UI Improvements in the Movie Store

[MikeKobb]

Greetings all!

You may have noticed a few changes on the movie store website. There’s an updated iOS app as well, and the Android update is coming soon. I wanted to take a minute to explain a bit of what’s new.

We’ve made several improvements to how we present information about movies available to purchase, and movies you have purchased and downloaded. Some of these are subtle rearrangements and simplifications. Others are more noticeable.

The most noticeable change, perhaps, is that we’ve re-thought our 4K format badges. There’s a lot of history behind why we were using the “UHD” and “HDR” badges, but it’s a bit too long to get into here. What’s important is that they were confusing to many people, especially new customers, and they also didn’t really follow naming conventions that people are familiar with today.

So, we’ve had a re-think. Starting now, the 4K formats are called exactly that: “4K”. That means that we now have SD, HD, and 4K movies. 4K movies are available in two versions: SDR (standard dynamic range), and HDR10 (high dynamic range). Some movies are available in one of the 4K versions or the other, or both.

To be clear: we’re still offering the same formats; we’re just talking about them differently, and hopefully more clearly.

In most places related to purchase and ownership, we only use the resolution or quality of the movie: SD, HD, or 4K. e.g., “You own in 4K”. Where it’s important to know which versions of a 4K movie are available, or which version(s) you’re downloading, we add additional badges for SDR or HDR10. When you view a movie’s details, we show you the highest quality available (e.g., HD or 4K), and when the highest quality is 4K, we show you which 4K versions are available (SDR or HDR10, or both).

We’ve also done away with the very complex badging scheme that we used to use to show which version(s) of a movie had object-oriented audio. If the highest-quality version of the movie has advanced audio, you’ll see a Dolby Atmos or DTS-X badge in the movie details. If you want to know whether advanced audio is available on another format (e.g., on the HD version of a movie when the highest quality is 4K), just tap on the “Show Available Audio Tracks” option in the movie details on the web, or check the Languages tab on the mobile apps. You can also use the filter bar on the store website to show only movies with Dolby Atmos or DTS:X if you wish, and that filter will surface movies where the advanced audio is only available on HD.

Here’s a before and after.

Before:


After:


As mentioned earlier, these changes are visible now on the web and in version 1.15.0 of the iOS app. Android 1.15.0 is coming soon. You’ll see similar changes in kOS in forthcoming releases.

Enjoy! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

 

[MikeKobb]

Incidentally, you can click the rating ("PG-13") in the new layout to see the rating "reason" text.

 

[David23]

Some feedback:

• As an Alto-only owner, I really lament it not showing all of the available formats at the top. I have to click into the Available Audio Tracks to see if something is available in HD. I realize I'm a dying breed but I imagine there's not an insignificant amount non-Encore owners out there. Just not in the cards for me to be able to upgrade.
• On the website, clicking on the new rating information and then clicking anywhere else, doesn't hide it, which is the expected behavior. However, if you click the rating, then click something like the Audio Tracks, then click anywhere, they both are hidden.
• On the iOS app, in the Audio and Subtitles sections, there is now a comma between format icons. Just looks odd.

 

[MikeKobb]

Thanks for the feedback!

Regarding HD availability, if a movie is available in 4K, it's almost always available in HD as well. If you were to proceed to purchase on the rare 4K-only title, we would warn you that your system can't download or play it.

The comma is intentional when there are lists of formats like that, because there are cases where we might have badges to say, for example, "HD, 4K SDR", and the comma separation makes it clear that the SDR badge goes with the 4K badge.

 

[KDeering]

I guess the monikers are cleaner, but now the UI that is supposed to help people make decisions gives you LESS information to work from, which in turn requires MORE from the end user to find the information they want. While I understand that originally there was some confusion about UHD vs HDR (sounds like dealers were not doing a very good job explaining the product to their customers), at least I could go on the Movie page and see immediately what was available with Atmos, DTS:X, HDR or UHD. Now I have to click on the movie to see what 4K version is available and then click on more stuff to see what audio track is available. So somehow less information is now more??

Why do I always feel like K goes back steps rather than forward in steps when it comes to an intuitive interface?

 

[thrillcat]

Thanks for the feedback!

Regarding HD availability, if a movie is available in 4K, it's almost always available in HD as well. If you were to proceed to purchase on the rare 4K-only title, we would warn you that your system can't download or play it.

The comma is intentional when there are lists of formats like that, because there are cases where we might have badges to say, for example, "HD, 4K SDR", and the comma separation makes it clear that the SDR badge goes with the 4K badge.

Isn’t it already clear, since there’s no HD HDR option? HD will always be SDR.

 

[KDeering]

The new interface also makes it look like the 4K versions are 4K only with no HD option. I feel like it is just trading one confusion for another. Every title I click on says 4K on the main page and the next page with NOTHING saying HD/SD now.

