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If you were using the Netflix browser player, you were missing out on high quality audio and video, which are only available from within the Windows 8 or 10 "ap

by stu2010 10y ago

If you were using the Netflix browser player, you were missing out on high quality audio and video, which are only available from within the Windows 8 or 10 "app". If you were using the browser player on a non-Windows platform, you likely were stuck at the lowest quality 480p grainy video, as I am on the Ubuntu device I'm typing this on. For better or for worse, legal content distribution has been avoiding PCs as a target platform because of how easy it is to copy and redistribute anything that goes through a PC. If they keep it to more limited set-top boxes like Rokus or SmartTVs themselves, the management will feel like piracy is being prevented.

Insanity 10y ago
The video quality was not that bad to be honest in the browser. (Ubuntu, Chrome) but I could not run it on Chromium without enabling other plugins which I did not want to do. I was running it on a low-end ubuntu device and the quality was at least 720p as far as I could tell. One of the main issues with it, at least for me, is that the content is restricted to content here in Belgium. My wife is Mexican and thus we sometimes want to watch Mexican movies or simply see things in Spanish or with Spanish subtitles. Things that are not available on the Belgian netflix.
fastball 10y ago
What? I almost always get 1080p on my laptop when watching Netflix in a browser.
- stu2010 10y ago
  So you're using IE or Edge? Netflix explicitly only supports 1080p or higher in Microsoft or Apple browsers, Chrome and Firefox get 720p at best. If you want 5.1 audio, no browser is an option and the Windows store app the only solution. https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23742 https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23742
  - Insanity 10y ago
    So my guess for 720p was quite a good one then! That's quite annoying though for people who actually care about watching netflix in high quality. Can't imagine why this is done.
  - fastball 10y ago
    Neither IE nor Edge. Usually watch Netflix in Safari. 720p on Chrome and Firefox is also better than your initial claim of "you're probably only getting 480p".

by stu2010 10y ago

Insanity 10y ago

The video quality was not that bad to be honest in the browser. (Ubuntu, Chrome) but I could not run it on Chromium without enabling other plugins which I did not want to do. I was running it on a low-end ubuntu device and the quality was at least 720p as far as I could tell. One of the main issues with it, at least for me, is that the content is restricted to content here in Belgium. My wife is Mexican and thus we sometimes want to watch Mexican movies or simply see things in Spanish or with Spanish subtitles. Things that are not available on the Belgian netflix.

fastball 10y ago

What? I almost always get 1080p on my laptop when watching Netflix in a browser.

stu2010 10y ago
So you're using IE or Edge? Netflix explicitly only supports 1080p or higher in Microsoft or Apple browsers, Chrome and Firefox get 720p at best. If you want 5.1 audio, no browser is an option and the Windows store app the only solution. https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23742 https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23742
- Insanity 10y ago
  So my guess for 720p was quite a good one then! That's quite annoying though for people who actually care about watching netflix in high quality. Can't imagine why this is done.
- fastball 10y ago
  Neither IE nor Edge. Usually watch Netflix in Safari. 720p on Chrome and Firefox is also better than your initial claim of "you're probably only getting 480p".