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                  A Hypercritical Look at Streaming Video Apps

   Josh Centers

   Do you ever fire up a streaming video app like Netflix, Disney+, or HBO
   Max, only to find yourself a little annoyed? Maybe you can't even
   pinpoint the problem, but you know the app is harder to use than it
   could be. John Siracusa is famous for his hypercritical analyses of
   everything from macOS to toaster ovens, and now he has [1]taken aim on
   streaming video apps like Netflix, putting into words annoyances that
   you might not have been able to express.

   Siracusa's criteria are entirely reasonable. Can you play and pause
   with a single tap? Does the service automatically play the next
   episode? Can you create a custom list of media? Does the app keep track
   of what you've watched and your viewing progress?

   Unfortunately, many popular apps don't meet even this low bar. One of
   my personal annoyances is how poorly Hulu handles rewatching shows. My
   wife tends to watch Frasier on repeat, and Hulu often starts playback
   of previously watched episodes at the very end of the show, so when she
   falls asleep on the couch, I'm treated to a long litany of '[2]tossed
   salads and scrambled eggs' until I shut it off. [3]Subsequent
   commentary has suggested that streaming video companies care only about
   features that cause users to watch more content or see more ads, not
   those that improve the watching experience.

   [4]Read original article

References

   1. https://hypercritical.co/2022/02/15/streaming-apps
   2. https://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2012/04/story-behind-tossed-salad-and-scrambled.html
   3. https://twitter.com/brandononearth/status/1494429044909096973
   4. https://hypercritical.co/2022/02/15/streaming-apps

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