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TVAndMoviesNow.com: Streaming Video Search Engine Extraordinaire!

post #1 of 84
10/10/11 at 8:38am
Thread Starter 
Announcing TVAndMoviesNow.com, a search-and-filter engine for streaming video. I know what you're thinking: "What's so 'extraordinaire' about that ??? After all, there are others--InstantWatcher, FeedFliks, etc". This, my jaded friends, is the only one I know of which can search both the Netflix Watch Instantly and Amazon Video libraries, identifying titles which are available from both services and the features of those titles (HD, 5.1 sound, subtitles/closed captions, Prime Eligible). Additionally it can filter on 5.1 sound, freeing me from the odious monthly task of updating the "Official List of Netflix Watch Instantly Titles w/5.1 Sound" (thank all the powers that be ).

The tool was developed by Gabe Gagliano (aka, AVS Forum member "RangerOne") of TechOfTheHub.com (with copious suggestions, constructive criticisms and bug reports from me ). To use it, set the options and filters as desired, enter a term to search for (optional) and right-click the "Search" button. If you don't enter a string to search for, it will return a list of all titles which match the options and filters.

Here are a few examples (there were more results for the searches--the snapshots are truncated):

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Spoiler  
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
The front page





A search of Netflix for HD titles with 5.1 sound





A search of Amazon for HD titles with 5.1 sound





Search for a specified string


Post your expressions of gratitude and admiration here, along with any questions and/or suggestions for new features; bug reports are probably best PM'd to RangerOne.

Enjoy!
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post #2 of 84
10/10/11 at 8:58am
Thanks for all of your help Michael! Michael gave lots of great feedback on how the site works.

This is a work in progress, I still consider it beta. On the "about" page I list out the known problems.

Best way to give me feedback is PM here at the forum or the email address at the bottom of the site.

There's a lot more coming. Stay tuned.....
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post #3 of 84
10/10/11 at 9:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by RangerOne View Post

Thanks for all of your help Michael! Michael gave lots of great feedback on how the site works.

This is a work in progress, I still consider it beta. On the "about" page I list out the known problems.

Best way to give me feedback is PM here at the forum or the email address at the bottom of the site.

There's a lot more coming. Stay tuned.....

Not bad- definitely needs more classification and search options. Genre searches, (ie: Animation, Sci-Fi, etc, etc). I guess it would be good to look at other metadata search sites like FeedFlix and see what they have to offer and go from there. Otherwise it's a good start.
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post #4 of 84
10/10/11 at 9:23am
Worst site ever. Nah, I'm just kidding. Great work, guys!

First, I really like how things are broken up by season, as I did a find on Breaking Bad and it had the entire series, but also seasons 1-3 listed separately.
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post #5 of 84
10/10/11 at 9:37am
Thread Starter 
There are some problems with the data returned from Amazon and Netflix here and there. For instance, TrollHunter doesn't show up as having 5.1 sound on either my Roku 2 or Panasonic DMP-BDT110 (Webkit/HTML5 GUI), though it shows up as such on the PS3 and the BDT110 has a Audio & Subtitles menu for it that includes the 5.1 track.

Sometimes things won't show up as having a cross match in the other source because the name is different. For example, Amazon calls ST: TOS "Star Trek (Original)" and there are separate listings for HD and SD versions.
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post #6 of 84
10/10/11 at 9:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mproper View Post

Worst site ever. Nah, I'm just kidding. Great work, guys!

First, I really like how things are broken up by season, as I did a find on Breaking Bad and it had the entire series, but also seasons 1-3 listed separately.

However, I'm having trouble with 5.1. Did a find on Trollhunter and it doesn't list it as 5.1, even though I know it is (or at least Michael said it did in the gems/finds thread...not in front of my PS3 to verify).

Another question regarding the "HD" and "5.1" indicators. If it lists it, it seems to only list it once. Does that mean it's available HD/5.1 on both Amazon and Netflix? As it is, it's a bit confusing since it seems to only display under the first column. Just a little clarification on that?

