5 ms·

Why not use the website?

hjadal 5y ago
Afaik the resolution is lower and some audio features are not supported in most browsers. It is only Microsoft Edge on Windows and Safari on Mac that supports 4k, https://help.netflix.com/en/node/13444 https://help.netflix.com/en/node/13444.
- p_l 5y ago
  It's DRM requirement
isiahl 5y ago
The website doesn't deliver 1080p video in any browser but Edge (and this may have changed with Edge being switched to Chromium)
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  > The website doesn't deliver 1080p video in any browser but Edge I'm pretty sure I watch HD Netflix in Safari. Surely I can't be watching 720p and be deceiving myself?
  - y4mi 5y ago
    HD starts at 720p. The difference between Netflix 1080 and 720p is often pretty small, so you might've really just not noticed. They're generally streaming with pretty poor bit-rates The first time I watched a pirated episode after years of streaming from Netflix was pretty eye opening for me wrt video quality.
    - chrisseaton 5y ago
      You’re definitely mistaken - you get up to 4K in the browser with Safari - it’s highlighted in the UI even I think.
      - y4mi 5y ago
        It's great if it does, not sure how that makes me mistaken though. I never said anything about what was actually supported. My point was that the pixel density is pretty hard to determine with low Bitrate streams as you get them from Netflix.
  - endless1234 5y ago
    Safari is up to 4k on macOS 11+, as per https://help.netflix.com/en/node/55764 https://help.netflix.com/en/node/55764
  - banana_giraffe 5y ago
    Safari on Mac OS can do 4k. Chrome will top out at 720p. You can check for yourself, hit Ctrl-Alt-Shift-D during playback to show a bunch of stats on the stream, including the current resolution being shown.
- moffkalast 5y ago
  Chrome works in 1080p, but has a 1 in something chance of crashing your graphics driver for some reason. After I had to force restart my pc from a black screen for the 3rd time I eventually moved the the desktop app which doesn't have those problems.
pinum 5y ago
The last time I checked, the web version was limited to 720p. Although I guess that might have been better than broken lipsync. While I'm on the subject... about a year ago I tried subscribing to the 4K plan, since I bought a 4K monitor. Netflix only played in 4K if I used an HDMI cable, not DisplayPort, and only if I completely unplugged my secondary 1440p monitor (turning it off wasn't enough).
- c0balt 5y ago
  That sounds more like your external driver (PC or some Box) or your monitor didn't share a supported Displayport Version that supported 4k60 and the HDMI interfaces did. Might've also been the calbe but display-standard supports often sucks on many devices in that regard for higher-level standards.
  - ewindal 5y ago
    I shouldn’t need a 4k monitor to watch at a better quality than 720p. The only reason I use Edge these days is because that idiotic (and purposeful) limitation isn’t present there (for some reason).
  - pinum 5y ago
    It turned out my monitor supported HDCP 2.2 over HDMI but not DP (edit: and Netflix requires that all connected monitors support 2.2, not just the one you're trying to watch the video on.) I would maybe understand enforcing that requirement if it was effective in protecting the content, but it isn't. 4K content (from UHD blurays and various streaming services) is widely available to pirate, and VLC doesn't care what kind of cable you're using.
    - codetrotter 5y ago
      > I would maybe understand enforcing that requirement if it was effective in protecting the content, but it isn't. 4K content (from UHD blurays and various streaming services) is widely available to pirate, and VLC doesn't care what kind of cable you're using. Speculation on my part but I wouldn’t be surprised if those kinds of requirements are mainly there to appease motion picture industry partners who Netflix is licensing content from. Furthermore, given the long experience the people of the release groups in the piracy scene have in fine tuning video codec parameters for optimal balance between quality and file size, and choosing video codecs that can be decoded on a wide range of devices, I think it is highly probable that many of the people working on the technical side of these things at Netflix have had roles in various piracy release groups prior to having come to work for Netflix. Not saying Netflix would actively seek out piracy release group members to hire them. In fact it’d probably count as negative to openly state any kind of involvement with the piracy scene, and especially to mention having been part of a release group. What I mean is just that the people who were members of these groups have both the skills and the technical motivation to work on these same kinds of things for Netflix.
grujicd 5y ago
Netflix/HBO in browser AFAIK doesn't have 5.1 audio, just stereo. That's the main reason I download "unofficial" content while still paying for these two services for kids/wife to watch or for shows where surround sound doesn't matter. The other reason is subtitles.

