Netflix 4K Video Comes to Windows 10 … Sort Of

Netflix 4K Video Comes to Windows 10 ... Sort Of

This week, Microsoft claimed that 4K (UHD) content from Netflix was now available exclusively for Windows 10 PCs. It’s not true. On any level.

It’s not true because Netflix’s small but growing library of 4K (and HDR) content has been available for months on other devices, including the Roku 4K, Premiere, Premiere+, and Ultra, the Samsung TV I’m currently using, and many others. Here’s a list. Even the Xbox One S, a Microsoft device, already supports this functionality.

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Looked at from another angle, even the availability of 4K video in Netflix for Windows 10 isn’t true for most people because you need two things that most users simply don’t have: A 4K/UHD display and a 7th generation Intel Core i7 processor. So if you’re rocking a Skylake-generation Core i7 processor in your PC, you’re out of luck.

(Oh, and you need to actually pay Netflix extra before you can even see the 4K content. So even those with a PC with the required specs might not even know this 4K content exists. But I digress.)

Why would they even make this claim? And why on earth would they tie this announcement to … a Gilmore Girls revival series that no one with the required PC would ever want to watch in the first place?

One can only wonder. So let’s look at the actual announcement. I’ll try to skip over as much of the Gilmore Girls stuff as I can.

“Today we are happy to announce 4K content from Netflix is now available exclusively for compatible PCs and 2-in-1 devices with Windows 10,” a Microsoft blog post notes. “Microsoft Edge [is] the only browser that supports Netflix 4K content.”

So, wait a second. This support comes via the Netflix website in Edge, and not via the Netflix app for Windows 10? LOL. Oh man.

Microsoft then goes on to tout the battery life advantages of using Edge vs. the browser everyone actually uses, Google Chrome.

“When streaming Netflix on Microsoft Edge you can get through at least one more full episode of [a TV show] than when streaming on Chrome on battery.”

Good God.

Here are all the caveats you see in the footnotes to the post, plus a few Microsoft fails to mention explicitly.

Ultra HD availability subject to your Netflix subscription plan, Internet service, device capabilities, and content availability. You also have to pay extra for 4K capabilities in Netflix.

To run Netflix in 4K on a PC device, it must have a 4K-capable screen and use a 7th Gen Intel® Core™ Processor. What percentage of the PC user base has both? 1 percent? Less?

Battery life varies significantly with settings and other factors. So that claim about Edge battery life might in fact be bogus.

You have to use Edge. Does the Netflix app for Windows 10 even support 4K video? Microsoft doesn’t say.

Seriously, Microsoft. The Gilmore Girls?

Note: Want to gouge your eyes out? Watch the trailer.

 

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Conversation 57 comments

  • 442

    22 November, 2016 - 7:56 am

    <p>OK, let’s bash the baby steps…&nbsp; :/</p>

  • 3958

    Premium Member
    22 November, 2016 - 8:28 am

    <p>Hey, I actually enjoyed Gilmore Girls.</p>

  • 5592

    22 November, 2016 - 8:30 am

    <p>Actually it is exclusively available on Windows 10 PCs. Note PCs. The phrasing could have been clearer but it means that the ONLY way you can watch Netflix 4K Video ON A PERSONAL COMPUTER is if it is running Windows 10 and the Microsoft Edge browser.</p>
    <p>You can’t watch it on a macOS PC (or Mac OS X or OS X or whatever Apple calls it this year)</p>
    <p>You can’t watch it on an Android PC</p>
    <p>You can’t watch it on an iOS PC (If you consider an iOS device an actual Computer as Tim Cook does)</p>
    <p>You can’t watch it on a ChromeOS PC</p>
    <p>You can’t watch it on a PC running an earlier version of Windows</p>
    <p>You can’t watch it on ANY PC that isn’t running Windows 10 and Edge.</p>
    <p>If you want to watch Netflix 4K video on a PC, it is exclusively available on Windows 10 with Edge.</p>
    <p>(Oh, and if you consider an Xbox One a PC then it works, too. After all, it’s a PC running Windows 10 and Edge)</p>
    <p>&nbsp;</p>
    <p>Clear now?</p>

