Netflix updates Xbox 360 app with Kinect control, still lacks 1080p streaming

By Mike Flacy December 7, 2011

Netflix_New_Xbox_360_Experience_FINAL — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Mentioned within an official blog post earlier today, Netflix announced a redesigned version of the Xbox 360 interface that now includes more extensive gesture and voice control in conjunction with the Kinect accessory. Subscribers of Netflix can put down the controller and search for content with voice commands as well as scroll through the box art with gestures. According to Netflix, the redesigned interface allows users to browse up to three times the amount of titles on a high definition screen compared to the previous layout of the application. Other improvements to the application includes interaction with ratings, subtitle settings and related title suggestions. The Netflix application is also tied into the universal search function for the Xbox 360, assuming the Xbox 360 owner is also subscribed to Xbox Live.

Also announced in the upgrade, the Netflix application supports adaptive video streaming to constantly adjust the quality of the picture based on changes in bandwidth. Videos play up to 720p resolution and also include Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound support. However, the application does not support 1080p streaming yet. This leaves the Xbox 360 at a disadvantage to the PlayStation 3 as well as set-top box devices like the Roku 2 XS. Streaming in 1080p resolution has been available on the PlayStation 3 since October 2010. The new version of the application also doesn’t support Dolby Digital Plus, a codec that’s often touted by Dolby as being more efficient in delivering data.

The Netflix application can be downloaded for free within the Xbox Live dashboard, but requires the standard $7.99 a month fee for access to streaming movies and television shows. If the Netflix application was already installed previous to the dashboard update, the new version will be automatically installed with the main update to the user interface. Netflix also announced that the application is now available to Xbox 360 owners in Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico since Xbox Live memberships have been extended to those countries.

Topics

Contributing Editor

By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…

Gaming

A game that’s just about clicking a banana is going viral on Steam

An illustration of a regular banana against an olive green b ackground.

A new game is rising on the Steam most-played charts, and it's not a new battle royale or Call of Duty game. It's a free-to-play clicker game where all you do is click an illustration of a banana.

At the time of this writing, Banana has around 434,000 concurrent players, but it peaked in the past 24 hours at around 480,000. Over the course of the day, it's risen in the charts above Apex Legends, PUBG: Battlegrounds, and Elden Ring, which are all regularly at the top of the Steam player charts. All of this information comes from SteamDB, a third-party site that tracks Steam data.

Gaming

Civilization 7: release date window, trailers, gameplay, and more

Figures walking through the dessert in Civilization 7.

The announcement of a new Civilization game is one of the only things that strikes both joy and fear into the hearts of fans in equal measure. On one hand, they know they're about to begin one of the most engaging, frustrating, rewarding, and deep 4X game ever created. On the other, they know that booting this game up has the mystical power to fast forward time multiple hours in the blink of an eye. You might start a game at 9 p.m. and only plan to play a few rounds, only to look back at the clock and see that it's 6 a.m. the following morning. Before you start coming up with excuses to get out of work and stockpiling microwavable food, here's everything we know so far about Civilization 7.
Release date window
The release window for Civilization 7 is currently 2025. If we were to guess, we would say it would be a fall or winter release that year, but more details will help narrow down the timeframe soon.
Platforms

Even though 2025 will be the fifth year of the current generation of consoles, Civilization 7 is already confirmed to be a cross-generational game. It will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and even Nintendo Switch.
Trailers
Sid Meier’s Civilization VII - Official Teaser Trailer

Gaming

New mainline Shovel Knight game will bring a ‘new dimension’ to the series

Shovel Knight with his weapon standing in front of a night sky with a full moon.

Now enterting its second decade of existence, the Shovel Knight series is getting some major updates, including a whole new mainline game that was announced Friday.

Yacht Club Games founder Sean Velasco didn't reveal much during the studio's 10th anniversary showcase, but said the game, which has been in the works for around four years, "honors the shovel knight legacy" while integrating "innovative gameplay mechanics." This is purposefully vague, but his statement that it'll be a "bold new adventure that'll launch Shovel Knight into an entirely new dimension of gaming" makes us think that 3D might be on the horizon.