Load Netflix on a TV screen today and you should see a change applied: In the subtitles section you can now choose from several different colors and sizes depending on your preferences and the screen you're looking at.
The update (via TechCrunch - opens in a new tab) gives you the choice of small, medium, and large text, and four different styles: white with no background, white with a black background, yellow with a black background, and black with a White background.
To access these options, select the gear icon to the right of the current subtitle settings that appears when playback is paused. This is a step up from the previous situation where subtitles were only displayed in one size and white with no background.
existing options
These options have not yet been enabled in all countries where Netflix is available, if you don't see them yet that could be the reason, but from what we can tell it seems that the rollout has already been quite extensive and fast.
Previously, users could customize subtitles via web and mobile interfaces, but these options didn't apply to streaming Netflix through TV apps. There are still more customization options on web and mobile, including a choice of different fonts.
Statistics cited by TechCrunch suggest that roughly three-quarters of all streams are on a big screen rather than on a phone or laptop, so those extra captioning options will certainly be welcome (and might even help). to Netflix to increase its number of subscribers).
Analysis: a good step forward
It seems strange that it has taken Netflix so long to add subtitle customizations to its TV interface, given that these options are already well established, whether you head to Netflix's settings on the web or through mobile apps.
For the hearing impaired, subtitles are absolutely essential. They're also very useful for watching movies and shows in a foreign language, of course, and for those times when everyone at home is in bed and you need to turn the volume down.
We'd like to see TV subtitle options reach parity with those available for Netflix on the web, especially a wider variety of background colors and font styles. Of course, simplicity is often better when you operate everything with one remote.
It may be late, but it's still a nice step forward for Netflix. It's a clear win-win: accessibility initiatives like this one and those announced last year make the service more appealing to a broader range of people.