For its latest production, Netflix is debuting a new “climate commitment” plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2022.

The streaming giant plans to operate more eco-friendly film and TV productions while also funding initiatives to restore grasslands, mangroves, and healthy soils, Netflix sustainability officer Emma Stewart said in announcing the initiative.

“I’m fortunate to be able to combine my love of science and storytelling at Netflix, where we aspire to entertain the world,” Stewart said. “But that requires a habitable world to entertain.”

In 2020, Netflix’s carbon footprint was 1.1 million metric tons, down slightly from 1.3 million the year before. Netflix generated roughly half of that while producing various films and TV series, the company said. The other half came from corporate offices, various purchased goods, and Netflix’s content delivery network.

Netflix’s plan calls for it to cut direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030. But it’ll also retain existing carbon storage for emissions it can’t avoid, conserve at-risk natural areas like tropical forests, and remove carbon from the atmosphere by investing in the regeneration of natural ecosystems.

In the near term, Netflix plans to reduce carbon emissions from film and TV productions by using local crews instead of flying in teams, swapping electric vehicles in place of gas-powered ones, opting for more LED lighting, and reducing on-set diesel generators.

Netflix is only the latest tech giant to pursue a net-zero carbon strategy, as IBM vows to become carbon-neutral by 2030, Apple pledges to be 100% carbon neutral by 2030, and Microsoft is plotting a “carbon negative” target for 2030.

Google has announced that it's become the first company to bring Netflix to its lineup of smart displays.

Google will immediately add Netflix streaming capabilities to the Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max, making it a do-it-all household hub. You can get your streaming fix by linking your Netflix account to your Google Home or Google Assistant app.

The Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max will allow you to open and control Netflix by voice. All you have to say is “Hey Google, open Netflix” or “Hey Google, play Breaking Bad.” You can also pause and play using your voice.

If you have the Google Nest Hub Max, your controls get another dimension, as its camera allows you to use gesture controls. If you want to pause or resume your stream, simply look at the Nest’s camera and raise your hand.

While the ability to stream Netflix on Nest smart displays is nice, these are hardly ideal streaming devices. They have relatively small screens, 7-inches on the Nest Hub and 10-inches on the Nest Hub Max, and so-so sound, plus they aren’t something you want to carry around the house.

That said, they primarily live in the kitchen or your home office, which aren’t favorable spots for a clunky tablet. So, while it may not be your primary streaming device, it’ll serve well as an additional streaming device when you’re in these areas.

Netflix has added a new feature that lets you easily remove programs you're no longer watching.

The “continue watching” row on the Netflix homepage allows viewers to jump back into a show or movie right where they left off. That’s great if you actually want to go back to it and don’t mind others on your account seeing what you’ve been watching.

You’ve always been able to remove titles from that row, but it meant sifting through your account settings on a web browser, going into your profile and parental controls, clicking on your viewing activity and then discarding the titles you no longer wanted to populate the “continue watching” row.

It was a lot of work for a minor annoyance. Eventually, as you watch more new titles, those nuisance titles slide down the list and out of view anyway, but they’re still there.

Netflix’s new solution to the problem is simple. When you hover over the title, you’ll see a few options including the ability to give the title a thumbs up or thumbs down. At the bottom of the list, you’ll find “remove from row.” Click on that choice, and the title disappears from your “continue watching” list on the homepage.

The feature is currently available for Android phone and tablet users with iOS users receiving the update on June 29.

Netflix is also adding a feature that lets you go to specific episodes without having to click on a title’s landing page first. These are small moves designed to make Netflix’s homepage experience more user-friendly.

Netflix will donate $5 million to support organizations that create long-term opportunities for entertainment creators, youth and businesses in the black community.

To help black creators develop more television and film stories, the streaming service will share $1.5 million in donations between Ghetto Film School, Film Independent Project Involve, Firelight Media, Black Public Media and other Black-focused organizations.

