IXD AAD012 – 2. Streaming Services Research

After brainstorming on which music and video streaming services I have had the experience of using, I decided to research some further information and statistics on each one. This would help me to identify similarities and differences between service as well as giving me a more informed idea on which one I was going to select. I chose to concentrate on the top 3 movie and T.V streaming services. 

Disney+

  • Dark background scheme with light text.
  • Navigation menu includes home, search, watchlist, series, movies, originals.
  • Horizontal scrolling list that do not loop back to the start
  • Profile icon in top right hand corner (personalisation settings, photo icon options, subscription details)
  • Known for having navigation lag and infinite loading screens.
  • Home tab offers featured content (Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic)
  • Tabbing right offers Recommended for you and Trending.
  • Clicking on a title gives additional information such as a description, run time and rating as well as trailers and other video extras
  • Shows related content pertaining to the title you have selected
  • Standard fast forward or rewind 10 seconds.
  • Captions
  • Skip intro button and next episode as a video ends.
  • Mobile version requires you to click on the profile tab to find your watchlist
  • Offers text-to-speech interface navigation (except on PS4)
  • Up to 7 user profiles and 10 connected devices with 4 simultaneous streams at once.
  • Limited parental control settings
  • No pin password on profiles


Prime Video

  • Dark background with light text.
  • Minimalistic layout.
  • Intuitive controls.
  • Navigation menus across the top (home, free to me, store, channel, drop down categories tab)
  • Free or rentable content.
  • Horizontally scrolling lists that loop.
  • Lists include Shows We Think You’ll Like, Amazon Originals, Blockbuster Movies, Watch Next, New Releases and more.
  • Hovering over an item gives the title at the top and below star rating, year of release, age rating and other information. Below this is a synopses of the item in question.
  • Clicking on a title provides further information of runtime or episode length, actors, genre, a quick description and IMDB rating. Also offers 5 star rating from other prime users and how many people have reviewed.
  • Offers related content to the title are currently viewing (Customers who have watched this item have also watched)
  • Bottom of the screen shows Cast and crew which when overhead over shows name and small biography of the actor.
  • Onscreen options include play, forward and rewind as well as subtitle and quality options.
  • Skip intro and next episode option made available.
  • Audio descriptions provided for some content
  • In-house ads at the beginning of a title that you can skip.

Netflix

  • very minimalistic layout
  • Dark background with white text.
  • Large thumbnails
  • Easy to navigate
  • When you first open the app you chose which profile you are going to use (Who’s watching Netflix)
  • Left side navigation bar from top to bottom displays profiles, Search, Home, Play Something, New & Popular, Tv Programmes, Films and My List. Very bottom in smaller text is Get Help and Exit Netflix.
  • Edit profile page lets you change name, icon, language and maturity settings
  • Like Disney, icons for profiles are characters from content pertaining to the streaming service.
  • Horizontal scrolling lists that loop content (New Releases, Popular on Netflix and Trending now.
  • Hovering over a title begins a trailer or snippet from the item with sound.
  • Clicking on a title will provide more information such as a % match rating based on things you have previously watched year of release, run time or number of seasons and quality.
  • Play something, a new feature that randomly picks a title to play. Something no other streaming service has.
  • Thumbs up or thumbs down rating system
  • Option to add content to My List
  • Top 10 in the country you live helps viewers find popular content
  • Categories is also a horizontal side scrolling menu when selecting brings up a wall of TV and film with the genre in mind.
  • 10 second rewind fast forward, pause, subtitles and language, volume control and brightness options are provided by tapping the screen or pressing a an button and these phase out after a few seconds of inactivity.


With this research in mind, I wanted to find out the most important part of offering a subscription based streaming service and found that keeping the viewers interested relied on a number of factors.

  • Clear layout and direction
  • Intuitive user experience
  • Fluid feel
  • Indication of actions (buttons clicking, visual feedback)
  • Reduce amount of options while giving enough that the user can control their experience (keeping them engaged)
  • Offering options that the viewer may need during the use of the service (pause, play, forward, rewind)
  • Other options that are not essential but create a more personalised experience (sound, brightness, captions, quality and orientation)
  • Offer related content so they continue to use the service once they begin.

 

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