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4K Netflix

M

monkeydax

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 2, 2012
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Seems like just within the last month or so, I've no longer been able to get 4k on Netflix anymore. Anyone else experiencing this on M1 Macs?

I'm on a M1 MacBook Air connected to a Dell S2721QS. This had been working for months until lately!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Wando64 said:
If everyone on this website did what you just did here, the entire site would be completely useless as an information resource.

What was your problem and, crucially, how did you resolve it?
Click to expand...
It was a problem with netflix, he stopped to have 4k with it 😉
 
Wando64 said:
If everyone on this website did what you just did here, the entire site would be completely useless as an information resource.

What was your problem and, crucially, how did you resolve it?
Click to expand...
I quit Netflix over this issue. When I bought my M1 MacBook Air, without any change to my service settings, Netflix just wouldn't show 4K HDR. I contacted Netflix and they told me that they don't guarantee 4K Ultra HD on computers. I asked when it would be fixed and they sent me to a link that said it should work on Safari after version 11. I gave up at that point and just cancelled. I was paying something like $18 a month and not getting the service I paid for. Gone.
 
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jdb8167 said:
I quit Netflix over this issue. When I bought my M1 MacBook Air, without any change to my service settings, Netflix just wouldn't show 4K HDR. I contacted Netflix and they told me that they don't guarantee 4K Ultra HD on computers. I asked when it would be fixed and they sent me to a link that said it should work on Safari after version 11. I gave up at that point and just cancelled. I was paying something like $18 a month and not getting the service I paid for. Gone.
Click to expand...

I didn't even know the Air could support 4k HDR. Is that only with the new with the M1 or should my Intel support it? I wouldn't sweat it though since the Air doesn't even have a 4k screen and barely gets bright enough for a good HDR experience. I don't think you were missing anything.
 
JBGoode said:
I didn't even know the Air could support 4k HDR. Is that only with the new with the M1 or should my Intel support it? I wouldn't sweat it though since the Air doesn't even have a 4k screen and barely gets bright enough for a good HDR experience. I don't think you were missing anything.
Click to expand...
Yeah sorry. The M1 MBA doesn’t do HDR it does something Apple calls Extended Dynamic Range. It doesn’t have the HDR checkbox in display settings. But Netflix should support 4K. As far as I can tell, it still doesn’t on M1 Macs.

The MBA has a 2560x1600 display. That is far higher than 1080p. I also have a 4K external display. No excuses for Netflix.
 
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jdb8167 said:
Yeah sorry. The M1 MBA doesn’t do HDR it does something Apple calls Extended Dynamic Range. It doesn’t have the HDR checkbox in display settings. But Netflix should support 4K. As far as I can tell, it still doesn’t on M1 Macs.

The MBA has a 2560x1600 display. That is far higher than 1080p. I also have a 4K external display. No excuses for Netflix.
Click to expand...
Doesn’t the Mac upscale the 1080p stream to the native resolution of the monitor? (I’m not sure how this works)

But I see your point if you have an external 4K display.
 
JBGoode said:
Doesn’t the Mac upscale the 1080p stream to the native resolution of the monitor? (I’m not sure how this works)

But I see your point if you have an external 4K display.
Click to expand...
If you start with 4K and scale to the display native resolution you get a much better picture than if you try to scale 1080p up to 2560x1600. You can’t reproduce data that isn’t present.
 
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jdb8167 said:
I quit Netflix over this issue. When I bought my M1 MacBook Air, without any change to my service settings, Netflix just wouldn't show 4K HDR. I contacted Netflix and they told me that they don't guarantee 4K Ultra HD on computers. I asked when it would be fixed and they sent me to a link that said it should work on Safari after version 11. I gave up at that point and just cancelled. I was paying something like $18 a month and not getting the service I paid for. Gone.
Click to expand...
I got tired of paying the higher prices to have 4k when the other streaming services offer 4k at no additional cost. That and the fact that they increase prices almost as often as the cable companies, i am one price increase away from canceling all together.
 
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jdb8167 said:
If you start with 4K and scale to the display native resolution you get a much better picture than if you try to scale 1080p up to 2560x1600. You can’t reproduce data that isn’t present.
Click to expand...
I just fired up Netflix on my Mac and it looked awful. It looked to be less than 1080p quite frankly...not at all crisp like I would expect as 1080p generally still looks good to me especially on a small screen.
 
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The other thing is that netflix auto sets res based on the initial connection speed. So even with gigabit you sometimes get 480p until it decides you have enough buffer
 
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jterp7 said:
The other thing is that netflix auto sets res based on the initial connection speed. So even with gigabit you sometimes get 480p until it decides you have enough buffer
Click to expand...
First thing I checked. My M1 MacBook Air was getting over 400 Mbps with Netflix’s own Speedtest. Never saw less than 260 Mbps.
 
jdb8167 said:
First thing I checked. My M1 MacBook Air was getting over 400 Mbps with Netflix’s own Speedtest. Never saw less than 260 Mbps.
Click to expand...
How do you know if the signal is 4K? On my MBP, when I sign in to NetFlix and search for 4K, several titles pop up. In selecting a few, they all play and look great, but I can't really tell if the signals are 4K or HD. IF I only watched NetFlix on my laptop, I would probably pass on the $3 extra or whatever it cost and go with HD output only.

However, I also watch NetFlix on my 65" LG and there, the picture sure looks like 4K.
 
jterp7 said:
The other thing is that netflix auto sets res based on the initial connection speed. So even with gigabit you sometimes get 480p until it decides you have enough buffer
Click to expand...

True, especially on Macs, PCs and Tablets. When they deliver to the TV they seem to force 4K/HDR from the start.
 
monkeydax said:
Seems like just within the last month or so, I've no longer been able to get 4k on Netflix anymore. Anyone else experiencing this on M1 Macs?

I'm on a M1 MacBook Air connected to a Dell S2721QS. This had been working for months until lately!
Click to expand...
I just ordered that exact Dell monitor. How do you find it if you don't mind me asking?

What resolution do you scale it at?

I'm getting it this Thursday in the mail.
 
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