“Tackling racism and injustice in meaningful ways means creating long-term opportunities for the Black community,” said Reed Hastings, CEO, Netflix.

“The main role we play is through our funding of and member viewing of important content like ‘When They See Us.’ As an additional step, today we’re committing $5 million to nonprofits dedicated to creating direct opportunities for Black creators, Black youth and Black-owned businesses.”

Netflix is donating $1 million in grants to black youth organizations, including Know Your Rights Camp, The Posse Foundation and Black Girls Code. It is pledging $500,000 to black-owned businesses in Los Angeles that have been economically hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.

The company is also matching 200% of its employees’ donations to charitable causes.

Netflix will announce the benefactors of the remaining $2 million soon. New initiatives to support long-term opportunities for the black community should follow in the coming months. The streaming service also updated its list of genres with a Black Lives Matter category. Two of its series - “When They See Us” and “Dear White People” - saw large increases in viewership following the police killing of George Floyd.

Netflix has a history of donating to important causes. The company created a $100 million fund to help film and TV industry employees affected by productions canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It also pledged to pay talent guarantees to cast members affected by the shutdown of film and TV productions.

This week marked the launch of HBO Max, HBO’s all-new and much-talked-about streaming service. The company reportedly plans to spend $4.5 billion on the project in the coming years and hopes to have 50 million HBO Max subscribers come 2025. HBO also foresees the service generating billions in annual profits as it takes on established streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV Plus, Peacock and others.

HBO Max rings in at $15 per month and offers 10,000 hours of programming that appeals to just about every audience, not just avid HBO watchers. HBO says users can expect a cheaper subscription option in the future. In addition to its $15-per-month service, HBO plans to release an advertising-supported subscription to take on services like Hulu and Peacock.

While HBO Max certainly is an attractive prospect, its price is an issue for some. The $15-per-month subscription falls in line with HBO’s other streaming platforms, but it’s pricier than the streaming platforms it’ll compete with.

Netflix currently charges $9 per month for its most basic plan, and Disney Plus charges its subscribers $7 per month. Hulu, on the other hand, offers two plans: an ad-supported plan costing $5.99 per month and a premium ad-free plan for $11.99 per month.

Many industry analysts have called HBO Max’s pricing “unreasonable.” According to a study prepared for The New York Times by the global research consultancy Kantar, many of HBO’s customers are already looking to cancel their accounts, attributing the cancellations to the high cost of HBO’s services.

To date, HBO Max offers its subscribers a wealth of content. The platform features the usual HBO suspects, including “Game of Thrones” and “The Sopranos,” but it also boasts evergreen favorites like “Friends” and “The Big Bang Theory.” Harry Potter fans will also be pleased to find all 8 films streaming on HBO Max. DC fans will be similarly overjoyed, as the platform boasts Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman flicks.

While HBO won’t go away anytime soon, the company has committed to focusing its efforts on redirecting subscribers to its new streaming platform. It remains to be seen how many of those subscribers will transition to HBO Max — if any at all.

The EU may force Netflix and Amazon Prime to show more European movies and TV shows, in order to comply with broadcast regulations.

The European Commission is looking at redrafting the rules that govern broadcasters operating within the EU, and rumours suggest that it is planning to include streaming services under the new document.

The current legislation - known as the Audiovisual Media Services Directive - compels television networks to ensure that a certain percentage of its content is produced within Europe.

The majority of EU member states have existing rules governing this principle, but the new directive would establish a blanket ratio for the whole of the EU.

French media outlets are quoting a 20 per cent ratio of EU-made content to overseas content, although no official figures have been confirmed.

Much depends, however, on what the EU classifies as 'European production'. Game of Thrones, for example, is largely filmed in European countries such as Ireland, Malta and Croatia, but is produced by US cable network HBO.

By this metric, Ampere Analysis said, both companies would be largely unaffected by many of their shows, but a stricter reading could impact streaming firms.

"If the European Commission was to apply more stringent rules, and specify that the main country of origin had to be in Europe, Amazon Instant Video would still be unaffected in its two core European markets of the UK and Germany," the firm said.

