Renewing Netflix subscription - which option?

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Wollie

Registered User
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Hi
I cancelled Netflix some time ago, but I'm now under pressure from the other half to renew it. There are three options: Basic, Standard and Premium. The video quality is "good", "better" and "best". It's the last bit that confuses me: "resolution", which is 720p, 1080p or 4K +HDR. I haven't a clue what it means. Can anyone enlighten me and advise me which to choose? By the way, the internet isn't great where we live, which may affect my choice. We only want to watch "normal" programs. ("The Crown" is the immediate reason for the pressure from my other half).
 
Wollie said:
Hi
I cancelled Netflix some time ago, but I'm now under pressure from the other half to renew it. There are three options: Basic, Standard and Premium. The video quality is "good", "better" and "best". It's the last bit that confuses me: "resolution", which is 720p, 1080p or 4K +HDR. I haven't a clue what it means. Can anyone enlighten me and advise me which to choose? By the way, the internet isn't great where we live, which may affect my choice. We only want to watch "normal" programs. ("The Crown" is the immediate reason for the pressure from my other half).
Click to expand...

720p is absolutely fine - the picture quality is very good (high definition), plus it requires a lot less bandwidth than the other options.
 
If your TV is not 4k, I see no reason to go for the Premium plan.

BTW, the Basic plan also restricts you to one screen at a time, so you can't e.g. watch one programme on the TV while another user watches something different on e.g. their phone/tablet/laptop.
 
I love the 4k especially for nature stuff. But if you don't notice or care then I would pick the cheapest one. Also there isn't a lot of stuff in 4k yet and you need very good broadband. You need a 4k TV as was previously mentioned.

480p is DVD quality HD (720x480)
720p HD Ready TV or HD (1280×720)
1080p is Blu-ray Full HD (1080x1090)
4k + HDR is 4K Bluray or UHD. Ultra HD (3840x2160)

en.m.wikipedia.org

720p - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org
 
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"Resolution" refers to the number of pixels per frame of the programme. So the option called "best," encodes the programming at "4K" resolution: 3840 horizontal pixels per screen x 2160 vertical pixels. This allows for the highest level of detail (there are 8K sets but not so much content for them) and makes the image more "film-like" (with appropriate settings), provided you have a 4K television. If you don't have a 4K television, you can't make use of that extra detail.

HD TVs have a resolution of 1920 (H) x 1080 (V) pixels. Early "HD-Ready" TVs have 720p resolution (720 vertical pixels) but are actually higher than DVD quality.

HDR means "high dynamic range": basically greater information and more precise rendering of light/dark regions and colours. Usually only found on 4K TVs, I think.
 
Sorry I've corrected mine.

720 is confusingly often called HD
1080 is generally called "Full HD"

Usual marketing attempt to confuse people

en.m.wikipedia.org

720p - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org
 
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Just to add one little thing that most people might not have noticed with their streaming choices
1080p HD streaming is not Blue-ray disc quality and a Blue-ray disc can and often does offer better or higher quality picture and sound to 4K streaming. It all comes down to the bit rates the streaming services and your BB can handle compared to what a Blue ray disc and player will give you
 
Quality varies a lot for sure.

I was slowly getting some of my favorite old movies on Blu-Ray. Need a 4k Blu-ray player now.
 
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