I'll point this out: Perhaps the problem is this: Is 5.1 even in the Netflix API? I'm wondering because I did this:
  • Search: "Dragon Tattoo"
  • Primary Search "Amazon"
  • Show: HD Only and Surround Sound Only
  • Result: Shows HD/5.1 listed under Amazon.
Then do the same search choosing Netflix as the Primary Search: No results.

I know The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is available HD/5.1 on Netflix, but actually searching for that yields no results. In fact, the only way to get it back using Netflix as the primary search is to remove both the HD and 5.1 criteria, which can't be right.

Thanks MProper!

To clarify, the HD and 5.1 badges show up separately for each service. Search for "Tudors" with the default settings and you will see what it looks like.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is not showing up on my PS3 with the HD or 5.1 badges.

Funny that you found the Trollhunter problem!! Netflix does include 5.1 information in their data. However, this is an example where its not flagged properly in that data. There's a few of these out there on both services.
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post #7 of 84
10/10/11 at 9:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by RangerOne View Post

Thanks MProper!

To clarify, the HD and 5.1 badges show up separately for each service. Search for "Tudors" with the default settings and you will see what it looks like.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is not showing up on my PS3 with the HD or 5.1 badges.

Funny that you found the Trollhunter problem!! Netflix does include 5.1 information in their data. However, this is an example where its not flagged properly in that data. There's a few of these out there on both services.

Thanks. I deleted my comments when I realized Dragon Tattoo is apparently the only movie in the trilogy not in HD/5.1. I thought they all were and I apparently just happened to pick a bad title to run a test on (same reason I was only seeing the HD/5.1 badges listed only once). So all is well, other than a couple disparities in the Netflix data that you guys pointed out.

Sorry for the confusion.

I know it's early and it's really a great start, but do you have any plans to add on other services such as Hulu/Vudu/iTunes/Blockbuster, etc?
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post #8 of 84
10/10/11 at 9:46am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mproper View Post

First, I really like how things are broken up by season, as I did a find on Breaking Bad and it had the entire series, but also seasons 1-3 listed separately.

Interesting that you like the individual seasons. Since they all go to the same page, I don't (though I just noticed that the individual season links select that season's tab on the page, so maybe they have some merit). If you search for the series at Netflix, you'll only be shown a link to the "main page".
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post #9 of 84
10/10/11 at 9:51am
Nice idea! Good luck with the project
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post #10 of 84
10/10/11 at 9:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by michaeltscott View Post

Interesting that you like the individual seasons. Since they all go to the same page, I don't (though I just noticed that the individual season links select that season's tab on the page, so maybe they have some merit). If you search for the series at Netflix, you'll only be shown a link to the "main page".

But it's not going to show me a season that's not available to stream, right? So that's good. While the links go to the season's tab, it also seems to default to the disc tab, not the streaming tab. Can that be changed?

Oh wait....the first show I looked for (Eureka) shows season 3.5 available to stream, yet that's not listed as available on Netflix's site (only through season 3 is available). Grrrr....

While other people complain about other things with Netflix, I flat out despise how they do TV series. I really want a notification system for TV series. Just found out there's a new season of 30 Rock to stream. Well, I wouldn't know that if I hadn't manually looked. The old way was so much better. I really just want to be able to place a "watch" on those series and get an email when a new season is added.

EDIT: Nevermind. Apparently the discs for Eureka are broken up into Season 3 and Season 3.5, but when it comes to streaming, everything is just under Season 3 on the Netflix site (which compiles seasons 3 and 3.5 together). But on your site, season 3.5 is listed separately.

Again: Grrrr....it's just the inconsistency of how Netflix does things I guess. I also suck at picking titles at random to plug into your site
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post #11 of 84
10/10/11 at 10:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mproper View Post

I know it's early and it's really a great start, but do you have any plans to add on other services such as Hulu/Vudu/iTunes/Blockbuster, etc?

That's the plan. Haven't decided yet what the next service will be.

