What’s On The Xbox Update For Netflix

To go along yesterday’s large Xbox Live updates, Netflix has pushed out a new user expertise for the Xbox 360. The Netflix application has undergone a complete overhaul, providing folks with a fully new look and several new features.

The new Netflix for Xbox incorporates a similar appear and feel to Xbox Live’s new dashboard. The previous scrolling navigation is there, however with a new look that predominantly options stacked rows of movie and TV art, counteracted by class. The new vogue is supposed to boost and improve browsing Netflix offerings with an Xbox Kinect.

Netflix boasts that the updated app displays three times more titles on the screen when you’re browsing and more titles overall within the app. The classes stay largely unchanged; you still see Recently Watched, Queue and every one the strangely specific genres that Netflix thinks you prefer, like “Witty Independent 20th Century Period Pieces.” Once new feature is that once a few seconds Netflix can show a screenshot of a scene from no matter movie or TV show you have selected on the main navigation screen.

Playing videos with the most recent Netflix update has changed. You'll now watch a TV show or episode whereas browsing episodes or reading a description of the video. Once a video has reached its finish, Netflix can show a banner below the video that allows you to play another episode (for TV shows) or end playback. For those acquainted with using Hulu, the banner can seem acquainted, as it's an analogous feel and appear.

If you have got an HD TV and/or a surround sound system, the update ushers in better picture and sound quality with support for 720p HD streaming and Dolby Digital five.one surround sound. This update conjointly brings Netflix to some Latin America Xbox homeowners. Chile, Brazil, Mexico, and Columbia will now stream Netflix on a Xbox 360.

While the new Netflix look has delivered significant changes to the look and feel of the app, it's also taken some options away. The ability to watch videos with a cluster of folks on totally different Xboxes, aka the Party feature, is seemingly missing, which has angered some Xbox homeowners. Additionally, while the app shows you on its home screen that buttons to continue the Xbox controller to play a video, there are not any such cues with the banner that appears at the end of a video. I can imagine they designed this with Kinect users in mind, except for those navigating with a controller it can be confusing.

Some folks, myself included, found issues with video playback generally. It might have simply been overloaded servers from the Xbox Live update, but playback was choppy and had issues with freezing.

While this update was meant to seamlessly mix with the new Xbox Dashboard, several have lashed out against Netflix. Over on the Netflix blog you can scan comments of complaints concerning the update, problems with playback and anger over the loss of the Party feature. While the look of the new Netflix is sleek and trendy, it doesn’t seem to be getting a lot of praise.

Article By: venturebeat