Netflix is reportedly experimenting with allowing viewers to control time

The Verge reports:

Netflix is letting people choose the speed at which they want to watch something on their phone or tablet with new playback controls.

Netflix will allow anyone on an Android mobile device to stream at either 0.5x or 0.75x speeds for slowed-down viewing and 1.25x or 1.5x speeds for faster watching. Those are slightly fewer options than YouTube, which allows people to slow all the way down to 0.25x speeds, and speed up by twice the normal playback speed. Playback speed options are also available on downloaded titles that people have saved for offline viewing.

Netflix had previously announced this plan back in October 2019, which promptly pissed some people off.

No @Netflix no. Dont make me have to call every director and show creator on Earth to fight you on this. Save me the time. I will win but it will take a ton of time. Dont fuck with our timing. We give you nice things. Leave them as they were intended to be seen. https://t.co/xkprLM44oC

— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) October 28, 2019

No. Thats not how it works. Distributors dont get to change the way the content is presented. Doing so is a breaking of trust and wont be tolerated by the people who provide it. Let the people who dont care put it in their contracts that they dont care. Most all do. https://t.co/ZPQPpgTXOc

— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) October 28, 2019

A spokesperson for Netflix assured The Verge that they've "been mindful of the concerns of some creators," which is why they've "capped the range of playback speeds and require members to vary the speed each time they watch something new versus fixing their settings based on the last speed they used." Read the rest