Tag Archives: watch instantly

Netflix testing ‘Max’ assistant on some PS3 users to improve movie recommendations

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Netflix testing 'Max' assistant on some PS3 users to improve movie recommendations

It's not available to all, but if you're running the latest version (2.08) of the Netflix app on your PlayStation 3 you may see a prompt for a new item called Netflix Max, spotted by one of our readers. Described by a PR rep we contacted as a "new user experience" the company is testing, the assistant talks to users directly and asks them to rate a few movies on the spot before providing new suggestions. The Noisecast was among the first to try out the new experience and even has a few tips on how to get it for yourself, although it didn't work on our PS3, even after uninstalling and reinstalling the app to get the latest version. The blog mentioned it does more than simply rating movies also, as it sometimes asked users to select movies based on specific criteria, like the starring actors. It can be brought up by pressing the square button on your PS3 controller, although how much you enjoy the gameified experience may vary.

Pulling gems out of a catalog filled with older and lower profile movies is a complaint of many Netflix subscribers though, so any attempt to help is welcome, but we're not immediately sure this is the way. According to Netflix, it's waiting to see if the tool leads to "increased interaction" (read: more viewing hours / less likely to cancel, on average) before deciding whether or not to roll the tool out widely, so if you have it and like it, vote with your remotes.

[Thanks, Sean aka Prophet Beal]

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Netflix testing 'Max' assistant on some PS3 users to improve movie recommendations originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t worry, you’re not the only one: Netflix is currently down, admins hard at work (Update: back up)

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Don't worry, you're not the only one Netflix is currently down, admins hard at work

What to do on this Friday night? If your answer to that age old question was "Netflix," then you likely received a bit of a rude shock this evening upon discovery that the company's video streaming service is currently out-of-whack. If you're wondering why that is, it appears to be tied to some of Amazon's EC2 servers in Virgina losing power due to the bad weather there. As VentureBeat notes, it's a problem which is also affecting sites like Instagram and Pinterest at the moment. For its part, Netflix has acknowledged the issue via its Twitter account, to which it states, "We're aware that some members are experiencing issues streaming movies and TV shows. We're working to resolve the problem." So, there you have it. Now the only question that remains is whether you'll break out one of those red envelopes, fire up Hulu Plus or venture out to the theater to satiate your movie desires.

Update: @Netflix just tweeted that everyone should be back up, or will be shortly. The Amazon AWS dashboard indicates it's recovering as of 3:13AM, so all should be ready for your tilt-shifted Saturday brunch pics and subsequent dream board updates.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Don't worry, you're not the only one: Netflix is currently down, admins hard at work (Update: back up) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jun 2012 00:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netflix fires back in UK streaming war, says it has Fox TV shows too, plus Arrested Development

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Just days after Lovefilm touted its TV and movie deal with 20th Century Fox, Netflix UK is promoting its own TV show additions from the studio, including an exclusive on The League. While we're not sure how well a comedy about Fantasy (North American) Football will go over across the pond, it's also adding Modern Family, Lie to Me, Sons of Anarchy and more, and points out it already has series like 24 and Prison Break that Lovefilm is just now adding. The highest profile piece however, is Netflix's exclusive hold on a new season of the old Fox show Arrested Development, set to premiere in 2013. The press release with the full list is after the break, contrast and compare your options to see which streaming service (if either) is a good fit.

Continue reading Netflix fires back in UK streaming war, says it has Fox TV shows too, plus Arrested Development

Netflix fires back in UK streaming war, says it has Fox TV shows too, plus Arrested Development originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 05:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netflix goes ‘beyond five stars’ in a more detailed explanation of recommendations

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Netflix goes 'beyond five stars' in a more detailed explanation of recommendations

The Netflix Tech Blog produced part one of a deep dive into how its recommendations work back in April and now the team is back with the other half. If you're among the many wondering why certain movies get pushed to the front of your recommendations and others don't, the key is their attempt to predict, mostly based on data from other users, what you will both play and enjoy. The most interesting bit we found? There's a lot more at play here than just popularity, as one graph shows ratings plus the team's other optimizations improving rankings over the baseline by 200+ percent. Data parsing heads should definitely dig hearing about logistic regression, elastic nets and matrix factorization (job applications are accepted at the end if you make it that far), while those of us that fall asleep when the spreadsheets come out can probably focus on the broader strokes of Netflix's testing methodology and approach.