Afaik the resolution is lower and some audio features are not supported in most browsers. It is only Microsoft Edge on Windows and Safari on Mac that supports 4k, https://help.netflix.com/en/node/13444 https://help.netflix.com/en/node/13444.

p_l 5y ago
It's DRM requirement

isiahl 5y ago

The website doesn't deliver 1080p video in any browser but Edge (and this may have changed with Edge being switched to Chromium)

chrisseaton 5y ago
> The website doesn't deliver 1080p video in any browser but Edge I'm pretty sure I watch HD Netflix in Safari. Surely I can't be watching 720p and be deceiving myself?
- y4mi 5y ago
  HD starts at 720p. The difference between Netflix 1080 and 720p is often pretty small, so you might've really just not noticed. They're generally streaming with pretty poor bit-rates The first time I watched a pirated episode after years of streaming from Netflix was pretty eye opening for me wrt video quality.
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    You’re definitely mistaken - you get up to 4K in the browser with Safari - it’s highlighted in the UI even I think.
    - y4mi 5y ago
      It's great if it does, not sure how that makes me mistaken though. I never said anything about what was actually supported. My point was that the pixel density is pretty hard to determine with low Bitrate streams as you get them from Netflix.
- endless1234 5y ago
  Safari is up to 4k on macOS 11+, as per https://help.netflix.com/en/node/55764 https://help.netflix.com/en/node/55764
- banana_giraffe 5y ago
  Safari on Mac OS can do 4k. Chrome will top out at 720p. You can check for yourself, hit Ctrl-Alt-Shift-D during playback to show a bunch of stats on the stream, including the current resolution being shown.
moffkalast 5y ago
Chrome works in 1080p, but has a 1 in something chance of crashing your graphics driver for some reason. After I had to force restart my pc from a black screen for the 3rd time I eventually moved the the desktop app which doesn't have those problems.

pinum 5y ago

The last time I checked, the web version was limited to 720p. Although I guess that might have been better than broken lipsync. While I'm on the subject... about a year ago I tried subscribing to the 4K plan, since I bought a 4K monitor. Netflix only played in 4K if I used an HDMI cable, not DisplayPort, and only if I completely unplugged my secondary 1440p monitor (turning it off wasn't enough).

c0balt 5y ago
That sounds more like your external driver (PC or some Box) or your monitor didn't share a supported Displayport Version that supported 4k60 and the HDMI interfaces did. Might've also been the calbe but display-standard supports often sucks on many devices in that regard for higher-level standards.
- ewindal 5y ago
  I shouldn’t need a 4k monitor to watch at a better quality than 720p. The only reason I use Edge these days is because that idiotic (and purposeful) limitation isn’t present there (for some reason).
- pinum 5y ago
  It turned out my monitor supported HDCP 2.2 over HDMI but not DP (edit: and Netflix requires that all connected monitors support 2.2, not just the one you're trying to watch the video on.) I would maybe understand enforcing that requirement if it was effective in protecting the content, but it isn't. 4K content (from UHD blurays and various streaming services) is widely available to pirate, and VLC doesn't care what kind of cable you're using.
  - codetrotter 5y ago
    > I would maybe understand enforcing that requirement if it was effective in protecting the content, but it isn't. 4K content (from UHD blurays and various streaming services) is widely available to pirate, and VLC doesn't care what kind of cable you're using. Speculation on my part but I wouldn’t be surprised if those kinds of requirements are mainly there to appease motion picture industry partners who Netflix is licensing content from. Furthermore, given the long experience the people of the release groups in the piracy scene have in fine tuning video codec parameters for optimal balance between quality and file size, and choosing video codecs that can be decoded on a wide range of devices, I think it is highly probable that many of the people working on the technical side of these things at Netflix have had roles in various piracy release groups prior to having come to work for Netflix. Not saying Netflix would actively seek out piracy release group members to hire them. In fact it’d probably count as negative to openly state any kind of involvement with the piracy scene, and especially to mention having been part of a release group. What I mean is just that the people who were members of these groups have both the skills and the technical motivation to work on these same kinds of things for Netflix.

grujicd 5y ago

Netflix/HBO in browser AFAIK doesn't have 5.1 audio, just stereo. That's the main reason I download "unofficial" content while still paying for these two services for kids/wife to watch or for shows where surround sound doesn't matter. The other reason is subtitles.