"Netflix, however, would have to adjust its catalogue composition in the UK, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic - although not necessarily by much. In this instance, Germany would have to replace a total of three non-European titles in order to meet with the regulation."

Virgin America has announced the availability of video streaming services from Netflix on its flights, thanks to its tie-up with internet provider ViaSat.

Netflix's entire catalogue will be available to watch using complementary Wi-Fi internet services offered on new Airbus A320 flights - providing passengers are already Netflix subscribers, or are willing to sign up to an account while in the air.

The streaming service will also offer House of Cards seasons one to three for free on the airline's Red touchscreen seatback in-flight entertainment platform on other flights.

"Netflix and Virgin America are both known for their focus on innovation and for shaking up their respective industries so we're thrilled to team up to bring the best in technology and entertainment to the skies," said Abby Lunardini, Virgin America vice president of brand marketing and communications.

"These latest generation investments in our Wi-Fi and entertainment platforms allow us to provide the largest breadth of streamed content ever available at 35,000 feet along with entire seasons of some Netflix favorites via the Red platform."

Netflix said the revelation demonstrates the growing popularity of streaming video services, wherever you are.

The company explained that the wide availability of WiFi is enabling such trends and the installation of ViaSat Wi-Fi services on Virgin America's aircraft means content can be streamed eight to 10 times faster than on any other onboard Wi-Fi system.

"As Wi-Fi becomes more ubiquitous, it's going to be increasingly possible for members to enjoy Netflix wherever they want," said Bill Holmes, Netflix's global head of business development. "We're delighted to partner with Virgin America to extend the joy of Netflix to our members at 35,000 feet."

Microsoft's Windows 10 launch saw the announcement of various goodies this week, not limited to the VR HoloLens headset and Xbox streaming, but that didn't mean that others weren't also making their own announcements.

Here's our roundup of the best of the rest from around the web this week.

Science

- Scientists have slowed down the speed of light by sending light particles through a special mask, changing their shape and thus decreasing their speed slightly.

- Medical micromissiles have been tested on living mice, with tiny machines sent through the animal and into its stomach lining. This is a step forwards in the treatment of many medical conditions, and the first time it has been successful with a living animal.

Film

- Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game has made a lot of cash to go along with its multiple award nominations, cracking $100 million worldwide this week.

- Three new actors Alexandra Shipp, Sophie Turner and Tye Sheridan have been added to upcoming sequel X-Men: Apocalypse, playing younger versions of Storm, Jean Grey and Cyclops, respectively.

- Simon Pegg will co-write Star Trek 3 alongside Doug Jung, following the departure of Roberto Orci from the director's chair (replaced by Justin Lin).

- Amazon will now buy and produce films to be release both online and in cinemas, aiming to release movies online a few weeks after they have hit cinemas.

TV & Streaming

- Sony's big headache of recent times, The Interview, will begin streaming on Netflix this weekend at no additional fee for existing US and Canadian subscribers.

- UK business secretary Vince Cable this week called for Netflix to offer UK content to people travelling around Europe as part of a "digital single market."

- Predictably, Netflix is doing quite well for itself at the moment, with its Q4 earnings smashing expectations with $83.4 million net income for the period.

- Sony Playstation's upcoming live-action comic book adaptation series, Powers, will be released on 10 March and available for free to Playstation Plus members.

Gaming

- A group of German researchers have developed an artificially intelligent version of Nintendo's Mario character, who now responds to his virtual surroundings and obeys spoken instructions, learning enough to make independent decisions.

- Virtual reality is coming to Windows 10, with the HoloLens headset announced by Microsoft alongside its new operating system this week.

- Also included in Microsoft's event were plans to introduce Xbox One streaming, allowing gamers to view and control games via any Windows 10 device e.g. Surface tablets.

Netflix has upgraded its latest Android app with code to prevent users from bypassing geographical restrictions with VPNs.

