Netflix HDR content is getting a big quality boost – according to the video streaming service – thanks to work behind the scenes.
Free quality upgrades are always a nice bonus, of course. In that regard, there is good news for Netflix subscribers. The video streamer has in fact optimized their entire HDR catalog behind the scenes, they inform on their blog. Below the line, it means that Netflix has come up with a new method for measuring video quality. This involves scrutinizing things like motion in video and loss of detail for both Dolby Vision and HDR10. That analysis has resulted in Netflix now being able to send HDR videos at variable bitrates. Also known as HDR-DO, aka HDR Dynamically Optimized.
Better picture and less data
For you as a user, it should ultimately deliver better picture quality, which – not unimportant for mobile use – also requires less bandwidth. And thus less data usage on the meter. In fact, converting the Netflix HDR catalog began as early as early 2022, by the way, but its completion was only recently made public. A detailed and technical blog post about the method can be found on this page. Then again, in order to enjoy all the new beauty, a Premium subscription is required. And these prices have unfortunately been raised again significantly recently.