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New Feature: Similar Titles
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Posted January 14, 2011 09:31 AM by
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 The Blu-ray.com team is happy to announce another site upgrade, this time a similar
titles suggestions/recommendations feature has been added to the bottom of all Blu-ray profiles/entries. This is the first version of the Similar Titles feature, so all suggested titles won't be ideal, but we still think the suggestions are better than most other sites', including IMDB. The Similar Titles feature/system is a variant of an artificial neural network and will provide better and better suggestions over time (self-learning). Due to complexity it is not updated in real-time, but fairly often.
What is it good for?
The Similar Titles feature is good for especially two things:
- If you like a specific title it will give you suggestions of similar titles that you probably would like as well.
- If you haven't seen a movie yet but you are considering seeing it, the Similar Titles feature should come in handy and give you a good idea of what to expect from the movie/what type of movie it is, and should help your decision if you should see/buy the movie or not.
How to use it
- The best way to use the Similar Titles feature is to browse around a lot. Click on a similar title and then check out that title's Similar Titles cloud. Continue jumping around and you will be taken in the direction of the last choice. Depending on your current mood and what type of movies you are into, you will be drawn in that direction and end up in different interesting spots. It should be pretty much impossible to not find any new interesting movies.
- The title displayed first is the title that has been calculated to have the highest similarity, the title displayed last has the least similarity. For more obscure titles the similar titles displayed last will probably not be reliable and differ quite a lot, however, for more mainstream titles pretty much all similar titles should be relevant.
- If you have a fairly good Internet connection, we recommend that you click on "Show more titles" to display six rows of similar titles instead of just two, to get more suggestions. Keep in mind though that those titles are less similar but can still be very good, especially for mainstream titles.
Things to keep in mind
- Suggestions for newly released titles are much more unreliable than older titles since the system has had less time to learn about the title. Unreleased titles are the most unreliable.
- Suggestions for obscure- and highly unique titles will be more unreliable than mainstream titles. Some titles are very unique and good suggestions of similar titles simply can't be made.
- As there are more and more Blu-ray titles being released overall- and more information being added every day to Blu-ray.com, the suggestions will become increasingly better.
- The Similar Titles feature currently only calculates similarity, "good" movies aren't given priority over "bad" movies, so it might suggest bad titles that you should avoid (but should be easy to identify and discard anyway).
- If you are looking at a US release, you will only get suggestions for other US releases. Same for UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France etc. If you aren't getting good suggestions for a title for a specific country, we suggest you check the corresponding US entry for suggestions instead since US has the most releases and is more likely to produce better suggestions.
- The system is "living" and the similar titles will jump around (especially for unstable/new titles) as better suggestions are calculated.
As mentioned, this is the first public version of the system and we will continue to develop it and the site to make it better. We have started a dedicated Similar Titles feedback thread where you can report about (obvious) anomalies you find related to the Similar Titles feature 
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Source: Blu-ray.com |
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 Top contributor |
Rudeboy2025
Jan 14, 2011
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Thanks a lot guys! Hopefully this will lead me to some great movies! |
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Top reviewer |
Wdm81
Jan 14, 2011
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Cool feature, I've already used it thrice |
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Top reviewer Top HT gallery |
JJ
Jan 14, 2011
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Top contributor |
adrian42677
Jan 14, 2011
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It might not have anything to do with this update but I like the fact that movies only available in box sets are being added individually more now even though there hasn't been an announcement for those titles individually i.e. Star Trek I, III & V, Star Trek Generations, Insurrection & Nemesis, Robocop 3, etc. The only movie that I have that still isn't listed individually is Animatrix but I hope that changes soon and that this trend continues. Thanks guys! |
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painted_klown
Jan 14, 2011
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Umm...I am not one to just bash on things but this feature is completely unnecessary and pointless. Just to see what it did, I clicked on jackass 3 to see what it would bring up. Clerks 1 and 2, dinner for Schmucks, Me Myself & Irene, Trading Places!!! Even the movies it suggested aren't like one another... This site provides plenty of opportunity to discover new films aready. We don't need this congesting the screen. |
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Top reviewer Top contributor |
iceman
Jan 14, 2011
adrian42677: This is indeed a new trend that we will continue with, I also added Animatrix 
painted_klown: Jackass 3 hasn't been released yet, see the first item under "Things to keep in mind" 
I will anyway add an option in the site preferences so you can completely turn off the Similar Titles feature. |
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Top HT gallery |
halimali
Jan 14, 2011
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Another great feature. great job |
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Top contributor |
bboisvert
Jan 14, 2011
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"The Similar Titles feature is implemented. The system goes on-line January 14th, 2011. Human decisions are removed from picking movies. Blu-ray.com begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, January 29th. In a panic, they try to pull the plug." |
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shadows4545
Jan 14, 2011
Thank you guys!