The issue was highlighted on Reddit during the Christmas period and has prompted concerns Netflix is clamping down on users who may be accessing content not licensed in their locations. Currently, it appears to be affecting Android users only.

The latest version of the Android app (3.7.2+) now has the Google DNS hardcoded into the app. This means users will not be able to fool their Android device into thinking it is located in a different country.

Access to the US Netflix service is coveted by many users outside of the country because it features more content due to licensing agreements.

Update: Netflix Comment

"Virtually crossing borders to use Netflix is a violation of our terms of use because of content licensing restrictions," a spokesperson told IT Pro.

"We employ industry standard measures to prevent this kind of use. We have not recently made any changes."

VPN providers Unblock-US and UnoTelly have confirmed Netflix on Android will not work if their services are used. If they try and play a movie or TV show that is not available in their region, they will receive an error message saying the title is "unavailable" in their location.

Speculation has been rife that Netflix is under pressure from movie studios and TV networks to clamp down on VPN usage.

However, Netflix terms and conditions have always made it clear the company does not authorise the use of VPNs so any moves to verify user location should not come as a surprise.

"You may view a movie or TV show through the Netflix service primarily within the country in which you have established your account and only in geographic locations where we offer our service and have licensed such movie or TV show," it says in the Netflix terms and conditions.

"The content that may be available to watch will vary by geographic location. Netflix will use technologies to verify your geographic location."

Unblock-US has speculated that Netflix could be testing this setup in a bid to provide an improved service and the problem may soon disappear.

"Since Google is one of the fastest, most consistent DNS servers, it makes sense that they would test out hard coding Google's DNS into their Netflix app," according to a representative.

"We saw a similar issue a couple of years ago on the Playstation 3 and it became apparent at the time that Netflix and Sony were carrying out tests which is why not everyone was affected."

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is to look into why Netflix customers are not always able to watch streamed content without interruption.

In a statement on Friday, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said the organisation would collect information on how traffic from the streaming service was handled by ISP Verizon during negotiations between the two firms.

"To be clear, what we are doing right now is collecting information, not regulating," Wheeler said. "We are looking under the hood. Consumers want transparency. They want answers. And so do I."

He added the FCC has received copies of agreements Netflix made with Verizon and fellow ISP Comcast. These agreements have put a strain on relationships between Netflix and the ISPs, it is claimed.

Following a deal with Comcast in February to ensure there was enough bandwidth for Netflix customers, its chief executive Reed Hastings said ISPs were "extracting a toll because they can."

Netflix made a deal with Verizon, and even notified subscribers if it thought the ISP was to blame for poor download speeds. These messages were removed after Verizon threatened legal action.

In response, Verizon and Comcast alleged Hastings was misleading consumers and trying to pass the cost of Netflix's video traffic demands onto all of their customers, even non-Netflix subscribers.

Wheeler said the situation merited scrutiny. "Consumers pay their ISP and pay content providers like Hulu, Netflix and Amazon," Wheeler said.

"Then when they don't get good service they wonder what is going on. I have experienced these problems myself and know how exasperating it can be."

In a statement, Comcast welcomed the move by the FCC.

"We welcome the Chairman's attention to these important issues in the internet ecosystem. Internet traffic exchange on the backbone is part of ensuring that bits flow freely and efficiently and all actors across the system have a shared responsibility to preserve the smooth functioning and highly competitive backbone interconnection market," Sena Fizmaurice, Comcast's vice president of government communications, said in a statement.

"We welcome this review which will allow the Commission full transparency into the entire Internet backbone ecosystem and enable full education as to how this market works."

Netflix also welcomed the move. "Americans deserve to get the speed and quality of internet access they pay for," a spokesman said.

The Government has reminded end users that the legalisation of ripping content from CDs and DVDs does not grant them rights to copy media from on-demand streaming services, such as Spotify and Netflix.

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has outlined plans to bring the UK's copyright laws up to date, which will see the act of ripping content from CDs and DVDs made legal from June 2014.

