Phasing Out the Obsolete: Understanding Netflix’s Decision to Discontinue Certain Hardware Support

One of the main selling points for Netflix is that it can be watched pretty much everywhere. You can fire up Netflix on your browser, on your phone, on your game console, or on your TV, and you’ll have access to the platform’s entire range of content across all those platforms. Since Netflix has been around for a long time — the company transitioned to streaming in 2007, 16 years ago — some older devices ought to be discontinued eventually. Now, the platform has stopped supporting a bunch of devices, ranging from older TVs to older consoles.

Some people have pointed out on social media that Netflix is discontinuing support for a bunch of older devices. Mainly, people with older Toshiba, Samsung, and Sony TVs are seeing that support for their hardware is being discontinued, and that in order to continue seeing Netflix, they would have to get a newer device. Likewise, this recent mass purge is also affecting some consoles, namely the PlayStation Vita, Sony’s last portable console, and the PlayStation TV, a home version of the PS Vita that is plugged into your TV. Other devices, such as older Blu-Ray players, are also affected.

There doesn’t seem to be a full list of affected devices, as Netflix is just privately notifying affected users rather than making a normal public announcement. It looks like most, if not all, of the affected devices are 10–14 years old. The link in the notice sent by Netflix redirects you to a generic list of supported Netflix devices, where you can see a bunch of smart TV brands and streaming device brands, as well as game consoles.

As for the reason why these devices are being removed, it’s not immediately clear. Age is probably not the only factor — it should be noted that Netflix is still compatible with the PlayStation 3, which was first launched in 2006, roughly 17 years ago, possibly making it probably the oldest device to still support Netflix as of the time of writing. The silver lining here is that if your older device is a TV, as long as it has an HDMI port, you still have options for watching Netflix. You just need to buy a streaming device , such as a Chromecast or a Roku, and you’re good to go.

Source: What’s on Netflix via Cord Cutters News

Also read:

Click here