Netflix goes 'beyond five stars' in a more detailed explanation of recommendations originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jun 2012 00:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNetflix Tech Blog  | Email this | Comments

Netflix app for the Nintendo Wii U, pictured

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Netflix app for Nintendo's Wii U, pictured

Nintendo vowed at E3 to provide Netflix on the Wii U, but tracking down the mythical streaming video beast has proven elusive. Thankfully, Engadget has obtained the first shots illustrating how it will work. While it's a prototype that could easily change between now and the Wii U's holiday release (or whenever the app is available), what we've seen so far makes it clear Netflix will milk that second screen for all it's worth. The GamePad is normally used to browse the movie queue and playback controls without distracting from the video on the TV. Should Junior want to catch up on his favorite flick while you're on a Breaking Bad marathon, the reverse will also work: the video can play on the controller while the TV is at most used to show what's playing, and more likely switched over to your DVR. Questions still remain on deck, like whether or not the video can seamlessly hand off from one screen to the other, but for now it's nice to see that Netflix on the Wii U is more than just a quick-and-dirty port.

Gallery: Netflix on Wii U early images

Netflix app for the Nintendo Wii U, pictured originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netflix for iOS updated with a new player UI, support for alternate language audio and more

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Netflix for iOS updated with a new player UI, support for alternate language audio

There's still no word available on HD video streaming, but Netflix has just released version 2.2 of its app for iPhones and iPads. While the front end got tablet friendly in December and received a Retina Display makeover in March, this version brings a new player UI to all iOS devices. The new scrub bar seems much easier to reach and control now, while the button for subtitles has a received a tweak reminiscent of the new look recently pushed to Netflix's web based player. Also under that button is a new option allowing for alternate language soundtracks (where available), while the changelog goes on to mention "general performance improvements". Not documented but present is the addition of thumbnails in that scrub bar, easier access to "do not share" for Facebook-connected members and the ability to restrict streaming to WiFi-only in the settings. The new version is shown above, check after the break for a grab of the old player to see the difference. As always, the latest update can be found in the app store, we'll let you know if we hear of any extra details or changes on other platforms.

Continue reading Netflix for iOS updated with a new player UI, support for alternate language audio and more

Netflix for iOS updated with a new player UI, support for alternate language audio and more originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 21:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceiTunes, Netflix UK Blog  | Email this | Comments

Netflix web streaming interface gets a new look with bigger icons, embedded previews

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Netflix web streaming interface gets a new look with bigger icons, embedded previews

With the exception of tweaks for new features like HD video and closed captioning Netflix's Silverlight-based web player has been largely unchanged for years, but today everything is being reworked. As detailed in a post on the company's blog, PC and Mac users (no word on ChromeOS) the size of the player controls now scale to the window they're in and replace words with icons. Other new features users will notice is the ability to preview additional episodes of TV series without stopping the stream, title information that pops up when the stream is paused and that full screen viewing now has the same options as the windows player. The finale tweak is that the back to browsing button that brings viewers back to their queue has shifted from the bottom right to the top left. Hit the blog for the full breakdown, or just expect a surprise tomorrow when you're watching Downton Abbey at work Drive in the comfort of your own home during leisure time.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Netflix web streaming interface gets a new look with bigger icons, embedded previews originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNetflix Blog  | Email this | Comments

Netflix Q1 results: 3 million new streaming subscribers worldwide, record viewing hours

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Netflix Q1 2012 earnings

Netflix has posted its earnings report for Q1 of 2012, and reveals its streaming subscriber count in the US is currently 23.4 million, after reaching 21.67 million back in January. While the company noted a net loss of about $5 million, the letter from CEO Reed Hastings and CFO David Wells claimed it is still on a "rapid return" to profitability after last year's missteps and international expansions. Worldwide it now counts a total of 26 million subscribers to the streaming service, although it lost another million or so subscribers to discs, which currently number 10.09 million. That old disc business is still highly profitable however, adding $146 million to the bottom line. Internationally, Netflix added more customers in its first three months of UK / Ireland availability than it did in the same period for Latin America or Canada, and expects its Canadian service to be profitable a quarter earlier than expected.

Reed Hastings also took the opportunity to toss another barb at Comcast for its bandwidth cap-exempt Xfinity TV Xbox 360 app, claiming it should either raise its caps, make them apply to all services including its own or eliminate them entirely. Another development in Q1 was the loss of streaming titles from Starz but it claims that caused no discernible change in viewing or subscriber hours, while customers continue to lean towards streaming TV episodes over movies. Hit the source links below to paw through the PDF and spreadsheet for yourself, we'll let you know if any interesting tidbits are revealed on the earnings call later today.

Netflix Q1 results: 3 million new streaming subscribers worldwide, record viewing hours originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNetflix Q1 '12 letter to shareholders (PDF), Q1 statements (XLS)  | Email this | Comments