Netflix will now let you watch content at different speeds

With such a wealth of content on Netflix, it can be difficult to find a way to watch everything without missing some of the good stuff. For most of us, that means we end up just being selective with what we watch and if the first episode of a series doesn’t excite us, we just look elsewhere even if it may get better. What if you could still try and watch everything though, by simply skipping through those boring parts faster, would that be something you would consider? Or perhaps you feel a movie or a series is moving too fast for you and you wish you could slow it down to take it all in?

It turns out now you can do all of those things as according to The Verge, new features rolling out on the streaming service will allow viewers to play content from normal to slower (0.5X or 0.75X) or faster (1.25X and 1.5X) speeds. Interestingly though, Netflix has also worked on maintaining the original audio pitch at these different speeds, so regardless of which speed a user is viewing content at, it won’t be altered. Which makes things a lot less funny if you were hoping to watch a sped-up movie sound like it was voiced by a bunch of chipmunks, or a slowed down episode sound like a whale gathering.

There’s a catch though. While users will be able to decide which speed they’d like to view programs at, the option will have to be reselected and adjusted on each new viewing. That appears to be the case on Android, where the update is currently rolling out. The new feature is expected to be rolled out to iOS users in the near future as well, but it is unknown if the same update will be coming to the web app at any point in time or the many other versions of the app running on devices and TVs around the world.

The feature was initially announced by Netflix in 2019, but faced criticism from filmmakers who were opposed to the idea. Netflix apparently received positive responses from later test groups with their implementation though and so is now ready to take it live.

While I am personally a purist who likes to watch movies and series as they were intended, I’m sure there are many people who could find this feature useful as they make their way through their backlog without missing out on too much or slowing it down and finally understanding what it must be like to be the Flash. So, which series or movie are you going to speed through first?

Last Updated: August 3, 2020