Under the current legislation, it is illegal for individuals to copy content from CDs or DVDs they have bought onto MP3 players or computers.

The IPO wants to legalise the process, provided the person copying the CD or DVD owns the media and will only use it privately.

"The changes will means that you will be able to copy a book or film you have purchased for one device onto another without infringing copyright," states the IPO's Exceptions to copyright: Guidance for consumers report.

"However, it will still be illegal to make copies for friends or family, or to make a copy of something you do not own or have acquired illegally, without the copyright owner's permission.

"So you will not be able to make copies of CDs for your friends, to copy CDs borrowed from friends, or to copy videos illegally downloaded from file-sharing websites," the document continues.

The document also states that end users will be permitted to backup copies of CDs and DVDs, for example, to a personal online storage account, but they will be breaking the law if they allow third parties to access them.

Because the legislation applies only to copies of media the end user actually owns, users of media streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify will still be banned from copying songs, TV shows or movies from these services, the report reiterates.

Furthermore, if people choose to sell their CDs at a later date, they will be found in breach of copyright law if they retain any copies of them taken for personal use.

"If you wish to give away or sell a CD you should first delete any personal copies you have made of it," the IPO document advises.

The changes are set to be debated in the Houses of Parliament, but if approved are expected to come into force on 1 June 2014.

"The Government has consulted extensively on these changes and on the draft legislation, and listened carefully to the views of a wide range of stakeholders," the IPO said in a statement.

"As a result of this process, the legislation published today strikes an important balance between enabling reasonable use of copyright material in the modern age with minimal impact on copyright owners."

Cloud-based video streaming site Netflix checks out popular content on piracy sites when deciding on the films and programmes to legally offer its customers, according to a company executive.

Speaking to Dutch website Tweakers.net, vice president of content acquisition Kelly Merryman said the TV programmes that are popular on pirate websites form part of its choice for its customers, who can then watch content legally from them.

"With the purchase of series, we look at what does well on piracy sites," Merryman told the website. He said that this data helped the firm in its decision to pick up hit TV show Prison Break.

"Prison Break is exceptionally popular on piracy sites,” he said.

Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings also spoke to the Dutch website for the launch of its cloud video streaming service in the Netherlands. He said illegal video downloads actually created demand for legal alternatives, from the likes of Netflix as they are also more convenient.

"Netflix is so much easier than torrenting," said Hastings. "You don’t have to deal with files, you don’t have to download them and move them around. You just click and watch."

He pointed out that in the three years since Netflix launched in Canada, the use of Bit Torrent to download illegal content had fallen by half.

As reported by Cloud Pro’s sister site IT Pro, people who illegally downloaded material spend £26 on legal content, £10 more than those that don’t, according to a recent Ofcom report.

The highest volume infringers were more likely to say they already spend enough on content (19 per cent for the top 10 per cent of infringers compared with seven per cent among the bottom 80 per cent) and that “legal content is too expensive” (38 per cent versus 13 per cent).

Netflix relies heavily on content created by other production companies, but has recently started creating its own programming to stream via the cloud. Earlier this year, it premiered the remake of BBC drama House of Cards, starring Kevin Spacey in the lead role of scheming Congressman Frank Underwood.

The limitations and high cost of using on-premise products was, perhaps unsurprisingly, one of the most popular topics of discussion at the inaugural Amazon Web Services (AWS) conference in Las Vegas.

Over the course of the Re:Invent conference, AWS trotted out numerous examples of companies that have been able to swiftly respond to sudden spikes in web traffic, for example, by shunning on-premise and embracing cloud.

During the event's opening keynote, delegates were treated to a high octane retread of how AWS helped NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) stream images and videos of the Mars rover Curiosity landing to millions of people worldwide on 5 August 2012.

Later on, during the same keynote, Reed Hastings, chief executive of online movie streaming service Netflix, told delegates how partnering with AWS has helped it cope with the demands of its growing customer base.

