Electronics companies to put Netflix button on European remotes

Panasonic, Philips, Sony, Toshiba and Vestel will place a specific Netflix button on remote controls for smart TVs, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes intended for the European market. This gives direct access to the Netflix interface.

Netflix has signed an agreement with the electronics companies for this. Televisions, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes will come with a remote control on all 2015 models and in some cases 2014 versions, with a separate button for opening the Netflix environment.

In the United States, a number of electronics companies have been equipping their remotes with a Netflix button since 2011. According to the streaming video service, the separate button provides improved usability because the user no longer has to navigate through menus to access the Netflix environment.

Incidentally, Sharp has been supplying remote controls with a separate Netflix button in Europe for some time, as can be seen in our review of the Sharp UQ10.