yeah, I was WTF! when I saw this news

guess I gonna hunt down a modem that supports VPN

Well, that's not good
Hopefully those dns/vpn providers find a way to bypass that
Btw, I think someone mentioned here that HD not available for Inception on the windows apps version of netflix
I tried watching it on my firetv stick, and HD quality is available for that one
Guess netflix prioritize media streamers like roku/fire tv

it's about netflix's 4k uhd certification:

Doesn't matter to me, I am going to cancel when trial ends anyway. The movies available at Netflix are outdated and besides I already have most of them anyway in full HD and 5.1 sound.

Currently Netflix with my wireless hotspot 3Mbps , I can only get SD streaming and only stereo sound because I am using Browser to watch.

Even KODI , with some movies, I can at least get 5.1 sound on my Optical cable to my AVR.

They could've given the netflix windows app full hd at least, but no it's only at 480p quality for certain movies.
Looks like they're really picky about certified devices for HD streaming.

yep, from what i understand, only certain smart tv's (1080p, not 4k) direct netflix app get hd (not ultra hd).

list of certified tv brands and models here.
https://help.netflix.com/en/node/13444


my 4k sharp model does not support it!

i only get 480p upscaled!

that's why i will not continue. just cancelled, free trial still allowed until expiry.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Jan 15 2016, 04:43 PM

Haha, they really to need to note that in the terms and condition for 4k subscription
All that restriction and pirates still rips shows from their site anyway

How do you know you're only getting 480p? Any quality indicator or just judging from the video quality

no indicator.

i have watched enough of all kinds of videos to know.

esp on a 4k uhd tv.

Nah.. It's nothing new.. It's a cat and mouse game and the mouse ALWAYS wins (TPB/PT/KickAss T vs "Big Media"). .. There are much more private ways to access such content and with the way most VPNs (proper ones) are setup, it's impossible to completely block access as the internet doesn't work that way. There are legitimate users in say the USA who work behind encrypted connections, be it for work or so as to maximize the full bandwidth they pay their ISPs (remember last year's Netflix drama with Comcast etc). It's like the great firewall of China, things still get through for those who know . Just that, such info are rarely shared on public forums like this to avoid the loophole being shut. So they can go ahead & in so doing lose paying subscribers who'll just turn to less than legal means of obtaining the content.

Netflix provided a bunch of sample videos that while playing, also displays the current resolution & streaming speed

Oh yeah, that one
I just noticed those test videos are not available in msia, only us/canada

Was about to purchase smart DNS as currently i'm able to log in into Netflix US region..

But too bad Netflix is going to block VPN users..

"In a blog entry posted Thursday, the company’s vice-president of content-delivery architecture, David Fullagar, said that “in coming weeks, those using proxies and unblockers will only be able to access the service in the country where they currently are.”

Netflix To Block Proxy Access

they will fail in their quest to block. or they simply wanna create headlines as to assure content providers that they're doing something to ensure those contents are not viewed outside agreed locations.

Agree..!!

was able to get 1080p now.. same 4mbps connection

but only when there's no other devices using the bandwidth, otherwise it would downgrade to 720p or even 480p, which is fine for me

Precisely why I used the word "Consistent"... Effective network bandwidth is required... So people understand & not complain about being unable to get a steady 1080p stream from Netflix.

Out of curiosity I decided to try out Netflix's Dolby 5.1 sound on my PC.

Since Netflix has a dedicated application for Win 8 (without the need for using browser), I booted to my Windows 8 (My PC is Dual Boot Win7 + 8), downloaded and installed the App, and set my Windows Default sound to SPDIF output (connected to my AVR).

Then started the Netflix app, and tested one of the movies with DD 5.1 and compared it with the same title (in MKV) with DD5.1 on my Media player. (Both showed Dolby Digital 5.1 on AVR as expected)

However I noticed the Netflix 5.1 sound was inferior quality. The surround is much softer and less clear. My guess is that Netflix re-encoded the Dolby sound to lesser quality to save bandwidth.

This post has been edited by Ngto: Jan 16 2016, 09:20 PM

Your guess is correct and not just the sound, the picture quality as well.. The highest quality Netflix can provide is no direct match against a Blu-ray disc or properly encoded rip. However, the end product also relies on the post-processing done by display screens (Monitor, TVs, etc), media players and sound systems.

still not much shows, if till feb no a lot of shows i think i will go back to iflix

Since my AVR is the same for both bitstream sources , it shouldn't be brought in because any post processing, will be constant for both sources.

This post has been edited by Ngto: Jan 16 2016, 11:15 PM