Netflix for DVD/Blu-ray is pretty straight forward:
- Tell them what DVDs you want
- Receive said DVDs
- Watch DVDs
- Return DVDs
- Goto line 2
Netflix Instant Streaming gets even simpler:
- Browse available instant titles
- Watch streaming movie when you want
- Goto line 1
The simplicity of Netflix is a big part of their appeal. It’s easy enough that anybody can manage their DVD queue and stream those movies that are available. Despite the simplicity, however, there is a wealth of data available from Netflix customers. The recommendation engine is one of the things that takes advantage of the all that data. It was even worth $1 million to Netflix to improve the algorithm that predicts what movies a person will like.
To make even better use of that data, Netflix has an App Gallery to showcase the various apps that take advantage of the Netflix API. You can find the App Gallery by following a small link down to the right in the footer of every page.
Inside the App Gallery, there are a number of mobile apps, websites, and desktop applications that use the Netflix API to customize your experience. You can sort them by rating, most recent, category, or alphabetically. You can then click on an Apps title to learn more about it. Many of the apps vary from aggregating your Netflix data, to allowing you to stream Netflix to different devices, and many of them allow you to manage your queues.
Once on an apps Detail page you can see its description, a link to official website, and reviews of the app.
FeedFliks is one example of a very cool Netflix app. While a majority of the Netflix Apps appear to be queue managers for various mobile devices, FeedFliks analyzes your use of Netflix and tells you if you’re getting your money’s worth from Netflix. It uses pie charts and bar graphs to show how long you might have a DVD out for, how many DVDs you return each week, and how many instant watches there were each week. It can also tell you how many DVDs you’ve had out as well as how many you’ve rated.
Another cool app is called DVDLater which actually serves to functions. It dynamically lists which movies are coming out in theaters soon and provides you with an easy button to to add the movie to your Saved DVD queue so you’ll get it when the movie comes out.
InstantWatcher.com is a website that recommends some of the top movies and shows available on Netflix Instant Streaming. You can get detailed information about the show, including how often it’s being added to queues by other Netflix customers, and either add it to your Instant queue or jump straight into watching the movie.
Trivia with FliksFrenzy takes a different twist on the app approach. It grabs its data from Netflix and generates new batches of trivia each time you play. If something sparks your interest from the trivia question, you can easily add the movie to your DVD queue.
There are a ton of other apps in the Netflix App Gallery so let me know if there are any spectacular ones I didn’t list using the comments below. Note: A Netflix account is required a majority of the time to take advantage of Netflix Apps.