Roku has a My List to which you can add series or movies that you want to watch. If you finish watching a series you should remember not to delete the series from My List as Netflix alerts you of new episodes by placing a banner across the series thumbnail and it is a lot easier to see this notification if the series remains in My List. However, that can easily become an issue. You wind up with My List containing previously watched series and movies interspersed with unwatched series and movies. Netflix also frequently changes the thumbnail for its offerings so that it can be an issue degerming what you have watched and what you haven’t. This is especially the case when your Netflix covers several years as mine has.
- Netflix really needs to separate out My List into two distinct lists. Already watched and unwatched programs. That way you have a lot less scrolling and less chance of starting to unknowingly start watching a series you previously watched a year ago. This recently happened with me regarding a UK based series. The UK series have a habit of having the same actors doing multiple series so I did not realize until 15 minutes watching this entry in My List that I had watched all the episodes in the series. It was also compounded because Netflix changed the thumbnail frequently for their offerings and I did not recognize it.
- Netflix really needs to separate out My List into two distinct lists. Already watched and unwatched programs. That way you have a lot less scrolling and less chance of starting to unknowingly start watching a series you previously watched a year ago. This recently happened with me regarding a UK based series. The UK series have a habit of having the same actors doing multiple series so I did not realize until 15 minutes watching this entry in My List that I had watched all the episodes in the series. It was also compounded because Netflix changed the thumbnail frequently for their offerings and I did not recognize it.
- Netflix app should not recommend shows or movies that you have already watched. After all, Netflix does keep track of what you have viewed.
- If you decide to start to watch a series or movie the Netflix app places that item into your Continue Watching list. If you hate the content and stop watching it then the only way to remove that entry out of the Continue Watching list is to go to the Netflix website, browse through the countless pages of previously viewed items until you find the offending item. Then you select to remove the item from viewing history.
- You should be able to rate/flag an item in Continue Watching List in question inside the Netflix app and in turn have the app remove the series/movie from your Continue Watching list.
- You should be able to rate/flag an item in Continue Watching List in question inside the Netflix app and in turn have the app remove the series/movie from your Continue Watching list.
- Netflix app should afford the user to filter shows or movies based on whether one needs to use read subtitles aka no English audio available. Whether the offering is a foreign speaker or a native language speaker. This is because I do not always use Netflix giving it my undo attention but rather while I am multi-tasking or performing other work. Having to pay close attention to read subtitles to follow the plot is frustration at times.
- I used to watch Netflix almost every night but over the past year or so I find more and more I am wading through the content trying to find something worthwhile to watch. I have lost count how many nights I simply give up and turn off the TV altogether. Netflix is constantly trumpeting that need the extra money for series as well as quoting how much selection they have. Sorry to say but from my viewpoint Netflix though has turned to quantity vs quality selection.
- When I signed up for Netflix the monthly subscription price was $7.99. Recently Netflix announced and implemented yet another subscription increase. Their one device at a time rises to $9.99 a month while 2 device subscription is $13.99 and the full-blown package is $16.99 a month. Netflix had raised their prices by a $1 a month 1 ½ year ago. These price increases are apparently to fund upcoming tv series and films as well as overall improvements to the Netflix platform. In 2018 Netflix burned through $3 billion borrowing heavily to buy programming resulting in Netflix being $12B in debt. Netflix spent $100M to acquire sole broadcast rights to the Friends tv series. Perhaps Netflix over the years should have spent some of the money to improve their applications and add features and options that are still sorely lacking. When Netflix came to Canada there was less competition to the streaming field. We still do not have Hulu or YouTube TV. Bell Canada here in Canada has their Crave TV package which has recently been upgraded to offer HBO without a cable subscription for $20 a month. Next year Disney+ is starting up with their streaming service. CBS All Access is currently available in Canada and is beefing up its program selection.