Netflix is getting a technology makeover. I don't
Post# of 17653
Posted On: 11/13/2013 8:20:16 PM
Netflix is getting a technology makeover.
I don't see any connection With DUTV but sure is a exciting piece to read What I like most is Netflix has been testing the new software on hundreds of thousands of users since April. It will be available to all members globally within two weeks.
AND ...The new software will be seen by viewers watching Netflix on their TV sets, which accounts for a majority of the roughly five billion hours of Netflix viewing each quarter.
Thats alot friggin hours.....O-well I know something was posted regarding this Have fun.
The streaming video provider is rolling out a new version of the software interface subscribers use when surfing for TV shows or movies to watch. The changes, described by the company, have a theme: Netflix is trying to do a better job of marketing individual pieces of content to users rather than simply lining up a bunch of options on the screen.
When users scroll over a TV show icon in the new interface, for example, they’ll see a carousel of show photos and a few lines of text, determined by an algorithm, that indicate why a viewer should watch it. It might note that a user’s friends have watched the show, or that the show won a certain number of Emmy awards.
The new software will be seen by viewers watching Netflix on their TV sets, which accounts for a majority of the roughly five billion hours of Netflix viewing each quarter. (The software in tablets and smartphones is dealt with separately and won’t get the upgrade.) Netflix has been testing the new software on hundreds of thousands of users since April. It will be available to all members globally within two weeks.
[More from WSJ: Twitter to Allow Customized Timelines ]
The bigger change is one that users can’t see: it’s a shift in the architecture of Netflix’s technology. Up to now, Netflix has had to create slightly different versions of its software for various consumer electronics devices – smart TVs, and connected devices plugged into TVs, including Xbox and PlayStation gaming consoles, and Blu-ray players.
That has posed challenges, forcing Netflix to prioritize and leave some devices without certain features. Users accessing Netflix through Roku boxes, for example, still don’t have a Netflix “Just for Kids” browsing option. “There’s a tradeoff,” says Chris Jaffe, vice president of product innovation at Netflix. “When you roll out new features some platforms can get left behind.”
The new software solves that. Jaffe says the company has essentially created a Netflix operating system that works across multiple devices and can periodically be updated with new features that each device will then be able to take advantage of.
[More from WSJ: Amazon Plans to Offer Desktops in the Cloud ]
There are other benefits: Netflix’s older software was based on open-source technology that provided support for a lot of things Netflix doesn’t need for TV viewers, like mobile phone support, and therefore was inefficient. The new operating system includes only the pieces of technology Netflix needs to power TV streaming.
Devices that will support the new Netflix software include PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Roku 3, the latest smart TVs and recent Blu-ray players. Though the changes won’t affect how Netflix looks on the web, iPads or via Apple TV, Jaffe says: “The general theme we’re doing here would be obvious to extend to other platforms.”
I don't see any connection With DUTV but sure is a exciting piece to read What I like most is Netflix has been testing the new software on hundreds of thousands of users since April. It will be available to all members globally within two weeks.
AND ...The new software will be seen by viewers watching Netflix on their TV sets, which accounts for a majority of the roughly five billion hours of Netflix viewing each quarter.
Thats alot friggin hours.....O-well I know something was posted regarding this Have fun.
The streaming video provider is rolling out a new version of the software interface subscribers use when surfing for TV shows or movies to watch. The changes, described by the company, have a theme: Netflix is trying to do a better job of marketing individual pieces of content to users rather than simply lining up a bunch of options on the screen.
When users scroll over a TV show icon in the new interface, for example, they’ll see a carousel of show photos and a few lines of text, determined by an algorithm, that indicate why a viewer should watch it. It might note that a user’s friends have watched the show, or that the show won a certain number of Emmy awards.
The new software will be seen by viewers watching Netflix on their TV sets, which accounts for a majority of the roughly five billion hours of Netflix viewing each quarter. (The software in tablets and smartphones is dealt with separately and won’t get the upgrade.) Netflix has been testing the new software on hundreds of thousands of users since April. It will be available to all members globally within two weeks.
[More from WSJ: Twitter to Allow Customized Timelines ]
The bigger change is one that users can’t see: it’s a shift in the architecture of Netflix’s technology. Up to now, Netflix has had to create slightly different versions of its software for various consumer electronics devices – smart TVs, and connected devices plugged into TVs, including Xbox and PlayStation gaming consoles, and Blu-ray players.
That has posed challenges, forcing Netflix to prioritize and leave some devices without certain features. Users accessing Netflix through Roku boxes, for example, still don’t have a Netflix “Just for Kids” browsing option. “There’s a tradeoff,” says Chris Jaffe, vice president of product innovation at Netflix. “When you roll out new features some platforms can get left behind.”
The new software solves that. Jaffe says the company has essentially created a Netflix operating system that works across multiple devices and can periodically be updated with new features that each device will then be able to take advantage of.
[More from WSJ: Amazon Plans to Offer Desktops in the Cloud ]
There are other benefits: Netflix’s older software was based on open-source technology that provided support for a lot of things Netflix doesn’t need for TV viewers, like mobile phone support, and therefore was inefficient. The new operating system includes only the pieces of technology Netflix needs to power TV streaming.
Devices that will support the new Netflix software include PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Roku 3, the latest smart TVs and recent Blu-ray players. Though the changes won’t affect how Netflix looks on the web, iPads or via Apple TV, Jaffe says: “The general theme we’re doing here would be obvious to extend to other platforms.”
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