- Netflix on Apple TV no longer supports the tvOS video player
- This causes small but annoying changes
- But it also means that some features are now missing from the operating system
Netflix has changed the way its app works on Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K streaming devices, and given how popular these devices are with home theater enthusiasts, it’s no surprise that many viewers are unhappy with the results of this particular update.
Instead of using the built-in video player software of the tvOS operating system and the screen, which guarantees a consistent experience regardless of the streaming service you use, Netflix decided to do things differently. Netflix has now replaced the tvOS player with its own custom player, and that player doesn’t just look different, it also doesn’t work with many of the playback features that users have used for years.
Netflix isn’t the only broadcaster doing this; Disney+ uses its own player as well. But the Netflix player removes some basic functions when you skip or play shows and the changes don’t work well for some viewers. (And it’s not the first time that Netflix has broken away from integration with Apple technology — it already skipped the Apple TV’s Up Next category.)
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What has Netflix done to the Apple TV app?
The Netflix app update changed some standard features. For example, if you click rewind or fast forward on your Apple TV remote, the normal behavior is that the show will skip backwards or forwards by 10 seconds, and users are used to this.
No more: as viewer iamonreddit explained, “now it stops and brings up the frame selector, then you have to click again. Did they do no research or usability testing before releasing this? It’s not smooth at all.”
According to FlatpanelsHD there are many other features of the tvOS player that are now not available in the Netflix app including active subtitles that start when you pause or mute the show; the option to use the Enhancement Box; details and video/audio format details in a slide-up menu, the ability to double-tap and find out when a show or movie ends, and integration with the ‘Remote Control’ app on iPhone and iPad.
That might sound like a lot of fuss over nothing, but one of the reasons people buy an Apple TV is for its intuitive user interface: a great place to spend time. And when apps conflict with that, for example to deliver the same experience you can get on Fire TV or an Android device, they make the experience on Apple TV worse – maybe not much, but enough to be another annoyance. And irritants accumulate.
But it may not be just about the interface. Some Redditors shared their bad Netflix experiences. “New player is terrible. And 4K doesn’t look like 4K,” posted lusid1. Leckie described “constant quality issues… things will go on autopilot and I need to force close the app… nothing else has a problem and all other apps work fine.” And aisuperman is “on the cusp of unsubscribing from a video player from the 2000s.”
I think redditor b2717 put it best: “to me it’s like someone moved all the door handles in my house to one side, next to the hinges. They may work technically, but it makes using them difficult and annoying. And every time I’m reminded how unnecessary it all is.”
This also comes hot on the heels of Netflix announcing yet another price hike in the US, including the second price hike on the Premium plan in just 14 months, so people will be wondering if they want to keep the service.
Reddit user motorik puts his opinion simply: “The latest Netflix app update ‘unsubscribe time’ is bad.”
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