No-one wants their name associated with a million dollar project failure.

Hastings said, since the company's inception in 2008, it has seen a 1,000-fold increase in the monthly demand for streamed content, from one million hours in 2008 to a billion hours this year.

"We recognised that Netflix's computational resources would grow rapidly [from the start]... so we started thinking about how to build out our datacentres...and [not long after that] we started working with AWS," explained Hastings.

"The biggest benefit [is] the scale you can operate at...that gives us the ability to spin up [when we need resources] and allows us to participate in a cost [reduction] curve we couldn't have [if we had gone it alone]."

Other high-profiles examples included social networking site Pinterest, with the firm's operations lead, Ryan Park, taking the stage during the second day keynote to discuss the cost savings cloud had afforded it.

"Most of our users are in the United States, so peak traffic is between 6pm to midnight our time. We used 80 servers to handle that, but late at night and early in the morning, those servers would be wasted," he explained.

"So, we've implemented auto-scaling, which lets us on average - shut down around 20 per cent of these servers when we're not using them...which cuts our expenses by 20 per cent as well."

Unusual suspects

The breadth of companies from one-man bands to enterprises that rely on AWS was repeatedly highlighted. During his keynote, Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder and CEO, even admitted his surprise at how keenly larger firms have adopted the company's online services.

Something else that might come as a surprise to some is the willingness of global stock exchange provider NASDAQ OMX to entrust its data to cloud, given that the financial services industry is often considered a bad fit for web-based services because of how tightly regulated the industry is.

Back in September, the company announced it was partnering with AWS to deliver its FinQloud service, which will allow stock market traders to store records and customer emails in the cloud.

Typically, people working in the financial services industry are required to retain trading information for seven years, which can result in large on-premise storage bills.

To help counteract this, Ted Myerson, senior vice president of global access services at NASDAQ OMX, said the organisation set about finding a way for brokers to securely store their data in the cloud.

"Data storage [is] quite complex [for financial services companies] because we're in a highly regulated environment...that has strict guidelines governing the way data is captured, stored and handled and up until this point it's been done on legacy means," Myerson told IT Pro.

"So we wanted to solve the pain point where firms can outsource this initiative. It's not really differentiating their business, but the cost to maintain this is ever increasing.

"Not just because the size of the data is growing, but because they are receiving lower amounts of revenue from their customers for delivering these services," he added.

The data stored in FinQloud is safeguarded by AWS' own security measures, but NASDAQ has also added its own layer of encryption and decryption on top.

As a result, Myerson claimed brokers are now becoming increasingly open to moving more of their infrastructure to the cloud.

"[The reasons for this] is because [they] want to leapfrog this point in time where they are now with supporting and maintaining their legacy infrastructure and embrace this technology [which may have been off limits in the past] because we can offer these security assurances," he added.

If you're constantly successful, you've got no incentive to push yourself and innovate.

Another common theme of discussion among the firms that spoke up about their involvement with AWS is that cloud procurement cycles are much shorter than on-premise ones, which means they can get moving on IT projects within weeks rather than months.

This also means companies can spend more time on developing new products and services, rather than IT stuff, as AWS does most of the "heavy lifting" for them.

Despite this, Iain Gavin, UK and Ireland country manager at AWS, was keen to stress the importance of IT departments to businesses will not diminish in the face of cloud.

Although, he admits, not all members of the IT pro community may see things that way.

"Some human beings embrace change, others don't," Gavin told IT Pro.

"[What they need to realise is] generally what we are doing is empowering them so that more can to be done with the same amount of [IT budget].

"We're a lower cost way of doing things, [which allows] more projects [to be] deployed."

To this end, cloud means IT teams should have more opportunities to innovate and experiment, which because of the high cost of on-premise projects they may not have done in the past.

"No-one wants their name associated with a million dollar project failure. But with cloud, you can afford to push yourself [into new areas] and, if you fail...you try again," added Gavin.

"Also, if you're constantly successful, you've got no incentive to push yourself and innovate."