Netflix is facing a problem that many of those who pay subscriptions to have access to the platform did not think they would encounter within the platform of video streaming on demand too soon. More precisely, those at Netflix recently decided to release all the seasons of the Seinfeld series for subscribers around the world, but they also made an extremely important change for the way each series is played separately on the platform.
Netflix decided to change the aspect ratio at which the episodes of the series are viewed, this change leaving certain elements of each scene outside the visual area, in relation to what is offered by other platforms. You can see below two examples in which the aspect ratio chosen by Netflix for the Seinfeld episodes leaves off-screen certain elements from inside, or outside, the areas where the production shots were filmed.
Netflix: The Problem Millions Of People Are Complaining About
Netflix has decided to use the 16:9 aspect ratio for the episodes of the Seinfeld series, most likely anticipating that there will be complaints from those who have seen the series in the past and know that certain elements are missing from them. The second image shows how bad Netflix's decision was, and this is because a pit where one of the characters lost his keys is completely removed from an episode, even though the dialogue between the characters makes direct reference to it.
Netflix surprised a lot of people with the decision to bring the Seinfeld series to its platform, and this was excellent news for many of those who pay for the content. That things were not offered as the world hoped is a completely different story, and Netflix will certainly offer many explanations for what happened, but in the end Seinfeld remains with an aspect ratio that hides some elements from the footage, without an option to change it.
Netflix may think differently with other series it is considering releasing on its video-on-demand streaming platform, but it remains to be seen if it will do so only after they are released.