 

[andy]

Is the only way to check if a 4K title also has an SD/HD version to tap on "Language" (in the app) or expand "Audio", "Subtitles", or "Size" (from a web browser)? It was much easier to determine this before.

Andy

 

[MikeKobb]

I guess the monikers are cleaner, but now the UI that is supposed to help people make decisions gives you LESS information to work from, which in turn requires MORE from the end user to find the information they want. While I understand that originally there was some confusion about UHD vs HDR (sounds like dealers were not doing a very good job explaining the product to their customers), at least I could go on the Movie page and see immediately what was available with Atmos, DTS:X, HDR or UHD. Now I have to click on the movie to see what 4K version is available and then click on more stuff to see what audio track is available. So somehow less information is now more??

Why do I always feel like K goes back steps rather than forward in steps when it comes to an intuitive interface?

The new interface also makes it look like the 4K versions are 4K only with no HD option. I feel like it is just trading one confusion for another. Every title I click on says 4K on the main page and the next page with NOTHING saying HD/SD now.

I certainly appreciate the feedback, but please consider: you are a power user. Most people are not, and the old design was confusing for them. We are trying to strike a balance where the store is easy to use and understand for the majority of customers, while still making the information that power users care about available to them.

If you go look at pretty much any other movie store (and we did this exercise), they include no information at all at the top level. Just the cover. When you navigate in to see more information, most stores tell you what the best offering is. Does it have 4K? Or only HD? It's assumed that if the movie is available in 4K, it's also available in HD.

The same assumption is valid in the Kaleidescape movie store as well. If a movie has 4K, it is nearly always available in HD. There are a tiny number of 4K movies that don't have HD versions. Specifically, that tiny number is 15, and it will be even fewer soon.

SD is becoming less common as time goes on, but nearly all customers who use the movie store can play at least HD content, so knowing whether a movie is available in SD is not relevant to most people.

In the rare instance where you do try to buy a movie that you can't play (let's say you have a Premiere system and the movie is 4K only), then the store will warn you emphatically that you're trying to buy something you can't play. But again, this almost never happens.

Maybe say a little bit more about exactly what it is that you are trying to find, and why, and I can try to explain how best to find that.

Is the only way to check if a 4K title also has an SD/HD version to tap on "Language" (in the app) or expand "Audio", "Subtitles", or "Size" (from a web browser)? It was much easier to determine this before.

Andy

Do you actually care about SD? As mentioned above, if the movie is shown as being available in 4K, you can just assume that it also has HD.

When you click to buy, you'll also see the included qualities right at the top.



It's possible to see on mobile as well. Can you explain a bit more about why you need the info? I can explain how to get there more easily if I know. Also, iOS or Android?

 

[Transepoch]

If you go look at pretty much any other movie store (and we did this exercise), they include no information at all at the top level. Just the cover. When you navigate in to see more information, most stores tell you what the best offering is. Does it have 4K? Or only HD? It's assumed that if the movie is available in 4K, it's also available in HD.

But can't/shouldn't we expect better than the same as pretty much every other store? Perhaps an account setting to emphasize detail on the surface versus detail on depth, so the power users and power streamers can live side-by-side.

Every time a user is asked to tap/click something is another chance where they may just decide to hit the X instead (or accidently.)

 

[MikeKobb]

Maybe you could say a bit more about what it is that you're wanting to see in the new design that you're not getting, and why? Keeping in mind that the new design has been out for... about a day. Any new design always takes a little getting used to.

 

[cal87]

I think the two biggest complaints about content are lack of immersive audio and now lack of HDR. So now you are hiding these details.

 

[MikeKobb]

We're certainly not trying to hide anything. That information is right below the movie synopsis on the movie details page.

Also, if you are only interested in movies with HDR, or movies with, say, Atmos, you can do that with the filter bar:



Then you know before you click on a cover that it has those features.

 

[KDeering]

I agree that SD really doesn't matter anymore. But I think HD is still pretty common and there is NOTHING indicating that a 4K title in your market is also available in HD. If I go into iTunes or AppleTV store it only shows 4K for titles as well, but that is because the store is actually showing you what is available based on the device you are accessing it on (it knows what your display is capable of and auto selects the best version). Vudu shows you every edition available for sale.

I've mentioned to K many times now that it should use similar labeling for RESOLUTION since they use SD and HD. I think UHD was a good one because it stays in the same format but I also understand all other marketplaces are using 4K, so I'm fine with that as well. I just don't like that the amount of information that was readily viewable has gone BACKWARDS, not forward. So the interface is now more clicks the get the same info as before. How is this making an interface better? It just makes the end user have to do more to get the same information.

