Netflix Would Rather You Not Count How Much Everyone’s Watching

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Editorial, Home Entertainment,

Here is a good rule of thumb for reading any company's earnings: watch what it stops telling you. Netflix just told investors it will scale back its "What We Watched" engagement reports from twice a year to once a year, starting in early 2027. The official reason is that it wants everyone to focus on the numbers that pay the bills, revenue and operating profit, instead of getting distracted by hours watched.

That is a perfectly reasonable thing to say. It is also, conveniently, the kind of thing you say right when the viewing numbers get a little less flattering. Netflix racked up more than 97 billion hours of viewing in the first half of 2026, up about 2% from a year ago. Growth, yes. Blistering growth, no. And when the line stops going up and to the right as fast as it used to, publishing it half as often starts to look less like a focus decision and more like a mercy.

Click to continue reading Netflix Would Rather You Not Count How Much Everyone’s Watching

The LEGO One Piece Teaser Is Exactly the Goofy Detour This Story Needed

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Movies, Toys, Videos,

There is a particular kind of joy in watching a deadly serious adventure story get handed over to a pile of plastic minifigures, and Netflix just leaned all the way into it. The streamer dropped a teaser for LEGO One Piece, a two-part animated special that retells the first two seasons of its live-action pirate show entirely in brick form. It looks every bit as gleefully silly as that sentence sounds.

The special lands September 29, and the premise is smarter than a cash-in usually gets to be. Instead of a straight replay, it uses Usopp as the narrator, walking a wide-eyed Tony Tony Chopper through everything the Straw Hats got up to across the East Blue and the Grand Line. If you have never touched One Piece, that framing is basically a friendly on-ramp. If you have watched every episode twice, it is a chance to see the whole saga from a new angle, in a form that refuses to take itself too seriously.

Click to continue reading The LEGO One Piece Teaser Is Exactly the Goofy Detour This Story Needed

Netflix Used AI on Roughly 300 Titles This Year, and It Wants Investors to Know

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Movies, Software,

Netflix has a number it wants you to notice: 300. That is roughly how many titles the company says have used generative AI so far this year, a figure it dropped right into its Q2 shareholder letter. This is not a quiet experiment tucked into the corner of one show. It is a company-wide habit, and Netflix shared the count because it thinks the number is good news.

Most of that work is happening in post-production, the unglamorous stretch after filming where scenes get cleaned up, stitched together, and finished. Netflix says it is "increasingly leveraging these tools to deliver higher quality output more quickly and at a lower cost than traditional methods." Translate that out of investor-speak and it means one thing: AI is helping the company make stuff faster and spend less doing it.

Click to continue reading Netflix Used AI on Roughly 300 Titles This Year, and It Wants Investors to Know

Monday Night Raw Hits Netflix with a Bang

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Home Entertainment,

Geared Up: iPhone 11 Dream Features, Streaming Subscription Services Landscape, and a New Co-Host Appears!

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Home Entertainment, Product Reviews,

On this week's Geared Up, Apple's fall iPhone 11 announcement is just a few weeks away, and we talk about what our dream features for the device would be - what would make the perfect iPhone 11? We also go over the vast array of streaming services like Apple TV+ and Disney+ and how they fit into the landscape of Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and others, along with a way to combat subscription fatigue. We answer tons of listener Q&A - and the new Geared Up co-host is revealed!

LINKS MENTIONED IN THE SHOW

• Geared Up on YouTube
• Jon Rettinger on YouTube
• Andru Edwards on YouTube
• How to Apply for the Apple Card
• Apple Card Features Explained
• Galaxy Note 10: Top 5 Features

SPONSOR: National Car Rental - skip the line with the Emerald Club. Go National. Go Like a Pro.

Listen to the episode in the player below or subscribe to Geared Up in your favorite podcast app to listen on the go:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Stitcher
• Google Podcasts
• Pocket Casts
• Overcast

Top 10 Gear Live tech stories of 2015

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Wearables, Editorial, Features, Handhelds, Mods / Hacks, Movies, Software, Transportation, Videos,

We've come to the end of another year, and as we wave goodbye to 2013, we figured it was only fitting that we share the most popular stories published on Gear Live this year, as determined by our readers (we've also got the top ten most read stories regardless of publish date, as well as the ten most popular Gear Live videos of 2013!) These are the ten stories that were read the most, and when you consider that fact, it's pretty surprising to see what made the list. Let's kick it off with our most read story of the year:

OS X El Capitan will be released on September 30:
Anticipation for Apple's newest desktop operating system, OS X 10.11 El Capitan, trumped all other news here on Gear Live in 2015!

