Netflix faced heavy criticism from Hollywood creators last year over plans to add variable playback to its service. The company held off and said they didn't have plans to launch it. But now, the streaming service has changed its mind, and it'll start testing the feature out with Android users first, and then will be coming to iOS and the web soon. (Netflix didn't mention TV or set-top box apps). Once it rolls out, Android users can slow down videos at 0.5x or 0.75x playback speeds or speed them up by 1.25x or 1.5x.
The feature has been requested by its users for a while and has finally decided to heed these requests. Netflix's Vice President Keela Robison acknowledges concerns from directors like Judd Apatow and others about how this option could distort their art, so the company decided to cap fast-forward speeds at 1.5x. And variable playback settings need to be enabled manually every time you watch a video.
Robison wrote in a blog post, "Similar functionality has been available on DVD players and DVRs for years and the feature has been much requested by members. Most important of all, our tests show that consumers value the flexibility it provides whether it's rewatching their favourite scene or slowing things down because they're watching with subtitles or have hearing difficulties."
She also mentioned a user survey claiming that users didn't perceive the content any differently while watching at different speeds. Although, that might be hard to prove.
Source: Engadget