Tech

Netflix now looks better on the PS4 Pro

If you are one of those who uses your PS4 Pro to watch Netflix, in addition to playing, you are in luck, because now you will be able to watch your favorite movies and series better than ever. We adore our PS4 Pro. Its HDR technology and its ability to play at 4K resolution are some of the things that we fell in love with. And those of us who also take advantage of their ability to able to see The Squid Game Netflix in Ultra HD, we have had good news these days. Now we will be able to enjoy it better, even when the connection is slower. We tell you how and why.

Netflix announces the use of the AV1 codec for PS4 Pro

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This same month of November, Netflix has announced that it is implementing AV1 technology on its platform for Smart TV’s that support it.

The AV1 is an open codec, free of royalties that has certain advantages over AVC codec, much more widespread and that you probably know more as H.264, if you are fond of these things.

One of the main advantages is that AV1 is much more efficient than AVC because it is able to compress better the video. That means, with AV1, you can have the same image quality as with AVC, but using less bandwidth.

And we are not talking about a small thing, but about up to 38% improvement. This is excellent news for those of us who always want that 4K, but our Internet connection is not exactly the fastest.

In addition to that, the higher efficiency of AV1 also allows Playback delays are minor. In this case, the improvement is only around 2%, but it all adds up.

The AV1 codec

Netflix uses AV1 with 10-bit encoding, allowing less distortion in the image. You have probably seen more than once how Netflix looks somewhat pixelated until the connection stabilizes and the image is appreciated at the resolution it touches. From now on, with this technology in the Smart TV’s that are compatible with it, that will be reduced.

And the news is that, in addition to television, Netflix will also use the AV1 codec for the streaming on our PS4 Pro, which is highly appreciated.

This was a bit of a surprise, because the console cannot natively decode AV1. However, a decoder GPU accelerated, and jointly developed by Netflix and Youtube, lets get it.

4K yes, HDR no

Another point that we loved about the PS4 is the ability to take advantage of HDR technology, which makes movies, series and games look brighter and appear more true to life.

However, although Netflix does offer its content in HDR for the PlayStation 4 Pro, this will still not use AV1 and will continue to use HEVC for those cases. It is expected that in the future it will also make the leap to this more efficient technology, but there is no set date.

Meanwhile, we can take the opportunity to watch Netflix even better on the PS4 Pro, taking up less bandwidth so that those who live with us do not complain so much about us hoarding.

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