Netflix 4K Streaming (House of Cards Season 2) Has Gone Live

We’re in the middle of reviewing a 2014 4K Ultra HD television, but just had to stop what we’re doing and get the word out that Netflix’s 4K streaming appears to be live and operational, bringing much-needed 4K content to viewers who own a compatible ultra high-definition (UHD) TV.

House of Cards S2 in 4K

Towards the end of last year, Netflix first revealed its plans to provide 4K streaming, after quietly trialling a selection of 4K video clips at various frame rates. The company dominated this year’s CES following 4K Blu-ray’s no-show, announcing together with several major TV brands including Samsung, Sony and LG that it will be delivering 4K programming via a Netflix client on HEVC-capable TVs from these manufacturers sometime in the near future.

Well, the future seems to be now: thanks to a heads-up from veteran UK AV journalist Steve May, we’ve been watching House of Cards Season 2 in Ultra HD 4K through the Netflix app on a new Samsung HU8500 UHDTV we’re currently testing. It was more in hope than expectation that we played the first episode (Chapter 14) – imagine our delight when the stream eventually switched to [2160 HD] after going through [720p HD] and [1080p HD].

Netflix 2160 HD

So how does it look? You can’t cheat the physics of compression, especially given Netflix’s 4K streaming bitrate of 15.6 Mbps which is lower than that of well-transferred Blu-rays, albeit using the more efficient HEVC/h.265 codec. The opening shot of Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and his wife (Robin Wright) running in a park at night is a testing sequence with lots of gradients and camera noise, and we saw minor posterization during the fade in, and around the street lamps. To our eyes, the [2160 HD] layer did not look visibly more detailed than the [1080 HD] one in this fairly dark scene.

Where the 4K version did shine was with bright, colourful scenes. On-screen images were rendered with greater sharpness and smoother gradients, receiving a very slight boost in intra-scene gamma and contrast in the process too. Every time the video stream switched from [1080p HD] to [2160 HD], it’s as if a veil had been lifted from the front of the screen, bringing objects – even faraway ones in long shots – into breathtaking clarity. Here’s a close-up of the US presidential flag showing the difference in quality between the 1080p and 4K streams on the same UHD TV:

Click on the options below to compare:
[1080p HD] stream
<========> [2160 HD] stream

1080p HD stream

Whether the improvement is visible from normal viewing distances remains debatable, however there’s no denying that House of Cards S2 in 4K Ultra HD was by far and away the best-looking title we’ve seen among Netflix’s catalogue of movies and television series, making the company’s previous highest-quality [Super HD] streams seem blurry in comparison. We still think that reference-level 1080p Blu-ray transfers like Oblivion look cleaner especially during busier sequences, but Netflix has done a decent job within the shackles of manageable internet streaming bandwidth.

House of Cards Season 2 is now available to watch in glorious ultra high-definition (at least in the UK), as long as you have access to a compatible 4K display with built-in HEVC decoder and updated Netflix client (for example 2014 models from LG, Samsung and Sony), not to mention sufficiently fast broadband speed (Netflix recommends at least 15Mbps). If you’re lucky enough to satisfy these requirements, has Netflix 4K been enabled for your region? Let us know in the comments below!

23 comments

  1. Good news, we can now have streamed content with a picture quality that approaches Blu-ray, this is why I’ve wanted 4k from the start.

    What i really hope Netflix do now is allow people with 1080p TVs to stream the 4k content. I reckon the 4k version, downscaled to HD by the TV, will look better than the super HD version of the same content.

    One question, what framerate does House of cards use?

  2. And another, You mentioned posterisation but how does the 4k version handle compression artifacts in general?

  3. Very much looking forward to the release of “The Worlds First 4K UltraHD Streaming Media Player” the Nuvola NP-1 from Nanotech Entertainment with 4k Streaming at 6Mbps and due out any day now. The House of Cards series is a great show and I tip my hat to the UK version which helped to bring about the American version.

  4. I probably need to get a better contact prescription before I invest money into one of the TVs. Not a lot of bang for your buck in my opinion.

  5. House of Cards S2 is not yet available in 4K on my Panasonic WT600 here in the US. However, when Netflix announced this at CES, they mentioned Samsung & Sony, but left out Panasonic. When I chatted with Netflix Tech Support a month or two ago, they did have to put me on hold to ask someone more knowledgeable about 4K,but came back and confirmed that HoC S2 Ultra 4K would only be available on Samsung and Sony initially.

