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Netflix for Apple TV Gains 'Up Next' Feature for Automatic Episode Playback

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Apr 12, 2001
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Netflix for the Apple TV was updated today to add a new "Up Next" feature, which lets users automatically select the next episode of a television show for playback. While easy playback of the next episode in a series has been long available on the web and in the Netflix app for iOS devices, it's been noticeably missing from the Apple TV.

Prior to today's update, Apple TV users were forced to return to the main series menu to initiate the playback of the next episode of a television show, a task that required several extra button clicks. As of today, episodes in a series will play automatically, requiring far less interaction with the Apple TV remote.

appletv.jpg
"Play Next Episode" on the Apple TV works similarly to the same feature on iOS devices and on the web, playing the next episode in a series automatically after a short countdown timer. It appears that the countdown timer is only available after a user initiates the "Play Next Episode" feature manually for the first time.

Netflix's new Apple TV feature comes as the company announces its Q2 financial results, with a total 50.05 million subscribers, up from 37.56 million in Q2 2013. Netflix saw $1.34 billion in total revenue during the quarter, with net income of $71 million.

Article Link: Netflix for Apple TV Gains 'Up Next' Feature for Automatic Episode Playback
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/07/21/netflix-automatic-playback/
I hate this feature so much on iPad. Is there a way to turn it off on aTV? Thankfully I don't have it on my older Roku although if they ever update to add profiles I fear they'll likely add that too.
 
milo said:
I hate this feature so much on iPad. Is there a way to turn it off on aTV? Thankfully I don't have it on my older Roku although if they ever update to add profiles I fear they'll likely add that too.
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Why? If you don't want to play the next episode, don't select "Play next episode."

Personally I think it's a great feature.
 
YES.

I don't care about automatically playing it but I do mind the extra clicks to go back to the main list of episodes every single time.

I'm actually glad it doesn't automatically play the next episode for you, personally.
 
Just noticed this earlier. About time.

milo said:
I hate this feature so much on iPad. Is there a way to turn it off on aTV? Thankfully I don't have it on my older Roku although if they ever update to add profiles I fear they'll likely add that too.
Click to expand...

You probably don't like the automatic playback of the next episode, I'm assuming. It does that on iOS but this Apple TV update does NOT add that.
 
Prior to today's update, Apple TV users were forced to return to the main series menu to initiate the playback of the next episode of a television show, a task that required several extra button clicks. As of today, playing the next episode of a series requires only a single click on the remote as the "Play Next Episode" option pops up as soon as an episode ends.
Click to expand...

This has to be the most first world problem paragraph I've ever read.
 
T5BRICK said:
Why? If you don't want to play the next episode, don't select "Play next episode."
Click to expand...

Glad to hear that it just shows an option on the screen to play the next one. Other platforms play the next automatically, which is really annoying since it can't be turned off. Especially since it jumps to the next before the last finishes (usually the credits, but still I don't want that).
 
Now can we get this on Hulu+ please? Can't figure out why it's taken so long to implement...

I do HIGHLY approve of it requiring a bit of user interaction, though--it always rather annoyed me when Hulu on the web auto-played the next episode when I didn't want to watch it, particularly when it would do so after the final episode of a show and randomly pick the latest episode of some other show it thought I might want to watch.
 
VforVelveta said:
Prior to today's update, Apple TV users were forced to return to the main series menu to initiate the playback of the next episode of a television show, a task that required several extra button clicks. As of today, playing the next episode of a series requires only a single click on the remote as the "Play Next Episode" option pops up as soon as an episode ends.
Click to expand...

This has to be the most first world problem paragraph I've ever read.
Click to expand...

lol so true...
 
milo said:
I hate this feature so much on iPad. Is there a way to turn it off on aTV? Thankfully I don't have it on my older Roku although if they ever update to add profiles I fear they'll likely add that too.
Click to expand...

If you're talking about the auto-play of the next episode, you can disable that "feature" in your Netflix account online.

From Your Account, click on "Playback settings", un-check "play next episode automatically"

If you're talking about the prompt that allows you to simply play the next episode with one click, I think you're out of luck.
 
Unfortunately tonight was the first time I used this feature and the episode I was watching finished about thirty seconds early,then the next one started.
 
milo said:
Glad to hear that it just shows an option on the screen to play the next one. Other platforms play the next automatically, which is really annoying since it can't be turned off. Especially since it jumps to the next before the last finishes (usually the credits, but still I don't want that).
Click to expand...

I haven't used the iOS Netflix app in a while, I didn't realize it automatically started the next episode with no interaction. I'd have to play around with it to see if it bothered me.

Anyway from what I can tell the AppleTV update gives the option when the episode completes, but the user still needs to select "Play next episode" for anything to actually happen.
 
MacRumors said:
As of today, playing the next episode of a series requires only a single click on the remote as the "Play Next Episode" option pops up as soon as an episode ends.

"Play Next Episode" on the Apple TV is slightly different from the playback feature on iOS devices and on the web, which begin playing the next episode in a series automatically after a short countdown timer. The Apple TV still requires user interaction to play a new episode.
Click to expand...

It does play the next episode without user interaction... in fact, it seems to play the next episode too early for me so I can't watch the last few seconds of anything now.
 
I hate this 'feature' on PS3. (fortunately you can turn it off via the Netflix website)

You can't even dwell on the end of an episode / film anymore without being instantly kicked out of the moment by the screen shrinking to a tiny size and it force feeding you more TV / Films.

I'd love an option to 'let the credits roll'
 
Watching farscape today, and I got a countdown timer. It appears right when the credits start, and will automatically play the next episode without user interaction.
 
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