Netflix Extends Xbox Support to Latin America
Netflix released a new member experience on Wednesday for Xbox 360 that makes it easier to discover and instantly watch TV shows and movies streaming from Netflix on the Microsoft entertainment console. In addition, Netflix members in Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico can enjoy Netflix on their TVs using Xbox.
“For the first time, the Netflix interface on Xbox has been created entirely by Netflix, offering a unique member experience,” said Neil Hunt, chief product officer at Netflix.
“The new Netflix interface provides the best experience for watching TV shows and movies on Xbox, with significant improvements in browsing titles and a richer playback experience together with voice and gesture interactions.”
The new Netflix experience on Xbox 360 offers:
- Up to three times as many titles available on a single screen
- Display of three related titles at the end of a movie
- An easy way to play the next episode following a TV show
- Rich interaction during play, including display of related titles, rating capability, control of subtitles and audio settings, all simply by engaging the bottom of the screen
- Control of the Netflix browsing and play experience with voice and gestures through Kinect for Xbox 360
- Adaptive streaming that automatically optimizes the picture quality based on the available bandwidth
- Support for 720p high definition (HD) streaming and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound
Current Netflix members who already use Xbox will receive the new experience included in the Dec. 6 Xbox update from Microsoft.
Netflix members who don’t currently use Xbox can download and install the Netflix application from within the Xbox Marketplace. An Xbox LIVE Gold membership, high-speed Internet connection and a Netflix unlimited streaming membership are required.
As part of an expanded agreement with Microsoft, Netflix now offers Xbox support to members in Latin America in countries where Microsoft Xbox LIVE Gold is available (Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.)
The expanded agreement with Microsoft also allows Netflix to offer Xbox support in other countries into which Netflix expands. Netflix has announced plans to expand to the United Kingdom and Ireland in early 2012.