One of the focuses of the next release will be matching titles better across services.
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post #12 of 84
10/10/11 at 11:31am
sticky
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post #13 of 84
10/10/11 at 12:00pm
I'd suggest including Vudu in this search engine (assuming they have some kind of API available).
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post #14 of 84
10/10/11 at 7:52pm
Don't forget my suggestion: way to get a listing of movies/TV series that is not available on the other service, preferably sortable by genre, rating, release date, etc. Thx

Quote:
Originally Posted by RangerOne View Post

One of the focuses of the next release will be matching titles better across services.
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post #15 of 84
10/11/11 at 5:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cygnus2112 View Post

Don't forget my suggestion: way to get a listing of movies/TV series that is not available on the other service, preferably sortable by genre, rating, release date, etc. Thx

This is a good suggestion as it would really aid in making decisions when comparing the two (or more when you add them) services.
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post #16 of 84
10/11/11 at 7:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mproper View Post

This is a good suggestion as it would really aid in making decisions when comparing the two (or more when you add them) services.

Yep, this is planned for the next release.
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post #17 of 84
10/11/11 at 12:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by michaeltscott View Post

Interesting that you like the individual seasons. Since they all go to the same page, I don't (though I just noticed that the individual season links select that season's tab on the page, so maybe they have some merit).

Another point in their favor: my current PS3 app interface incorrectly lists every episode of a series as HD/5.1 when it's only the later seasons that have either of those attributes. With the individual season listings on this site I can see that "24", for example, is only HD starting with Season 4, and that only Seasons 3 and 8 have Subtitles (apparently).
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post #18 of 84
10/11/11 at 1:08pm
Nice start, RangerOne. Any way to add keyword search from the program descriptions? I've been trying for months to find a documentary on Netflix that I had noticed and now want to watch but can't remember the name. I only remember what it was about from the program description.
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post #19 of 84
10/11/11 at 4:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Taperwood View Post

Nice start, RangerOne. Any way to add keyword search from the program descriptions? I've been trying for months to find a documentary on Netflix that I had noticed and now want to watch but can't remember the name. I only remember what it was about from the program description.

Understood. One way it may work today: uncheck "Unlimited Streaming" and enter the keyword.
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post #20 of 84
10/11/11 at 4:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RangerOne View Post

Understood. One way it may work today: uncheck "Unlimited Streaming" and enter the keyword.

What works is searching Amazon, whether "Unlimited Streaming" is selected or not and it shows Netflix cross matches.

What I tried was search for "Lisbeth Salander". Searching Netflix with "Unlimited Streaming" checked or not yields no results, though that string occurs in all of the Netflix descriptions for the "Millenium Trilogy" films (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and The Girl Who Played With Fire). In Amazon, it doesn't appear in the description of the first movie so searching with Amazon as the primary source turns up only the other two, with Netflix cross matches. (BTW, it shows Netflix for the one with "(English Dubbed)" on the end of it when I'm certain that Netflix offers no such option).
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post #21 of 84
10/18/11 at 6:57am
Do you know how up-to-date is the API is (or the data being fed to you by the API) when you search on your site? I was curious if Red State (just released on both BD and streaming) was 5.1 or not, but it's not returning in the results.

I had one more question. I searched for Will Ferrell's Everything Must Go and it's listed as available from Netflix, but it's not. I'm going to chalk that up to an error with Netflix's data.
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post #22 of 84
10/18/11 at 9:08am
Another suggestion as I was poking around today. I found a couple titles simply listed as 'Expiring!' such as Red Dwarf.

Would be nice if you'd throw the date up there as well.
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post #23 of 84
10/19/11 at 10:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mproper View Post

Do you know how up-to-date is the API is (or the data being fed to you by the API) when you search on your site? I was curious if Red State (just released on both BD and streaming) was 5.1 or not, but it's not returning in the results.

I had one more question. I searched for Will Ferrell's Everything Must Go and it's listed as available from Netflix, but it's not. I'm going to chalk that up to an error with Netflix's data.

I am manually updating for the time being but I am close to automating the Netflix side. I lasted updated on Monday.

Everything Must Go is a problem but it will be fixed in the next update which will be soon.
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post #24 of 84
10/19/11 at 10:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mproper View Post

Another suggestion as I was poking around today. I found a couple titles simply listed as 'Expiring!' such as Red Dwarf.

Would be nice if you'd throw the date up there as well.

