I started to use Disney Plus a few days after the service began, and dropped out after two months.
I have been a huge Disney fan since I was a teenager. I watched most of the Disney movies and dramas and followed Disney actors and singers. During my gap year after high school, I watched Disney movies and shows such as High School Musical series, and Wizards of Waverly Place. (Yes, these are my favorites!)
Of course, I signed up for Disney Plus because I wanted to watch the old shows that I liked. However, as I explore the website, I realized that I did not want to watch the past show that I already knew.
So I explored Disney Plus to see what to watch and noticed some differences from Netflix.
I had been using Netflix for several years now, so I was used to seeing the preview of the show when I hover the cursor to the title. But there was no preview available for the shows on Disney Plus. I do not know whether it is because Disney contents are already famous, so Disney thought there was no need. Still, it was strange not to use previews or trailers that they already have.
Moreover, clicking the title on the front page leads me to the page of the show. Then, I click the Play button to watch it. It is not a big step, but why not directly play it? Especially for movies, I do not have to select the episode, so I want to watch the video when I click the title.
After exploring the list, I decided to watch the Hannah Montana series, which started in 2006. The screen ratio of the first season is 4:3, and the video quality annoyed me. Most of the videos now are over 1080 pixels, and there is Ultra High Definition television, so the video quality of Hannah Montana was disturbing to watch. Then, I wondered how the shows on other streaming services are. Supernatural that came out in 2005 is fine on Netflix, and the quality of CSI Season 3 that aired in 2002, is excellent on YouTube TV; I could choose 1080 pixels option on YouTube TV.
Tim O’Brien, the Director of Product Design at Drift, said it is essential to innovate, not invent (A Good Product Isn’t Just About Features, November 19, 2019). When you change the feature against the users’ expectations, it should be at least ten times better in usability than its previous version. Users are not used to the new feature, so it must be much better for it to defy their expectations.
As I used Disney Plus, I already expected to watch a trailer when I hover the title, and I expected a much better resolution of the videos. However, I was not too fond of the quality of the video, so I stopped watching the series.
Yes, there might be shows that I will like, but I just felt Netflix and YouTube TV are enough for me; I still have a long list of shows that I want to watch. Disney is a great content provider, and I have loved and will love their movies and shows, but I think I would rather watch them at theaters.
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