14 May 2011

Xbox 360 gets Kinect-controlled Netflix from today

Being a lazy couch potato just got easier thanks to Microsoft’s announcement about integrating the Kinect motion controller into the Xbox LIVE Netflix app. Starting today, Netflix now supports Kinect controls, meaning you don’t even have to reach for the remote to watch your favorite TV shows or movies.

Xbox 360 owners who use the Netflix app will now have two options for accessing the app. In addition to the regular way of taking your Xbox 360 online, you can also launch Netflix from the Kinect Hub and choose a “recommended” title using your voice and hang gestures, instead of a remote.

So, what’s the catch? The “recommended” films will be the only ones that are fully navigable through the Kinect’s sub-dashboard Netflix app. The rest of the films, which is the majority right now, require you to start playing them using a controller. But, once you start them, you can use the Kinect to control the film. To start watching a film you just say “Xbox play,” and it begins. You can also fast forward, pause, and rewind the film with your voice or hand gestures.

Xbox was the first console to launch Netflix streaming back in 2008, and now the Xbox is the only device that lets you navigate the movie-watching experience with the wave of a hand or with your voice.

Xbox LIVE general manager Pete Thompson said in a press release that by integrating Kinect into the Netflix experience on Xbox LIVE, Microsoft is continuing to change the way people experience their home entertainment.

Do you have an Xbox, a Kinect, and use the Netflix app? If you try out the Kinect-controlled Netflix, please let us know what you think.

via Game Hunters


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