Netflix button
{{short description|Button on remote controllers}}
The Netflix button is a button available on many modern remote controllers, used to directly connect to the popular streaming service Netflix. It was initially implemented in America in 2011.{{Cite web |title=Netflix Partnering With Major TV Makers To Add A Netflix Button To TV Remotes |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-button-tv-remotes-2011-1 |last=Yarow |first=Jay |website=Business Insider |access-date=2020-04-23}} In 2015, the button was added to European remotes.{{Cite web|title=Netflix is about to get much easier to use|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/netflix-buttons-to-be-added-to-tv-remotes-10150833.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/netflix-buttons-to-be-added-to-tv-remotes-10150833.html |archive-date=2022-06-18 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|date=2015-04-02|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2020-04-30}} This button sends a Netflix hotkey command to the television or streaming player and opens up the Netflix app.
Adoption
File:Google ATV Reference RCU G10 - Netflix button.jpg reference RCU remote]]
File:Netflix button on Sharp Aquos remote 20131106.jpg TV remote]]
Many popular TV companies have adopted the Netflix button, including: LG, Samsung, Sony, and Hisense. Some of the TVs have made it to a list that Netflix has dubbed the "Netflix Recommended TVs". These are TVs that have a Netflix button on them which Netflix recommends to their subscribers to get the best viewing experience for their service.{{Cite web|title=Netflix Recommended TVs {{!}} Built for a better Netflix experience|url=https://devices.netflix.com/en/recommendedtv/|website=devices.netflix.com|access-date=2015-05-01}} Some low-end laptop computers in emerging markets also ship with streaming buttons (or rather keys), typically including Netflix.{{cite AV media |author=Canal do Shin|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEOZh0s-TKA |title=Notebook Positivo: Como ativar as teclas Netflix, Deezer e YouTube |via=YouTube|date=2023-05-29 |access-date=2024-01-24 |language=pt}} Brazilian OEM Positivo has been including Netflix keys on their laptops since 2018.{{Cite web|title=Positivo lança notebooks Motion e Vaio no Brasil; veja os preços|url=https://www.techtudo.com.br/noticias/2018/07/positivo-lanca-notebooks-motion-e-vaio-no-brasil-veja-os-precos.ghtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124135624/https://www.techtudo.com.br/noticias/2018/07/positivo-lanca-notebooks-motion-e-vaio-no-brasil-veja-os-precos.ghtml |archive-date=2024-01-24 |url-status=live|date=2018-07-26 |website=TechTudo |language=pt |access-date=2024-01-24}}
Mechanism
The Netflix button only works on those TVs that support it, this includes: "Smart TVs, game consoles, streaming media players, set-top boxes, and Blu-ray players".{{Cite web|title=How can I watch Netflix on my TV?|url=https://help.netflix.com/en/node/33222|website=Help Center|language=en|access-date=2020-05-01}} Although hard-programmed on many devices, the Netflix button as of recent has been opening up to re-purposing. On the NVIDIA Shield, the remote has a Netflix button that can be reprogrammed very easily using a program on the device.{{Cite web|title=Here's how to repurpose the Netflix button on the new Shield TV remote|url=https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/10/30/shield-tv-remote-remap-netflix/|date=2019-10-31|website=Android Police|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-23}}
Netflix, in 2015, had also open-sourced a design for consumers to create their own Netflix button with additional features.{{Cite web|title=Personal Trainer {{!}} Make It by Netflix|url=http://makeit.netflix.io/|website=makeit.netflix.io|language=en|access-date=2015-05-01|archive-date=2017-03-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321121841/http://makeit.netflix.io/|url-status=dead}} Labeled "The Switch", this homemade device can dim the lights, silence incoming phone calls, order take-out, and open Netflix with one button press. The Switch is part of a series of DIY projects Netflix created, knows as "Netflix Make It" for their consumers to learn more about programming and create their own projects.
Criticism
The introduction of the Netflix button was criticized; an article from "The Verge" says that the button comes as a constant advertisement on a device you had already paid up to thousands of dollars for. Arguing that the buttons are "putting making money ahead of actual user experience or design".{{Cite web|title=The Netflix button is an advertisement masquerading as a product|url=https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2020/4/24/21232655/netflix-button-tv-remotes-advertisement-marketing-streaming|last=Gartenberg|first=Chaim|date=2020-04-24|website=The Verge|language=en|access-date=2020-04-28}} Initially, concerns had been raised about whether the button violates the principle of net neutrality, by putting its streaming competitors in disadvantage.{{cite web|last1=Effros|first1=Steve|title=The "Netflix Button" Violates "Net Neutrality"|url=http://www.digitalsociety.org/2011/01/the-netflix-button-violates-net-neutrality|website=digitalsociety.org|access-date=26 October 2021|date=5 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109103239/http://www.digitalsociety.org/2011/01/the-netflix-button-violates-net-neutrality|archive-date=9 January 2011}} A common complaint is that someone who is not a Netflix subscriber who accidentally presses the Netflix button is taken to a useless screen.
A popular option for streaming services, Roku, has 4 separate streaming buttons on their remotes. Each of these buttons cost the streaming service one dollar per unit sold.{{Cite web|title=Roku Charges $1 Million For Home Page Takeovers, & Branded Remote Buttons Go For $1 Per Customer|url=https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/roku-charges-1-million-for-home-page-takeovers-branded-remote-buttons-go-for-1-per-customer/|last=Bouma|first=Luke|date=2019-12-12|website=Cord Cutters News|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-28}} The Roku has many different buttons for the consumer to choose, but most of the remotes feature a Netflix button on them.
By the early 2020s other streaming services and media, such as Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Samsung TV Plus, Spotify, Crunchyroll, YouTube, and Disney+, also had got their own buttons.{{Cite web|last=Pocket-lint|date=2020-09-11|title=PS5 Media Remote to get Netflix, Disney+ and Spotify buttons|url=https://www.pocket-lint.com/games/news/playstation/153738-playstation-5-media-remote-disney-plus-netflix-spotify-youtube|access-date=2021-04-15|website=www.pocket-lint.com|language=en-gb}}