What many don’t know: Netflix only works in the best quality available on your PC in exceptional cases. We’ll show you the mistakes you shouldn’t make while playing.
If you want to watch a movie or series on Netflix, you naturally want to stream it in the best possible picture quality and enjoy the best sound quality. After all, Netflix announces to offer its premium customers selected content in 4K HDR high definition.
But the big problem: even if you have a premium subscription, you won’t automatically watch all 4K movies and series. On the one hand, not all content is available in HD, and on the other hand, Netflix reduces the quality in the main browsers Chrome and Firefox to 720p.
If you frequently watch Netflix on your computer, you should check the picture quality. Here are two tips to help you find out, and tools you can use to improve the quality of Netflix on PC.
View Netflix Playback Quality: Here’s How
If you want to see Netflix playback quality, you can start the browser app and enter “test patterns” in the search field. As a result, you will be presented with a series, the episodes of which will show various test images. If you start an episode, you can see the current playback quality at the top right of the screen.
If you want to see the playback quality of certain movies or series, start it and hold down the buttons [Strg] + [Umschalt] + [Alt] + [D] Compressed – Netflix will then show you the current video resolution along with lots of other information.
Offer from BestCheck.de | Prices include VAT plus shipping costs
Compare other offers
How to Improve Playback Quality on Netflix
If you watch Netflix in Chrome or Firefox, movies and series will be streamed in 720p maximum, the lowest in HD. You also have to do without HDR and ambient sound.
Image only improves with free browser extensions Netflix 1080p for Google Chrome And fire Fox, which Netflix displays at least in Full HD, which is also the perfect choice for most screens. Cool: Since the add-on works on all platforms, it’s not limited to Windows. So you can also enjoy Netflix in 1080p on Linux.
How it works? The add-on changes the Browser ID of your browser so that Netflix assumes your browser can play 1080p videos. Once installed, simply clear your browser cache, reopen Netflix, and start an episode or movie series immediately. The video will now play in 1080p in your browser window, which you can check using the keyboard shortcut shown above.
Ultimate 4K resolution: how to get the most out of it
If you’re already using a 4K display, you can even watch Netflix on your PC in full quality, including HDR and surround sound. enjoy. It works if you use one that comes with Windows Microsoft Edge Launch it or use Netflix Windows 10/11 app. Of course, the prerequisite is a Netflix premium account and an additional installation of HEVC video extensions, for which Microsoft charges 0.99 euros.
In the Mac works fine if you use Safari browser on your Apple device Use an M1 chip or a desktop computer with a T2 security chip.
Desktop monitors in the test
-
Philips Line B 329P9H
BestCheck offer -
Image quality (1.3)
-
Utilities (1.0)
-
Energy efficiency (2.6)
-
-
ViewSonic VP2768a-4K
BestCheck offer -
Image quality (1.3)
-
Facilities (1.2)
-
Energy efficiency (1.9)
-
-
LG 49WL95C-W
BestCheck offer -
Image quality (1.2)
-
Utilities (1.8)
-
Energy efficiency (2.2)
-
-
LG 34WK95U
BestCheck offer -
Image quality (1.0)
-
Facilities (2.1)
-
Energy efficiency (2.8)
-
-
ISO EV2785-BK Flexible Scanning
BestCheck offer -
Image quality (1.4)
-
Utilities (1.5)
-
Energy efficiency (2.2)
-