Inside the Netflix User Interface on Devices

Matt Seeley, UI device engineer at Netflix, posted his talk Webkit in Your Living Room on the Netflix Tech Blog. Seeley explains how they designed the User Interface for more than 450 devices that are used in more than 40 countries. Lots of great information and some background on how & why the Netflix UI on devices looks and works the way it does.

Comments

[Xenothaulus]

I'd always thought the UI was bad on the Wii. Then we got a PS3. Yikes.

[Groggie]

I don't mind the Wii UI... low end consoles, should have a low end UI, and 6 full box shots on screen +6 partials seems ok... The PS3 UI on the other hand, makes me feel like I should put on a retard helmet before using it.

[Tim]

The PS3 had an interface that I really liked, but that was early on. Apparently they were testing three different UI's and they settled on the one they have now. I don't have a 360, but it seems to be the best...although the Apple TV's is supposedly very good too.

[Ironbalut]

Except no UI for the Linux Desktop!

[Judy_]

And now they have spoiled the old PC watch instantly UI and also have not created great interfaces for the other devices. The old PC UI link has now disappeared completely... sigh. The new one is soooooooo awful and useless from the customer's viewpoint. Hiding the ratings and the "not interested" tag doesn't make the movies for streaming any better. Who do they think they are kidding?

The first company to offer a decent user interface will get my future business.

[anon]

The UI's keep getting worse, however through each version. The newest XBOX UI that forces individual episode play just to scroll through multiple seasons selection is pretty much the definition of insanity in a UI. Don't even get me started on their touchscreen that emphasizes graphics... classic case of a test using a very short queue, not how people actually use the damn thing.

[Truck]

I have 6 devices with Netflix apps and every single one of them is a piece of shit. I couldn't imagine it getting any worse, but then they proved me wrong with the auto-play setting that you can't disable. Unbelievable. Netflix really really really needs a strong competitor to force them to pay attention to customer demands.

[NoNaemGiven]

The one on the iPhone is awful. If you click on a link to a movie or series, then hit the back button, it takes you to the top of the previous page, not to where you were when you exited! This isn't rocket science, people.

[sucram]

I really like the UI on the PS3 before they implemented the current one last spring. You could scroll through so many different categories and get really deep into the catalog and find interesting things to watch quite easilly. Now, unless you search for a specific title you only see what netflix wants you to see. It's terrible. You are locked into a box. I tried the new XBox UI once. The autoplay feature turned me off instantly. Haven't used it since. We also have a Sony BD player and the interface is consistent across all of our connected devices now.

[Eric]

I have access to Netflix several different devices in my home. I have: A PC, Wii, Xbox360, iPhone and a Panasonic plasma TV. The best interface (for ease of navigation, features and viewing comfort) is the xBox360 followed by the Wii. The WORST experience is the interface on my Panasonic Plasma (Viera Connect). It is SLOW. The categories are limited to like 15 movies each (really, 15!) and no SEARCH!!!! I can't even begin to tell you how pathetic the implementation is on the TV. If you're going to limit each category to 15 titles then at least give me a damn search function!