Netflix “Custom Play Speed” on Android

By Lauren On Aug 5, 2020 Last updated Sep 29, 2020

Netflix announced add the “custom playback speed” feature. Netflix “Custom Play Speed” will be available on Android first. The Android platform will be opened soon, and the new features will also be tested on iOS and web versions in the future.

Friends who are familiar with YouTube should not be unfamiliar with it. Netflix custom variable speed playback provides two options of acceleration/deceleration, with deceleration from 0.5 times to 0,75 times; acceleration from 1.25 times to 1.5 times for playback.

Netflix said that the biggest beneficiaries of the new features are two major groups. 1. Users with dyslexia, such as those with poor eyesight and hearing, will need a slower playback speed; secondly, those who want to learn a new language.

According to platform statistics, more than 80% of subscribers will try to turn off subtitles or turn on non-native language subtitles at least once a month. In the past two years, the number of views of non-English film and television works by US subscribers has increased by 33%.
However, some people oppose Netflix to add the function of changing the playback speed, such as film workers.

Netflix first tested the custom playback speed function last year. As soon as the news came out, people in the film industry attracted terror. “The Incredibles” director Brad Bird once said, “Why does Netflix support the development of the film industry while trying to disrupt the way the film is presented?”

In the face of doubts from professionals, Netflix treats viewers as a “shield.” The platform survey results pointed out that the custom variable-speed function will not affect viewers’ views on content quality.

“We have also noticed the hidden worries of creators. This is why we have to limit the playback speed.” Netflix emphasized that viewers’ speed of watching a new movie is the original speed and will not continue the previous speed setting.

Earlier (in the DVD era), custom playback speed was a must-have feature of every DVD player. Still, DVD player manufacturers have never been criticized.

Nevertheless, Netflix is still cautiously afraid of offending the film industry. Whether it is testing or officially launching, it uses small screen phones as the starting platform.

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