Abstract
Widespread adoption of high speed internet connectivity makes streaming media a reality, and these days many streaming devices are increasingly becoming available, including smart TVs, internet-connected Blu-ray players, Apple TV, and so on. One problem users quickly face is the navigation and search of titles. The current approach is far from satisfactory. Since smartphones are everywhere these days, can smartphones help with this discovery problem? In this project we develop an Android-based app for Netflix, a movie rental and streaming system, to address this problem. One of the nice aspects of Netflix is that it offers recommendations. However it is tailored to one account, which is often shared by all of the family members. Therefore, it is hard to differentiate the recommendations for the parents vs. the teenage members of a family. The app we develop does not require a user to login and the recommendations are tailored to the owner of the smartphone only. Our proposed recommendation algorithm is based on the ratings available on Netflix and Rotten Tomatoes, but can also incorporate new data sources. We conduct a limited study and based on the feedback of the subjects, the result is promising.