Blu-Ray.com FTW!!! |
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bookcase
Jan 14, 2011
As a test, I clicked on The Incredibles, and nearly lost my s*** when I saw Finding Nemo on Blu-ray! Only to click on that and see the release date is unknown.  |
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JJ
Jan 14, 2011
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lol @ klown adding a disclaimer prior to bashing |
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Top contributor |
Unoriginal26
Jan 14, 2011
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Always working!! Well Done, you guys deserve a vacation!! |
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Top reviewer |
seigneur_rayden
Jan 14, 2011
Give me the ability to sort movies by PQ and AQ in my collection!!! A simple necessary function!!!!
I don't know why it is so hard to implement??? |
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Top reviewer Top contributor |
iceman
Jan 14, 2011
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seigneur_rayden: would the PQ and AQ sort be the reviewer's or the users' or a mix? |
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Top reviewer |
Wdm81
Jan 14, 2011
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Why does Catwoman pop up when i search for similar titles to 300? Is it because they can both serve as gay porn? |
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Top contributor |
adrian42677
Jan 14, 2011
Thanks Iceman!
Others I can think of which I don't own but only come in a collection is Return of the Seven, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, The Magnificent Seven Ride!, Dead Pool, Silent Movie, To Be Or Not To Be & Twelve Chairs. Magnum Force, Sudden Impact and The Enforcer are part of a collection or can be bought in 2 disc set but still are individual movies. I'm sure there are still others.
Then you have shows such as Rome and Deadwood which are complete series and only sold that way but can be split into seasons like other shows are sold.
Just suggesting. |
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domper9
Jan 14, 2011
Can we help train the network?
That is, if I click on a movie from the cloud of Similars from another movie, will that strengthen the link between them? |
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Top reviewer |
seigneur_rayden
Jan 14, 2011
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Iceman: It would be the reviewer's. |
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Kyo28
Jan 14, 2011
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This is a wonderful addition to the site. Thanks a lot! |
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madlou2
Jan 14, 2011
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Blu-ray.Com ROCKS. You guys are the best!!!!!!!!!! Thanks |
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Top contributor |
Morsoth
Jan 14, 2011
Wow, I love it!
I'm so loving it that I'm sure this addition will help my wallet in losing some weight...! Hehehe! |
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Top reviewer Top HT gallery Top contributor |
Muscleduck
Jan 14, 2011
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I love this new feature! Makes me stay on the site longer and I read more reviews and learn about more BR releases now. |
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brotherfranciz
Jan 14, 2011
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Are you going to implement this for PS3 games? |
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Top reviewer |
Sopranogl
Jan 14, 2011
This feature is not necessary.
It doesn't help ME whatsoever.
