Changes are coming to Netflix’s TV apps, but are they for the better?

By Kris Wouk July 23, 2015

new on netflix — Image used with permission by copyright holder

As the most popular platform by virtually all measurements, Netflix is a rock in the fast-flowing river of video streaming. Yes, it was one of the first options widely available, but apart from its massive catalog of content, the apps for the service have been mainstays in the industry in terms of look and feel.

Now, Netflix is rolling out the first major update to its TV apps since they were overhauled on a singular platform back in 2013. Unveiled in a recent blog post, the primary consumer-facing change will be a new design that launches titles in the background immediately after you select them.

“Now when you select a title, it will start or resume playing while displaying key information to help you confirm your choice,” Netflix’s Joubert Nel wrote in a post on the company’s blog. “We’re letting the content speak for itself by providing a more immersive and cinematic experience that best represents the capabilities and expectations of today’s TVs.”

The change seems to have users split. On one hand, Netflix is certainly right in that actually seeing a bit of a show or movie alongside the description gives you a better idea of whether or not it’s for you than the description alone. On the other hand, anyone who has accidentally started playing a title when simply trying to read the full description may want more direct control over playback. In addition, the the script appears to be a little bit in the way when streaming commences.

There may be additional changes and performance improvements under the hood, but if that is the case, Netflix isn’t saying. It seems that this update simply pushes out this single feature, perhaps so it can be quickly changed in case of user backlash.

Given the sheer amount of TVs Netflix supports, it’s hard to say when your particular model will get the update. According to Netflix the changes started rolling out globally yesterday and will continue to make its way to eligible devices “over the following days.”

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

Entertainment

Netflix’s 3 Body Problem is missing the one thing that made Game of Thrones great

Ye Wenjie sits in front of a radio dish controller in 3 Body Problem.

Netflix's 3 Body Problem isn't just the streaming service's long-awaited adaptation of the acclaimed Chinese science fiction novel of the same name by Liu Cixin. It's also Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss' follow-up to their HBO smash hit. In many ways, the Netflix series, which Benioff and Weiss co-created with Alexander Woo, is a worthy successor to a show like Thrones. Like that game-changing HBO drama, it's an adaptation of the kind of famously complex source material that many understandably believed to be unadaptable.

To Benioff, Weiss, and Woo's credit, they prove that's not true across 3 Body Problem's debut eight-episode season. Together, the trio and their collaborators successfully streamline the science-driven narrative of Cixin's original novel, turning it into an episodic story that is both easily digestible and propulsive. While 3 Body Problem gets a lot right, though, it's missing the one thing that made Game of Thrones such a beloved show in the first place. To put it frankly, its characters just aren't all that memorable.
A rich foundation
3 Body Problem | Official Trailer | Netflix

Audio / Video

OLED vs. LED: Which kind of TV display is better?

LG G1 OLED evo vs. Sony A90J OLED.

If you're shopping for a new TV, you've probably stumbled upon products that use OLED, LED, QLED, and even QD-OLED to describe their display. The world of electronics moves fast, and while the world was once in the throes of debating plasma vs. LCD, the game has now shifted to focus on an assortment of LED-based designs.

Trying to wrap your head around all the jargon can be challenging, especially since many of the terms look and sound nearly identical. Toss in quality disparities between brands and price tags that run from a few hundred bucks to well over $2,000, and it's easy to get overwhelmed when looking for TVs.

Audio / Video

YouTube TV just got even better on iPhones and iPads

Multiview on YouTube TV on an iPad.

If you use the most popular live-streaming service on an iPhone or iPad, things just got even better. YouTube TV — which boasts more than 8 million subscribers — just pushed multiview live on Apple's mobile devices, as previously promised.

It works basically the same way it does on a television. YouTube TV picks the programs available in multiview, and you get them all at once, with audio coming from one of the shows. Tap another, and the audio switches. And just as before, you can get multiview for sports, news, business, or weather. (Though we definitely don't recommend watching four news channels at once in an election year.) It's just in time for March Madness, which is great, though we hope you'll be able to pick your own games instead of just sticking with the multiple viewing options YouTube TV gives. This will be great come fall, though, when the new season of NFL Sunday Ticket takes hold.