    • 248

      Premium Member
      22 November, 2016 - 8:49 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#26675">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/MikeGalos">MikeGalos</a><a href="#26675">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>This comment is what this article should have been lol</p>

    • 1294

      22 November, 2016 - 9:38 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#26675">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/MikeGalos">MikeGalos</a><a href="#26675">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>Thank you! &nbsp;I also though the announcement was clear, I guess not for everybody</p>

    • 5592

      22 November, 2016 - 12:53 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#26675">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/MikeGalos">MikeGalos</a><a href="#26675">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>And, to be thorough…</p>
      <p>It doesn’t run on any PC using "the browser that everybody uses" (actually, the browser 55% of people use), Google Chrome</p>
      <p>It doesn’t run on any PC using Microsoft Internet Explorer</p>
      <p>It doesn’t run on any PC using Mozilla Firefox</p>
      <p>It doesn’t run on any PC using Apple Safari</p>
      <p>It doesn’t run on any PC using Opera</p>
      <p>It exclusively runs on PCs using Microsoft Edge</p>
      <p>&nbsp;</p>

      • 907

        22 November, 2016 - 4:08 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#26796">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/MikeGalos">MikeGalos</a><a href="#26796">:</a></em></blockquote>
        <p>You’ve come back four hours after your first post to add that? The article got to you I guess. The article was actually quite humorous…you know if you had a sense of humor.</p>

        • 5592

          23 November, 2016 - 1:46 am

          <blockquote><em><a href="#26868">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/anchovylover">anchovylover</a><a href="#26868">:</a></em></blockquote>
          <p>Yep.&nbsp;Wrong information&nbsp;in news stories bothers me.</p>
          <p>I take it that doesn’t bother you. Perhaps you can explain why…</p>

  • 2073

    22 November, 2016 - 8:49 am

    <p>So I can play AAA games on a Skylake/GTX1080 desktop at 4K, but I can’t watch Netflix in 4K? wtf. No specifics about HDR support either.</p>

  • 5534

    22 November, 2016 - 12:31 pm

    <p>"Looked at from another angle, even the availability of 4K video in Netflix for Windows 10 isn&rsquo;t true for most people because you need two things that most users simply don&rsquo;t have …"&nbsp;</p>
    <p>It’s&nbsp;<strong><em>AVAILABLE</em></strong> for everyone. But obviously,&nbsp;just like any other 4K service, 4K capable&nbsp;equipment is required&nbsp;to actually use it.</p>

    • 5592

      22 November, 2016 - 12:56 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#26790">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/CompUser">CompUser</a><a href="#26790">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>Yep. It’s not available on the Samsung Smart TV I’m currently using because it’s not 4K.&nbsp;You’d think that would&nbsp;go without saying…</p>

  • 8640

    24 November, 2016 - 11:09 pm

    <p>Netflix is going crazy nowadays. I love Netflix as it will provide all movie streaming services. Though Ultra HD availability subject to your Netflix subscription plan, Internet service, device capabilities, and content availability its a cool feature. You also have to pay extra for 4K capabilities in Netflix. You can access all Netflix content for free using <a href="http://moviesitesapps.com/free-netflix-account-usernames-passwords/">Netflix free username and password</a>.</p>

  • 8892

    06 December, 2016 - 12:50 pm

    <p>"Looked at from another angle, even the availability of 4K video in Netflix for Windows 10 isn&rsquo;t true for most people because you need two things that most users simply don&rsquo;t have …"&nbsp;</p>
    <p>It’s&nbsp;AVAILABLE for everyone. But obviously,&nbsp;just like any other 4K service, 4K capable&nbsp;equipment is required&nbsp;to actually use it.</p>
    <p>same thing in my mind thanks for saving my time mate. but i usually use showbox in place of netflix to watch my movies. I am using <a href="http://iphoneipadtrick.com/showbox-ios-10-iphone-ipad-without-jailbreak/&quot; target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ShowBox on iOS 10.2</a> version of my iPhone 7 or else you can use <a href="http://iphoneipadtrick.com/popcorn-time-ios-10-iphone-ipad/">PopCorn Time</a> if you have good skills to operate it.</p>

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