Apple TV Finally Gets Netflix Post-Play
Netflix has quietly added a feature to its Apple TV app that has been available on other platforms for years: Post-Play, which automatically plays the next episode of a TV series after the one you’re watching ends.
In my testing, the Post-Play screen didn’t appear at the end of every episode, so it’s possible that Netflix has yet to roll out the feature completely on the Apple TV.
Here’s how it works: when you reach the end of an episode, Netflix switches to a special Post-Play interface, where the currently playing episode shrinks to the upper-left and a description of the next episode appears on the right. By default, the next episode starts playing in 17 seconds, but you can play it immediately by selecting Play Next Episode, or return to the episode list with More Episodes. You can also press the Apple remote’s Menu button to exit Post-Play.
After playing two episodes automatically, Netflix asks if you’re still watching, which is sensible.
If you don’t like Post-Play, you can turn it off in your Netflix account, in the Playback Settings screen, by deselecting Play Next Episode Automatically.
For more tips to master your Apple TV, check out my book, “Take Control of Apple TV,” and its free cheat sheet.
Hmm. Haven't seen that yet. Thank you!
Before I got my Apple TV, I watched Netflix through the awful XBox Netflix app, which "featured" post-play. I HATE post-play. It kicks in when the credits start to roll and reduces the active screen to a smaller window. The trouble is, that's not always really the end of what I'm watching. The Netflix app on my Apple TV just started doing post-play last night and I was not happy about it. THANK YOU for pointing out how it can be turned off!
Feature kicked in for me last night while watching an old episode of Columbo. With about 15 minutes left in the episode it did its minimize thing and then started playing the next episode. I turned it off immediately and then went back to watching my show.
I can just see Columbo headed out the door, pausing, turning, saying "One more question..." and then Post-Play kicking in to screams of irritation from the viewers in the room. :-)