Netflix for iPad gets ready for Retina display

Netflix just got a little sharper for the new iPad.

Amid the flurry of upgrades for the higher-resolution Retina display, Netflix released its Version 2.1.1 with Retina-ready artwork, better playback on external screens and fixes for accessibility option VoiceOver. Another revision, 2.1, released earlier this month was for faster switching between apps.

With this upgraded screen on the iPad, all you’re getting are improved icons and still images for movies and TV shows? What about moving on up to high-definition? Well, Netflix says support for HD streaming is in the works -- their mobile team said on Twitter they are “actively investigating 1080p support.” For now, you’re stuck with standard definition at a resolution of 1350 kbps, 640x480.

Another change that you might not notice, however, is one to their Terms of Use. The new terms are all about arbitration, meaning you give up your right to take them to court -- for anything.

The new terms read, compete with their own capitalization inserted: “These Terms of Use provide that all disputes between you and Netflix will be resolved by BINDING ARBITRATION. YOU AGREE TO GIVE UP YOUR RIGHT TO GO TO COURT to assert or defend your rights under this contract (except for matters that may be taken to small claims court). Your rights will be determined by a NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR and NOT a judge or jury and your claims cannot be brought as a class action.”

The key may be that last sentence. Last year, a group in Virginia filed a class-action lawsuit, claiming that Netflix was retaining users’ rental and streaming records for up to two years after service was canceled, in violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act, passed in 1988 to keep video rental services from sharing details of what current and former customers watched. Netflix paid $9 million to settle the case.

OK, no more class-action suits. But you’re about to get mobile HD streaming. What’s there to complain about, right?

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Original source: Netflix for iPad gets ready for Retina display