Anyone have a solution to the search algorithm issue?

[Graphista]

Fed up getting the same content repeatedly "recommended" to me and not being able to view a full content list or even full content within a genre on Netflix and prime.

It's the same tv & film that keeps coming to the top of any searches whatever search criteria or options I use.

Even when you google eg "best action movies on Uk prime" all the articles and sites recommend all the same titles

It's soooo boring!

I've often had to resort to painstakingly going through long lists off sites or apps with more content included like rotten tomatoes to discover titles I might like and then searching for that specific title to see if its available on the streaming services

I even have a list in my "notes" app of content I'd like to see but which isn't yet available anywhere to check the titles individually regularly to see if they're now available on the streaming services because the titles I'm interested in simply don't come up on searches done actually within the streaming apps themselves.

That sounds very complicated I apologise I hope you know what I mean.

I try on Netflix to "thumbs up" the titles I like and even more importantly "thumbs down" the stuff I know I don't (got so fed up of certain titles I had not only zero interest in but actively already know I hate or isn't my thing being constantly pushed on me!) and the % match thing is occasionally helpful but they all do seem to lack any accurate system for showing the content that I as a viewer would actually be interested in on my personal "feed"

Even the "if I love x what else would I like" sites seem to "recommend" the same tired old "favourites" constantly

It all seems geared to what "most" people like but I really feel this may be skewed by people watching things they're only half interested in watching as they can't find things that they would really enjoy watching because so much content is "hidden"

Is it just me finds this to be the case? Or are others experiencing similar?

I kind of also want titles I've already added to my list/queue to be ignored too as why do I need to have "recommended" to me something I've already indicated an interest in when I'm looking for something new?

Not sure I'm expressing myself very well.

tldr: anyone else fed up and have any workarounds to the thing of having the SAME movies and shows "recommended" to us on streaming services?

Really interested to know if others have found a solution to this.

Not found a solution but I hear your pain.

I also need something that would alert me if something I've though sounded great finally pops up on netflix /prime/bbc ....
There's definitely a gap....

It's so annoying isn't it. I'm really struggling for stuff to watch at the moment. I went into a friend's house and she had her prime up and there's were suggested programmes on her main page that looked right up my street but hadn't appeared on mine.

Can't remember what they were annoyingly.

No but following.

This is one reason I kept a dvd player and used enjoy a trip to hmv to browse films.

Sometimes the recommendations are absolute bullshit.

I quite like reading reviews as they can turn up some new suggestions.

One good approach on Netflix is to look at Coming Soon stuff. Because there’s much less of it it shows you absolutely everything that’s coming up next, even all the Korean or Senegalese stuff you’d never normally think of. Then you can mark it for a reminder when it goes live.

there's were suggested programmes on her main page that looked right up my street but hadn't appeared on mine.

Exactly! So fed up of the SAME titles repeatedly showing up when I know others have different titles recommended (and they have the same issues, never new titles or very rarely!)

One example - I've been desperate to watch "the conversation" Gene Hackman film for ages, loads of people have recommended it to me, it comes up regularly when I google certain types of films - eg best spy films, best surveillance films, Cold War films - and I've searched for it regularly on Netflix and prime and it's never been available to even buy on Amazon (I'd have been happy to purchase it) I'm guessing a rights issue of some kind...

I recently was googling that type of film again and happened upon an article (think it was radio times) where they said it was now on prime Uk! Didn't want to get my hopes up and then looked it up and there it was! The article is almost a month old, so presumably film been there a couple weeks at least - and yet my DAILY browsing on the actual app despite my regular searching for it did not bring it to my attention. Why?

(On the rights thing don't even get me started! Harvey Weinstein should be hung for the debacle with certain great films will NEVER be available anywhere for streaming alone!)

@supercee
@inquietant this is why I have a page on my notes app with titles of films I WANT to find to watch and I periodically specifically search for them. But we shouldn't have to do that!

I have Disney+ too but they have their full content available to look through and have also allowed others to publish this info - smart move on their part! I think. I'm normally anti Disney for various other reasons but friends were telling me there were certain films I loved on it and I was able to check this to confirm quickly and easily and I am I must admit a huge Star Wars fan so they did well to acquire those rights, and marvel too. This is what convinced me to get Disney+ in the end - the ease of use

@FindHungrySamurai yes I use that on Netflix too - but again they don't notify ALL new content. I'm also on some "naughty" sm accounts that list full Netflix content and announce not only new releases but content that's about to disappear. Netflix regularly give them grief and temporarily shut them down - I don't understand this when if people who were fans of those films/shows saw via Facebook or whatever that Netflix had it and they maybe don't yet subscribe or even are considering unsubscribing and that content made/kept them as customers and therefore paying Netflix that is seen as a bad thing? Why?

There were also a couple of websites who listed full content for prime and Netflix, they were shut down too.

Of course I can understand them wanting customers/prospective customers using the apps to find content but there's no option to view full content lists on the apps!

It's absolutely maddening!

Hell at this point I discovered after I started this thread - I can't on either prime or Netflix even view my own full watchlists! What's that about? On Netflix it's not even showing me my full list within a genre!

If you have a Smart TV then you can search for a movie and it will tell you which streaming service it is on and also which terrestrial channel it will be on in the near future. Much more useful than just searching Netflix and Prime individually.

I don't have a smart tv, don't have a tv at all at the moment since last one died and I can't currently replace. And I wonder if the function you describe is available on all smart TVs as I've never heard of anyone using this.

I've even often googled when there is a specific film eg "the conversation stream Uk" and the results are full of bloody American results!

I won't watch or stream illegally in any way, I don't agree with doing those making the content out of their rightful earnings.

BUT even so - its a pain searching specific titles - shouldn't be necessary. I WANT to view the full content

To discover titles I will probably like

To find titles I have forgotten so don't know to search for.

To be inspired into remembering certain titles

I have Hobi too which is useful for when my favourite shows are coming back to terrestrial, I rarely watch terrestrial now (partly as no tv! It's a pita jumping between the different channel apps AND they're pretty poor quality too, itv in particular is freezy as fuck! And it's not my WiFi as full strength, good speed and other streaming/terrestrial apps I don't have the same issue, I've also heard from others similar difficulties and they're using different devices and WiFi to me)

I would just like a place to view the full content lists, literally just a list of the titles maybe year made to cover when there's films with the same title but made different years and possibly very different films (ie not remakes or reboots), data/memory impact could be kept to a minimum this way too. No need for the promotional poster, list of actors, précis etc, could be clicky links to that info for those who want to view that, but I think a lot of us just want a text list of content.

Imdb allows you to sort through a list for prime, prime rental, tv, disc but no mention of netflix or any other streaming service

Google’s not bad actually as long as you don’t click straight through to another page when it’s offered to you but let it give you the default Google result.

Here are the search results for a film which I happened to know was on iPlayer, a film which I happened to know was on Netflix, and a film which will be on Film 4 next week.

IMDb search is limited, searching each individual film is a pita!

Create more than one profile on Netflix and Amazon, we have 3 on each, 1 for me, 1 for DH and 1 for DD, they all get different recommendations and coming soon info on them.

Bit of a ball ache way to do it, but it works.

Oh multiple profiles might go some way to mitigating I'll have a think about that

You don't necessarily need multiple profiles on netflix - when you get bored with the recommendations/what it thinks it knows about you just create a new profile and delete the old one