Click to continue reading Top 10 Gear Live tech stories of 2015

2015 Holiday Gift Guide: Apple TV

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Family, Men, Techies, Under $100, Under $25, Under $250, Under $500,

iOS devices like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch will be big holiday gifts this year, make no mistake about it. The Apple TV is actually a fantastic complement to Apple's handhelds, worthy of being featured in our 2015 Holiday Gift Guide. Having recently been completely revamped for the release of the fourth generation model, the new Apple TV is a nice little device in its own right. At the center of it all is the App Store, which now lets you download TV-optimized apps and games, all playable using the new Siri Remote, as well as favorites like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, sports networks, and plenty of other entertainment options. The best part, though, is AirPlay. You can beam audio and video content right to the Apple TV with ease from your iOS device, or your Mac. You can also mirror the display of these devices as well, all wireless over your home network.

You can pick up the Apple TV for $149 for the 32GB model, or $199 for the 64GB version.

Honorable Mention: Amazon Fire TV

Click to continue reading 2015 Holiday Gift Guide: Apple TV

Read More | Apple TV

Netflix will make you salivate with Chef’s Table [Trailer]

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Home Entertainment, Videos,

Netflix has announced that it's new docu-series Chef's Table will be debuting as a six-part series and will land on the popular streaming service on April 26th. Chef's Table focuses on six world-renowned chefs, and show them each doing what they do best - making amazing food that is eloquently plated. Here's a list of the chefs that will appear, and the restaurants they represent:

• Ben Shewry Attica Restaurant in Melbourne, Australia
• Magnus Nilsson Fäviken in Järpen Sweden
• Francis Mallmann El Restaurante Patagonia Sur in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Niki Nakayama N/Naka Restaurant in Los Angeles, CA, USA
• Dan Barber Blue Hill Restaurant at Stone Barns and in New York City, USA
• Massimo Bottura Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy

The series is directed by David Gelb, who also directed Jiro Dreams of Sushi. You can check out the trailer after the break.

Click to continue reading Netflix will make you salivate with Chef’s Table [Trailer]

2014 Holiday Gift Guide: Apple TV

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Family, Men, Techies, Under $100, Under $25, Under $250, Under $500,

iOS devices like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch will be big holiday gifts this year, make no mistake about it. The Apple TV is actually a fantastic complement to Apple's handhelds, worthy of being featured in our 2014 Holiday Gift Guide. A nice little device in its own right, the Apple TV gives you access to Apple's iTunes Store entertainment content right on your television. In addition, you get Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, sports networks, and plenty of other entertainment options. Connect it to your iTunes Home Share, and you can use your iOS devices as remote controls for the Apple TV. The best part, though, is AirPlay. You can beam audio and video content right to the Apple TV with ease from your iOS device, or your Mac. You can also mirror the display of these devices as well, all wireless over your home network.

You can pick up the Apple TV for $99, or $94.95 on Amazon.

Honorable Mention: Roku 3 Streaming Player

Read More | Apple TV

Deal of the Day: 3 Years VPN Unlimited Premium for 53 cents per month

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Hot Deals, Internet, Software,

Today in the Gear Live Deals Shop we've got 70% off VPN Unlimited Premium as our Deal of the Day. For the next 6 days, VPN Unlimited is offering 3 years of VPN access for just $19. That is 36 months of VPN access, for roughly 53 cents per month. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better price anywhere. It’s a full account, so any upgrades or new features added over the next 3 years, you’d get access to them as well.

For those curious what a VPN is, it is a Virtual Private Network. It allows you to connect to any website anytime you have Internet access. All data sent through VPN is encrypted, which means your information is hidden from hackers or identity thieves. The other benefit is you get to choose the country of origin for your data. For example, means that if you are in Canada putting up with the abysmal WWE Network issues up there, you can instead connect with a VPN, set your country as USA, and get the full experience. Or if you're a Netflix subscriber traveling abroad, you can still access the content.

Aside from accessing the VPN on your PC or Mac, VPN Unlimited also has apps for Android, iPhone, iPad, and even Linux.

Head on over to the Gear Live Deals Shop to grab the 3-year VPN Unlimited offer for $19.

Don’t forget, if you’re looking for other deals, be sure to check out our Newegg Promo Code thread. Oh, and if you're on Twitter, be sure to follow @TechPromos for the latest deals.