From what I've read on their documentation [1], it's mostly for future-proofing their own content. [1] https://partnerhelp.netflixstudios.com/hc/en-us/articles

From what I've read on their documentation [1], it's mostly for future-proofing their own content. [1] https://partnerhelp.netflixstudios.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500000258401-Image-Capture-Frequently-Asked-Questions https://partnerhelp.netflixstudios.com/hc/en-us/articles/150... --- StartQuote --- Why does Netflix require UHD on Netflix Originals? Answer: In 2014, Netflix made the decision to begin shooting and delivering all Originals in UHD. This decision was made for several reasons, the most of important of which is to future-proof our content. UHD is here, and adoption of UHD in the home is increasing. In just a few years, it will be harder to find an HD television than a UHD television. For this reason, we feel it only makes sense to shoot natively in the format that most of our customers will see for years to come. The experience for customers viewing HD is still fantastic. Our encoding pipeline takes a UHD master and produces beautiful HD (and SD) streams for all those customers who are viewing on smaller or older displays. --- EndQuote ---