Netflix today announced a new feature for its streaming TV and movie service, high-quality audio, which Netflix says takes its sound quality "to another level."

High-quality audio is designed to provide audio that more closely matches with what creators hear in the studio, resulting in a "richer, more intense experience."


Netflix's audio bitrate now goes up to 640 kb/s on devices supporting 5.1 surround sound and 768 kb/s for devices that support Dolby Atmos. For the improved Dolby Atmos sound, a Netflix Premium subscription is required.

Most TV devices that support 5.1 or Dolby Atmos are capable of receiving better sound. Depending on your device and bandwidth capabilities, the bitrate you receive may vary:

5.1: From 192 kbps (good) up to 640 kbps (great/perceptually transparent)

Dolby Atmos: From 448 kbps up to 768 kbps (Dolby Atmos is available for members subscribed to the Premium plan)

For those with bandwidth or device limitations, the high-quality audio feature is adaptive, so it will provide the best possible audio to match your device or connection's capabilities.

Netflix says its new bitrates will "evolve over time" as its encoding techniques get more efficient.

Tag: Netflix

Top Rated Comments

busyscott Avatar
busyscott
58 months ago
Loving all the demands for “lossless” in the comments even though basically no one could tell the difference between an mp3 and a wav or flac lossless in a double blind test.

I’m excited for 5.1 and Dolby Atmos, but I’d rather see higher bit rates of 4K content. Netflix compresses the bajesus out of video.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iModFrenzy Avatar
iModFrenzy
58 months ago
Why do I feel like this will cost more eventually
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
archer75 Avatar
archer75
58 months ago
Loving all the demands for “lossless” in the comments even though basically no one could tell the difference between an mp3 and a wav or flac lossless in a double blind test.

I’m excited for 5.1 and Dolby Atmos, but I’d rather see higher bit rates of 4K content. Netflix compresses the bajesus out of video.
There's a website, if I can remember it i'll post a link, where they had music files encoded at different bitrates and then a lossless file. You listen and rate what sample is what. I scored 100% on it though it was quite difficult to pick out 320kbps from lossless. But yes, depending on your ears and audio equipment you can hear a difference. I can on my main home theater but can't on my second home theater with its smaller, cheaper speakers.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unity451 Avatar
Unity451
58 months ago
This will be perfect for The Office theme song!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vipergts2207 Avatar
vipergts2207
58 months ago
Where does this leave those of us with dual HomePods?
In need of a proper home theater setup. Homepods were never designed with that use case in mind, even though at least a few people here shoehorned them into that application.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Remy149 Avatar
Remy149
58 months ago
Why do I feel like this will cost more eventually
It already does it’s part of the premium tier that offers 4K and hdr content I pay $14.99 a month for it
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huh. The Xbox One X already has Atmos audio, provided you have the proper setup. i wonder if this announcement is about other platforms or just an upgrade in general for all (included the X)?
The Xbox and Apple TV offer Atmos support but it was never available from the Netflix app on either device
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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