    This has me wondering, does the Panasonic WT600 even have a built-in HEVC decoder? If not, that would explain why it may not be getting 4K from Netflix and likely never will. Sucks to be an early adopter sometimes.

  6. Ok, I just read your review of the WT600 here: http://hdtvtest.co.uk/news/panasonic-txl65wt600-201309043297.htm

    It states, “… the 65in Viera WT600 is listed as having inbuilt H.264 MPEG4 4K decoder rather than for the more efficient H265 codec – we’ll try to clarify with Panasonic whether support for next-generation HEVC can be provided through a firmware update.”

    Can you provide an update? Did Panasonic confirm or deny whether HEVC could be added with a firmware?

  7. @Chet: Panasonic has given no indication whatsoever that it will be adding HEVC support to the WT600. Sorry. :(

    Warmest regards
    Vincent

  8. Does anyone know if the Netflix 4K is compatible with the Sony KD-65X9005A? If not what are the chances of Sony updating the 2013 model with the new decoder – seems very short sighted for a TV that’s less that 6 months old to be out of date already

  9. Wondering the same thing… I have the x850a, no details on an update.

  10. @Tony: the 2013 Sony X9 does not support Netflix 4K, and probably never will. You need two requirements, a new HEVC decoder (probably hardware) and an updated Netflix client.

    @Matt: Unfortunately it is not in CE companies’ interest to provide such a significant update to older models. Harsh I know, but true.

    Warmest regards
    Vincent

  11. OK…. so I clicked on the image of the US flag and I didn’t see much of a difference in 4K. It darkened up a touch but I didn’t see it any clearer.

  12. Looks great and that opening scene was a dark visual feast. The way the street lamps looked was awesome.

  13. Would those 15mbps of h.265 spread over 1080p look better though? That’s the elephant in the room imo. I’m really struggling to believe it wouldn’t, especially at the more typical UK screen sizes/viewing distances.

  14. Here also a Philips UHD TV, 65pfl9708S/12, (december 2013 model) missing the H.265 decoding to.
    I had contact with Philips about it, and the say that they would look for the possibility for an update from H.264 to H.265. so we wait and see whats going to happen.
    For the prices of all UHD tv,s they should provided this update with some hardware and the software, even with the Netflix 4K app on the smart tv services.
    my internet speed 90 Mbps should be fast enough….

  15. i dont get it i have a SAMSUNG UE55F9000 Smart 3D 4k Ultra HD 55″ LED TV im checking the netflix app but only says super hd to me, isnt my tv new?

  16. I have the Samsung UN55F9000 (2013 model) with the One Connect box (HDMI 1.4) and have the Netflix app through the Samsung set. I cannot get the 2160 feed. Is it because I need the newer One Connect box with the HDMI 2.0? If the set is capable of producing 4K content, I should automatically get House of Cards in 2160, no matter what HDMI version I am using (since I am using my internet to stream Netflix with 21mbps from my internet here in Dallas, Texas.
    I am confused what this 4K can offer directly just using the television apps.
    Thanks!

  17. @Monty Britton: Unfortunately your 2013 One Connect box lacks inbuilt HEVC decoding which is needed to stream Netflix 4K.

    Warmest regards
    Vincent

  18. Can you confirm if the LG55 LA970W is able to stream 4K Netflix? I know it has a built in HEVC decoder but wanted to check before signing up.

  19. richard beasley

    I have a LEG 4k. I have had issues with Netflix rebotting. It could be my internet connection. I have Cin. Bell Fiberoptics and have an issue with their box locking up when I have the HDMI connection hooked up. Tjhie tech says their box is not good enough to use with the new 4k technology. Has anyone else encountered this.

  20. Our Sony x900B plays House of Cards fine in 4K.

  21. How do you display the resolution of the streaming?

  22. @Liviu Clapon: Pressing the [info] button on the remote should do the trick.

    Warmest regards
    Vincent

  23. I have a Sony KD49X8505 which has HEVC decoding. I have 20mbps connection and I use netflix via the on board app. The opening title sequence is certainly in 4k, with all the glorious shots of certain parts of Washington. But I didn’t notice any difference watching season 2 over season 1 when watching the actual programme itself. Am I missing something? Is there a resolution streaming option? In the netflix app?