Netflix Has Rolled Out Playback Speed Adjustments Globally
Netflix is always trying to find innovative new ways to offer subscribers the best experience, [...]
Netflix is always trying to find innovative new ways to offer subscribers the best experience, with last year seeing the announcement that they were introducing the option for users to adjust the playback speeds to be either faster or slower, with subscribers globally now having the options to control the playback speed if they so choose. Like with most functions the service brings to its subscribers, not everyone is a fan of the feature conceptually, though it's one that needs to be actively selected, as opposed to one that is utilized by default. Viewers can now select to watch a title slower (0.5X or 0.75X) or faster (1.25X and 1.5X).
When watching a title on their devices or through apps, users will now see an icon that looks like a speedometer, which allows you to make the playback slower or faster.
During their testing, Netflix noted the positive feedback they received in regards to accessibility.
"The National Association of the Deaf and the National Federation of the Blind have both welcomed this feature," the service shared in a blog post. "People who are deaf and have difficulty reading appreciate the option of slowing down the captioning, and people who are hard of hearing value the ability to listen at slower speeds - while many individuals who are vision impaired are used to listening to digital audio much faster (for example with screen readers)."
It added, "More than 80% of members use subtitles or closed captions at least once a month, with many of them reporting that they use dubs and subtitles to learn new languages. In the last two years, US viewing of non-English titles has increased by 33%."
Despite Netflix often introducing new features in hopes of improving experiences for subscribers, the streamer is still known to earn backlash for their efforts. The option to skip a series' opening credits, for example, has seen some creatives expressing the importance of watching these openings, largely due to these intros often including a series' credits. Similarly, when a film concludes, Netflix will often obscure or minimize the end credits to suggest a similar program the viewer might like, denying them the chance to see the hundreds of people who contributed to bringing the film to life.
With these concerns in mind, Netflix noted that they conducted a survey in which viewers who tested the feature believed that any content they watched maintained the same quality regardless of the speed at which it was played, with the service also capping playback adjustment at specific increments. For a setting like captions, they will stay on for a variety of programs once this feature was enabled, though a user will have to manually enable playback speed adjustment when they start watching a new title.
What do you think of the feature? Let us know in the comments below!