Now...having said that, I agree, "Blu-ray.com rocks." |
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Top contributor |
BasicGreatGuy
Jan 15, 2011
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I like the new feature. Well done. |
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mtl007
Jan 15, 2011
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Awesome work. I am sure the "proximity" will improve over time. Don't know whether you have some logic plus some manual data entry. If you allow people to help suggest "proximity", I am sure that it will improve quickly over a short time. |
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Top reviewer |
DragosC
Jan 15, 2011
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very nice tools. Gives me some options to look at. |
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Top contributor |
Deciazulado
Jan 15, 2011
adrian42677 "Others I can think of which I don't own but only come in a collection is Return of the Seven, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, The Magnificent Seven Ride!, Dead Pool, Silent Movie, To Be Or Not To Be & Twelve Chairs. Magnum Force, Sudden Impact and The Enforcer are part of a collection or can be bought in 2 disc set but still are individual movies."
^^ Added |
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Top reviewer Top contributor |
iceman
Jan 15, 2011
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domper9: you can't train it specifically by clicking on a title in the similar titles cloud, but it's trained by a lot of other actions on the site |
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Top reviewer |
Dorklord
Jan 16, 2011
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Very good thinking folks... I really enjoy the new 'similar titles' feature and will use it for sure! |
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vanscottie
Jan 16, 2011
If this turns out to be ANYTHING like Netflix's "If you liked that, you'll LOVE this!" feature then it won't amount to s**t!
But I'll never evaluate it because it serves no function to me
hmm I take that back, just for s**ts and giggles I clicked on "A Single Man" because by chance it's right there on my Price Tracker. Please explain how "A Single Man" is in any way simular to "Election" "Boogie Nights" "A Prophet" or "The Class"
my evaluation is complete...it doesn't amount to s**t! |
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Top contributor |
Ray_Rogers
Jan 16, 2011
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How about an "I don't care about this film" feature? |
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masob98
Jan 16, 2011
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To all the people who work on this site, I would like to commend you all on such diligence and hard work you all put into this site. Thank you very much for the time and effort you put into this amazing site. |
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Top contributor |
TheManInBlu
Jan 16, 2011
One more thing to confirm that Blu-ray.com is the best site on the Internet  It's the only site that I visit multiple times a day and being a huge movie buff, I always enjoy my visits here with everything that's going on. Big thumbs up to the crew of Blu-ray.com  |
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jckid
Jan 16, 2011
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I think the new feature is kool. They're good suggestions in case your looking for titles that are similar in genre. It works for me, good stuff. |
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clemery
Jan 16, 2011
Hmmmmmmm... in looking at the Similar Titles for Red, I am given Zombieland and Talladega Nights, but not Knight & Day??
Guess we have some time before it is reliable. |
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astroworf
Jan 16, 2011
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For all the crying here about how much Avatar is like Dances With Wolves, it's interesting to note that the latter didn't show up in the similar titles for the former. Just saying. |
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RIKANA
Jan 16, 2011
Nice:3 keep them coming:)
RI |
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cjsanche
Jan 17, 2011
Great work! I look forward to all the future improvements on Blu-ray.com. Maybe Blu-ray.com can add more technical specifications for each Blu-ray disc/movie review for example the Machete blu-ray specs are (AVC @ 36 mbps, supports pocket BLU and offer's Digital Copy and works with iTunes and Media Players. )
When I'm investing my money in a new blu-ray movie like Machete I would like to know everything about the Blu-ray package that's included as the software or hardware(discs) bundle.
It would also be a cool if Blu-ray.com was available as a mobile application for all mobile devices like iPhones, Androids, Windows and Blackberry devices especially the Blackberry device 9650. Thanks! |
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mjsmufc99
Jan 17, 2011
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This is awesome its going to lead me and many other members to further expand on the Movies which they know and love with the similar feature well in Blu-ray.com |
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Top reviewer Top contributor |
Spitfrnd
Jan 17, 2011
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I like the feature but question many of the results. It would be great for you to be able to teach it yourself by saying you like or don't like a given movie. |
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Daaark
Jan 19, 2011
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I have to wonder how the similar titles for the new UFC were compiled? Day Of the Dead? Number 23? 30 Days Of Night? |
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