Netflix Labs Tells You: How to Create a Smart TV Future

The Verge foreign media was invited to visit Netflix's new project for smart TV. The project aims to test the experience of various televisions on the market when playing Netflix, and conducts certification recommendations for televisions that meet the test requirements.


In the test process, what test standards does Netflix have for smart TVs? How do video sites evaluate current smart TV types?

The following is an in-depth summary of The Verge:

Netflix is ​​testing a variety of brands of TVs, hoping to shape the Netflix service and the future of televisions.

At the headquarters of Netflix, there is an unassuming white small room named "SHU" (Special Housing Unit). This is a tribute to one of Netflix's most popular original drama series, the Women's Prison (Orange Is The New Black). Just like the SHU in the series, the room at Netflix’s headquarters is also a place for “punishment” - it's just that the object is not a prisoner but a TV.

The SHU is actually an electrostatically shielded room where outside signals cannot enter. The company is here to test the latest televisions for a new project. If a manufacturer’s TV provides a good Netflix playback experience, it will be certified for the project. This experience includes: The app can be launched quickly; when the user opens the Netflix app again on the TV, the app can remember what program they were watching when they were last closed.

Software and hardware requirements

This certification program began in January this year, but until now, it began testing new models this year. The company invited a team of reporters to a day trip to the Netflix headquarters in Los Gatos, California, and showed them the project. Currently only about 20 televisions have obtained this unique certification from the company. Netflix hopes to increase this number for the rest of the year. Netflix also plans to keep its certification requirements up to date, not only keeping pace with the development of new television technology, but also promoting the formation of new standards.


Getting Netflix certified is not a simple matter. These televisions need to pass certain benchmark tests, many of which are related to speed. For example, a Netflix app must start within a certain amount of time. Once you press the Play button on the remote control, the video must be played within a certain amount of time. In addition, if you watch the program pause on the Netflix app, do something else on your TV, such as watching sports scores, or reading about local news, and then when you switch back to the Netflix app, you need to spend How long will it take to watch the previous show?

Although these are examples of software, Netflix also judges TV set manufacturers' hardware. This project requires the TV to be turned on instantly, with a special Netflix button on the remote. The company believes that these things are necessary and they help to make the television viewing process conform to the habits of modern viewers. Because the audience has become accustomed to using mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

"A lot of these things have drawn inspiration from innovative technologies in the mobile and tablet world," said Brady Gunderson, product development director at Netflix. "When I turned on the phone, it wasn't really. It's turned on because it's never closed - it's directly back to what I was when I left it, in an application that I opened before. If I was reading a piece of news before, it would show that article directly. TV Machine, when you close it and then re-open it, it will take some time to restart, and before the content is gone."

"Internet TV cannot be like this," he said, all of which will change this year.

"There have been some leaps forward in improving this type of experience. We think that this year, smart TVs will really become smart."

New model leap

To illustrate how fast things have progressed, Gunderson and David Holland, Netflix’s business development director, competed to put last year’s smart TVs and this year's models (some of which have been certified by Netflix). )compare with. The new model easily defeated the old model in terms of boot speed, finding Wi-Fi signals, allowing users to quickly find Netflix applications, and eventually opening the show. There is a special game in which both are Sony's old-fashioned Bravia television and a Sony new TV with Google's Android system. When we have seen the movie's title on the new model, the old model has just been Some text appears on the screen indicating that it is starting up.

The process of watching this kind of game is somewhat sad: the old model struggled and lost in the game. Gunderson cautioned that the project does not mean that people should give up watching Netflix on the old model, nor that everyone should throw away the 4K TVs purchased in 2014 because they are out of date.

"This is not to say that the old is not good," he said pointing to the old model. "Just how old the new one is."


Much of the improvement has been around a truly dramatic change involving the software used by TV makers. The new things this year's TVs use are Mozilla and its Firefox operating system, as well as LG's WebOS and the like, as well as Samsung and its Tizen (which was only ready until this year). Sony also used Google's Android TV platform.

