Netflix Star Ratings

So as you all know, Netflix recently abolished the star ratings in favour of Joaquin Phoenix's preferred method of rating - the thumb up / down.

Their reasons were...whatever, it was marketing speak, they said something about the algorithm but we all know they'll just try to force their originals on you at all costs (I was watching Iron Fist on my Xbox and between episodes it always advertised Santa Clarita Diet for example, similarly when watching a WWII film). When I opened up Netflix and it introduced it, it claimed your existing star ratings will be used and now has a % match rating on a lot of content but as of now I'm unconvinced. But I'm wondering if any of you have an opinion on this - good? bad? ugly? weird? don't care?

Personally I'm not a fan - I know some commentors talked about how people seem to rate things on Netflix as if others are actually going to see them (highly unlikely unless there's a ring on one of two parties' fingers in which case they're already trapped so it doesn't matter), but as someone who felt they had a very good system for himself, this is very disappointing.

Despite that I do have one hope for the future - they could eventually allow thumbs up / down on individual episodes as well as rating the series as a whole. This would be great for when you want to re-watch shows for various reasons but know enough of the plot that you can skip entire episodes you dislike (Game of Thrones is certainly one I wish I'd kept some sort of record for - there's just so much of it!). Somehow I feel they won't ever bother though.

Ever since I saw Hell's Kitchen had a two and a half star rating I just haven't taken notice off Netflix ratings in spite.

So how exactly does this thumb rating look like? Does it present itself as a percentage now? Because I know at the very least that yeah, there were times when I would look at a show or movie's rating and use that as a determinant as to if I was going to watch it or not.

El Héroe Oscuro said:

So how exactly does this thumb rating look like? Does it present itself as a percentage now? Because I know at the very least that yeah, there were times when I would look at a show or movie's rating and use that as a determinant as to if I was going to watch it or not.

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Yeah it presents all recommendations as a percentage, I think things you've already given a thumb up / down just show that. Conveniently anything produced by Netflix appears to have an 88% match or higher despite my having absolutely zero interest in watching something set inside a women's prison, or about cannibalism.

Amore said:

Yeah it presents all recommendations as a percentage, I think things you've already given a thumb up / down just show that. Conveniently anything produced by Netflix appears to have an 88% match or higher despite my having absolutely zero interest in watching something set inside a women's prison, or about cannibalism.

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I'm curious if the numbers are skewed for those original productions as they invested so much money into creating those products for consumption.

El Héroe Oscuro said:

I'm curious if the numbers are skewed for those original productions as they invested so much money into creating those products for consumption.

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It wouldn't surprise me.

I know when I use the Xbox360 app to watch anything it nearly always recommends one of their originals, whether I've just finished Creed or am midway through a season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, usually of no apparent similarities in terms of genre or even actor.

Netflix's rating system was pretty flawed to begin with so I doubt it can be much worse. If I remember correctly, they base the rating off how they think you would like/rate the show or movie from what you've previously watched.