Netflix has added the option to download videos to watch later in its Windows 10 PC app, months after first rolling out the feature to Android and iOS users late last year.
Owing to copyright and DRM restrictions enforced by third-party licensors, the selection of TV shows and movies that are available for offline viewing tend to vary, just as with the streaming service’s mobile apps. That’s why Netflix originals – such as A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Black Mirror – feature more prominently in the department, though shows such as Breaking Bad and Gotham are also available.
The Netflix download option is getting higher emphasis in the desktop UI as well, like the mobile version. When you hit the hamburger menu button on the top-left, the ‘My Downloads’ tab appears right under the selected profile, with the ‘Available for Download’ option placed above all genre selections.
In terms of settings, the Windows 10 offline viewing is again like its mobile counterpart. You can pick from two different video qualities – Standard, or High – which lets you control how quickly downloads happen, and how much space they occupy on your computer. If you want your Netflix content to be in high-definition, stick to the higher quality option.
The updated settings section also shows how much hard-drive storage is being occupied by Netflix downloaded data. On High setting, a standard hour-length episode, say the pilot of 13 Reasons Why, comes in at just over 700MB; while a film such as Fight Club – at over two hours of length – will take up 2.3GB of storage.
To get the new feature, just make sure your Netflix app is updated from the Windows Store. For now, it seems Windows 10 Mobile and Xbox One aren’t getting offline viewing.
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