Yep!
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post #25 of 84
10/19/11 at 7:32pm
Update Posted. Version 0.21

In particular:
- Speed! For unlimited streaming, searches are much quicker.
- Expiration Dates are now displayed on Netflix titles (thanks Mproper)
- Exclusive Unlimited Titles Only: Not the best name for it. It shows a list of titles that exist on one unlimited service but not on the other. In another words, checking it for an Amazon search will show you all of the titles available on Amazon but not on Netflix. For Netflix searches, it will still show the pay per view option at Neflix but not the Prime titles. The feature works well for movies but has some issues with TV shows. Thanks to Cygnus2112 for suggesting this feature.
- Manual match. We now have the ability to match titles across services with dissimilar name. So far, it's been done for Star Trek: TOS and Downton Abbey. Let us know if you find more.
- Minor fixes to Paging Controls
- DVD only resuluts are not shown for Netflix

The latest Netflix data is also loaded. I'm working on automating the update.

Thanks for all of the comments, feedback and encouragement (especially MichaelTScott). Let me know what you think!
http://www.TVandMoviesNOW.com
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post #26 of 84
10/29/11 at 3:43pm
Could you add a filter - or at least an icon - for 1080 versus 720? This is largely irrelevant for me since my Roku XDS gets Netflix in 720/stereo but it would be worth knowing if Amazon ever increases its resolution. (I bailed out of my Netflix trial having watched only one show. If they ever made a 1080 DD 5.1 stream available, that would be important info - DD 5.1 Plus disqualifies my box - and my AVR for that matter.)

As a Blu-ray fan, I regard 720 as "halfway" high-def - sharp only on close-up head shots and soft (though viewable) most of the time - at least projected 9 1/2' wide.

The only 1080 I've seen through my XDS is the free Roku private channel "1080P Showcase" - go to your Roku account on your computer, follow the links to add a private channel, and put in 1080p as the code. It searches YouTube for 1080p clips. Everything I've found there is stereo only.
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post #27 of 84
10/29/11 at 4:35pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philnick View Post

Could you add a filter - or at least an icon - for 1080 versus 720? This is largely irrelevant for me since my Roku XDS gets Netflix in 720/stereo but it would be worth knowing if Amazon ever increases its resolution.

As far as Netflix is concerned, my belief is that nearly every title with HD encodings has a 1080p one. I used my PS3 to check a few dozen chosen at random one and and every one of them had one. When they introduced the Netflix player for the PS3, they created a new set of encodings in AVC/DD2.0 (previously only VC-1/WMA was available). When the installed PS3 player was introduced last year they announced 1080p and 5.1 sound--I think that they either added 1080p to the entire library or those encodings were already there and the new player added an ability to play them.

Someone in my old Netflix 5.1 sound threaded pointed out a title with only 720p HD encodings (about half of the anime series from a particular company). I personally haven't run into another yet though there might be some.
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post #28 of 84
11/1/11 at 5:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philnick View Post

Could you add a filter - or at least an icon - for 1080 versus 720? This is largely irrelevant for me since my Roku XDS gets Netflix in 720/stereo but it would be worth knowing if Amazon ever increases its resolution. (I bailed out of my Netflix trial having watched only one show. If they ever made a 1080 DD 5.1 stream available, that would be important info - DD 5.1 Plus disqualifies my box - and my AVR for that matter.)
...

Thanks for the suggestion. However, Amazon only offers 720P for streaming (1080P for Amazon Instant Video downloads to the TiVo Premiere).
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post #29 of 84
11/1/11 at 5:25am
Updates have been made. The Netflix data refreshes now every morning. This way you will be able to go to the app and see the latest and greatest Netflix TV show and movies. Use the "latest" links up top.
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post #30 of 84
11/3/11 at 6:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by michaeltscott View Post

Announcing a search-and-filter engine for streaming video. I know what you're thinking: "What's so 'extraordinaire' about that ??? After all, there are others--InstantWatcher, FeedFliks, etc". This, my jaded friends, is the only one I know of which can search both the Netflix Watch Instantly and Amazon Video libraries, identifying titles which are available from both services and the features of those titles (HD, 5.1 sound, subtitles/closed captions, Prime Eligible). Additionally it can filter on 5.1 sound, freeing me from the odious monthly

Thank you for sharing such a fancy program.

This will great help for searching videos from websites as many as possible.

I can't wait for trying it.
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