Is Netflix streaming h.265 (HEVC) for Apple TV 4 (1080P) users?

[zorinlynx]

I was just watching Ozark and the quality is really, really good, but it only showed up at around 2.5Mbps on my network graphs. I've never seen a 2.5Mbps 1080p stream look this good!

Does anyone know if Netflix has switched to using h.265 for 1080p streams on the Apple TV 4 (NOT 4K) version? I suspect maybe they're doing this to save bandwidth during the COVID-19 pandemic, and saving bandwidth is good for all of us!

 

[EugW]

I was just watching Ozark and the quality is really, really good, but it only showed up at around 2.5Mbps on my network graphs. I've never seen a 2.5Mbps 1080p stream look this good!

Does anyone know if Netflix has switched to using h.265 for 1080p streams on the Apple TV 4 (NOT 4K) version? I suspect maybe they're doing this to save bandwidth during the COVID-19 pandemic, and saving bandwidth is good for all of us!

I've read that Netflix uses h.265 HEVC for 1080p on Fire TV 4K. I would assume the same for Apple TV 4K.

However, Apple TV 4 uses the Apple A8 SoC, which isn't supposed to support hardware h.265 HEVC decode in iOS.

OTOH, we do know that A8 actually does support h.265 HEVC to a certain extent, because when the iPhone 6 was announced, it was listed to support h.265 for FaceTime but then they stopped talking about it, and Apple later stated QuickTime h.265 required an A9. Perhaps specifically just for Apple TV, they leveraged the hidden h.265 support of A8 for 1080p Netflix and 1080p Apple TV.

 

[waw74]

from the specs

HEVC SDR up to 1080p, 30 fps, Main/Main 10 profile

TV & Home

Simply connect Apple TV, HomePod mini, and other accessories to experience a smart home that runs flawlessly across your devices.

www.apple.com

 

[EugW]

from the specs

TV & Home

Simply connect Apple TV, HomePod mini, and other accessories to experience a smart home that runs flawlessly across your devices.

www.apple.com

There we go. It’s too bad they don’t expose that HEVC support to us in iOS and iPadOS.

 

[zorinlynx]

Thanks for the replies.

I know the Apple TV HD supports HEVC it's just a question as to whether Netflix is using it or not.

I suspect the ATV HD might be doing HEVC decoding at least partially in software, because it feels warmer when watching HEVC streams. Also it struggles some on higher bitrate HEVC streams that I've tried to play via Plex.

 

[EugW]

Thanks for the replies.

I know the Apple TV HD supports HEVC it's just a question as to whether Netflix is using it or not.

I suspect the ATV HD might be doing HEVC decoding at least partially in software, because it feels warmer when watching HEVC streams. Also it struggles some on higher bitrate HEVC streams that I've tried to play via Plex.

Plex doesn't use hardware HEVC decoding AFAIK on A8. That's what I was getting at earlier. Apple doesn't expose hardware A8 decode to third parties. That requires an A9 or higher.

However, A8 must include some hardware HEVC support, since the iPhone 6 used real-time HEVC encoding for FaceTime.

 

[loekf]

MrMc also does SW decode of HEVC on the AppleTV HD, think you can do maximum 720p30. AppleTV 4K with its A10 is a different story. Its HW decoding capabilities are comparable to AMD and Nvidia GPUs in terms of bitrates and profiles, except for VP9 of coourse.