Netflix certification can have a big impact on hardware and software manufacturers. The company has 62 million paid viewers worldwide, and this number will grow as Netflix expands its business to Japan and elsewhere. The company not only buys movies and TV programs for users to watch from the studios, but also produces some programs on its own. You cannot see these programs elsewhere (unless you are willing to wait for the DVD version). And some of these programs are using 4K and HDR (high dynamic range) shooting. TV manufacturers are pleased with this. Like this means that those viewers who do not want to buy a new TV set a year or two ago may suddenly have a desire to purchase in order to enjoy 4K and HDR effects.

test method

One-on-one testing seems to be a good way to test things, but it is not very scientific. SHU Labs' new TV sets are purchased from stores. Once new products are available, they will send staff to buy TV sets. TV manufacturers and specific stores are unaware of this, so there will be no chance of cheating. These devices were shipped back to SHU Labs and run on a Wi-Fi network that mimics the home environment (they did not use cable connections when testing, as most users use Wi-Fi directly when using these TVs. Wirelessly connected.) The speed of the American home network is fast, and some are slow. SHU Labs will also imitate this.

Gunderson said that this certification program was born like this: They often hear an annoying problem during a barbecue dinner or other social gathering. “Because of the nature of my work, someone always asks me What kind of TV is bought? And my answer is always 'not to buy this year until next year', but 'next year' has never arrived. Now, I think I can say that - I can buy a TV this year."

This may be a fair evaluation, but even some new models from major TV manufacturers cannot meet all of Netflix's standards. Among the aforementioned requirements (such as quick start and fast recovery), Netflix believes that it must achieve at least five of the seven criteria. This gives some manufacturers the opportunity to obtain certification.


Netflix said that manufacturers do not need to pay any money for this certification, and do not need to pay to promote their own access to this certification. However, in some cases, even the high-end flagship products of some well-known manufacturers did not pass this certification. Gunderson cited two examples. One is Samsung, the world's top TV maker, and the other is Vizio, a low-cost TV manufacturer. The products of both companies have not been certified. Gunderson then referred to Hisense, pointing to a smaller, cheaper Hisense TV set in SHU Labs, saying that it had just been added to Netflix's certification list despite its low price and quality. Not as good as Sony and LG in another room.

So you can see that Netflix has a weakness in the certification of the TV: it does not consider image quality, sound, ease of use, ecosystem, and many other factors (when you buy a new TV, these factors may be true Very important). The Netflix certification program aims to recommend models that the company believes can support its own software to provide the best experience. If you don't plan to use a TV with a built-in Netflix app, but want to use a set-top box, or a device like Roku, then Netflix certification doesn't matter much to you.

Test principle

However, this situation may not last long.

Netflix is ​​already pushing the technology it uses to make programs. The beginning is 4K video, and now it is HDR (this makes the image on the screen look more realistic, with brighter and darker shades). Combining these technologies will allow viewers to have a more visual experience. Holland said that in view of the fact that these technologies are very new, the company is very cautious about whether or not it is required to carry these functions when authenticating television sets.

"We have a principle: Only when something has the most extensive impact on our members can it be included in the requirements of this certification recommendation program," he said. "Therefore, 4K is not yet a certification requirement. Only very high-end TVs have HDR capabilities, and HDR programs are very few."

What are the possible changes to the television requirements next year? There are more stringent requirements for the speed of opening, and to ensure that users are interrupted by other things during the viewing process, they can easily return to Netflix and watch.

"We think that the TV's "instant start" can be faster. It's currently taking a few seconds," Gunderson said. “We think it can be faster next year.” Also, when you have to do something else while watching the show, such as someone sending a delivery, you stop the TV and get the delivery, and you can continue watching.

Authenticated TVs are a very clever way by which Netflix can carefully push TV makers to design the perfect Netflix experience in its mind while avoiding becoming a hardware manufacturer. In 2006, the company briefly considered developing its own TV sets in the early days of its development of streaming media services, but later realized that it was better to concentrate on developing software for computers and mobile devices made by others.

Although this new certification program has no financial transactions, it can bring a win-win situation: Those who trust Netflix may be more willing to buy certified products, and believe that they have obtained the TV that Netflix believes can provide the best experience, and they are certified. TV manufacturers may increase sales.

In turn, Netflix can also ensure that buyers will not get a bad experience due to the device, so that they decided not to use Netflix's TV software anymore.