At the end of the day I guess it is what it is. I would have MUCH rather seen K put effort into improving the player's UI than the website's. The player's UI feels insanely antiquated considering it hasn't changed much in what, like 20 years now? Even the online store UI in the Strato's interface looks better than the actual player's UI. Every K user I talk to complains about the same things: UI of the player needs a HUGE refresh, hardware needs a big refresh (and I'm not talking about the annual Terra updates that no one cares about) and the price points need be focused on if K has any chance at wider adoption rates.

I love my K, I add movies to it every week. But I would love it a lot more if I felt like the huge price point was met with way more updating and upgrading. Nearly every CE product out there in this space is constantly updating to stay fresh and most of them are at a fraction of the price of K.

 

[MikeKobb]

But I think HD is still pretty common and there is NOTHING indicating that a 4K title in your market is also available in HD.

I agree that there may be a bit of education that needs to happen, but I think it's a very simple message to say, "If it's in 4K, it's in HD as well." It's true for 99+% of all of our 4K titles, and we expect that percentage to go up, not down. There's no need to slap additional redundant badges on every movie.

If I go into iTunes or AppleTV store it only shows 4K for titles as well, but that is because the store is actually showing you what is available based on the device you are accessing it on (it knows what your display is capable of and auto selects the best version). Vudu shows you every edition available for sale.

We looked at this as well. We looked at every major service, both streaming and EST. Some services do what you say: they show you what your current device/display combination support (i.e., what's going to play when you hit the button right now). This is most common on-device with SVOD services where you're paying a monthly fee, you own nothing, and it's all about what's going to happen when you hit play.

If you're buying something, and especially if you're doing that shopping away from the device itself, it makes the most sense to show the best of what is available, and let people learn that the lower qualities are available too. We are far from alone in this.

Here's what Vudu shows if you browse on the web:



They show the best version they have.

Apple does something similar in their TV app:



They show the best version they have, even on the phone.

In both cases, it's understood that they have the lower quality versions as well. If you scroll all the way to the bottom on Vudu you can see all the formats listed, but only because that's where they show you the audio tracks for those formats. Apple doesn't call it out to you anywhere at all as far as I can tell.

We opted for the "show the best quality" approach because it makes the most sense for our use case.

 

[Edgar]

As a new K owner, the new badging and layout makes a lot more sense to me since it uses standard terms like 4K. I really didn’t know what to make of HDR and UHD, was one 4K? Both? Isn’t HDR its own thing and not resolution? To me this is a huge improvement getting rid of that confusing badging. Thank you!

 

[Rengozu]

While I was fine with the old UHD/HDR way, the new 4K label is probably easier for most, but I absolutely can't stand not having the Atmos logo next to it on the main page like it used to be. I don't want to click on every move to see what mix it offers. Would like to see those badges back as they were.

 

[Oldred]

I was fine with it before and TBH I am fine with it now at first glance and I guess do understand the reasoning behind it.

Having sat in many customer experience 'real customer/user sessions' over the years I learnt long ago that people rarely agree when discussing 'the experience' and have far less problem with changes while using it than while thinking about it. That's why they watch them use it for a while before thinking or talking about it. It's surprising how often those two things differ. With this, similarly, I think it's best just to use it for a month and without prompt, IF its a negative, it will continue to surface as such but I suspect it's just different for the power users (per MK), and likely better for a far larger number of customers (but the latter is a subjective guess of course and we will see). I could be wrong

 

[LoveCinema]

@MikeKobb, I believe you hit the nail on the head in your original announcement and subsequent responses. This is all about assumptions and the content on the K Store.

You mention that there are only 15 titles in 4K and not HD, which is less than 1% of the content. Further, K is working on reducing the 15 titles. As you state, this is a safe assumption and unaffected by new badges. (BTW, great news! Thank you!)

But, what about 4K SDR vs. 4K HDR? Across the K Store ~5% of 4K titles are missing HDR, but in the last year it's closer to 12%. At release there is a >1-in-9 chance that a 4K title is missing something offered elsewhere. Here the new badges are a step backwards.

Then there's HD instead of 4K and SD instead of HD, not to mention audio. Because of these, a K Store consumer has to decide whether to buy, purchase elsewhere, or wait for an update. The new badges require more effort, which simply highlights this frustration.

I love my K; we all do. "Best on K" is what we all want. Most of the time that's true. But, it's not a safe assumption. Keep the badges; fix that.

Much love to the K Team, please keep the updates coming...

 

[gadgetman]

I did not know which thread to use to highlight a new issue with K-Store, but since it occurred only since the new UI, I thought this thread might be best.

For some unknown reason, a movie (namely Harriet) is showing up on my wish list even though I own it and it has been downloaded to my system in HDR. This only occurred after the transition to the new UI. I tried deleting the movie and then re-downloading it, but it will still not disappear from my wish list. And, there is no option to remove it from my wish list. This is annoying, but I fear this issue may not be simply limited to one movie and may "multiply" in the future.

Anyone experience this or have any thoughts how to remove it?