This week on TechHive: Browsing Netflix by genre

Jared Newman
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January 28, 2022

Earlier this week, I scored a small scoop by dumb luck.

While poking around in Netflix, I noticed a new “Categories” section in the left sidebar. Selecting this menu brought up a list of my three most-watched genres, followed by additional genres in alphabetical order, each showing a grid of relevant movies and TV shows.

A quick check with friends and Twitter pals confirmed that this Categories menu wasn’t available to everyone, and Netflix later told me that it’s just testing the feature with a subset of users, as it often does with new interface ideas.

But if you like the idea of browsing Netflix by genre instead of sifting through endless rows of algorithmically-generated recommendations, don’t despair. If you know where to look, there are several other ways to dig straight into specific categories instead. Read the full column on TechHive.

Weekly rewind

DirecTV Stream’s unlimited DVR: DirecTV Stream will no longer charge extra to store an unlimited number of shows in its cloud-based DVR. The service previously capped DVR storage at 20 hours in its base package and required a $10 per month add-on for unlimited storage; the new plan lets users keep as many shows as they want for up to 90 days, which is the same time limit as before.

I tend to favor other live TV streaming options such as YouTube TV and Sling TV over DirecTV Stream, but it’s currently the only option for regional sports (though it’ll cost you $90 per month to get them). DirecTV’s own streaming box also does a pretty good job of replicating the cable box experience, and a less-stingy DVR should further help with that.

Strangely, The Streamable reports that only new subscribers will automatically get unlimited storage for now. If you’re a DirecTV Stream subscriber, you may have to cancel and sign up again to switch, though I’m guessing you could also rectify the matter as part of your mandatory cancellation chat with customer service.

Discovery, WarnerMedia, and price hikes: Tucked into this Business Insider story about the forthcoming WarnerMedia-Discovery merger is a revelation that should surprise no one: While the combined entity will surely invest in taking on Netflix with its own streaming service (or services), it will also look to “protect some pre-pandemic business models,” in part by demanding higher carriage fees for its traditional TV channels. Those costs will inevitably get passed onto customers.

In other words, the new company will continue to pursue a strategy of fleecing pay TV subscribers help fund its streaming ventures. If you’re still paying for a big bundle of live TV channels—whether that’s via cable, satellite, or streaming—brace yourself, as regulators don’t seem particularly interested in stopping these mergers despite their long history of leading to price hikes.

Peacock framerate update: In last week’s newsletter, I made an off-handed remark about how Peacock doesn’t support streaming at 60 frames per second, but that’s not entirely correct. As of earlier this month, users started seeing those higher framerates for soccer coverage on Apple TV devices, and last Sunday, I found that Peacock’s NFL coverage was streaming at 60 frames per second on both Apple TV and Fire TV devices.

Unfortunately, the game was still limited to 30 frames per second on Roku, which is fine for movies and TV shows, but lacks the smoothness you expect for live sports. Hopefully NBCUniversal can improve the situation before the Olympics start, but I apologize for the error in any event.

More catch-up

Save more money

Fire TV Stick

Amazon’s Fire TV Stick is back down to its $20 Black Friday price. While I find Amazon’s menu system to be a bit chaotic, I do like the Fire TV’s Alexa controls and its customizable live TV guide, which pulls in channel listings from sources like YouTube TV, Pluto TV, Sling TV, and Philo. If you want a speedy 4K option.

A few other notable savings:

Thanks for reading!

I appreciate you all hearing out my Advisorator elevator pitch one more time this week. It means a lot that so many of you are willing to support independent, ad-free tech journalism, and I’m looking forward to making a lot more of it in the year ahead. (I also promise to dial down the self-promotion after this week.)

Got cord cutting questions for me? This tends to be a quiet news period, so it’s an ideal time to send along potential column fodder. Just reply to this email to get in touch.

Until next week,

Jared

Cord Cutter Weekly is a labor of love by tech journalist Jared Newman. Say hi on Twitter, and spread the word that there’s a better kind of TV out there.