Video streaming platform Netflix has started rolling out an upgrade to its audio streaming technology. With the upgrade, the maximum bitrate of audio on Netflix will go up and it will be adjusted automatocally based on the speed of internet connection. The new high-quality audio will take up the maximum bitrate of a 5.1 audio mix to 640 kbps. The company has also said that a Dolby Atmos mix will increase to 768 kbps.
As we mentioned earlier, the bitrate will also adjust according to the speed of the internet connection. So, it may even drop to 192 kbps so that the video keeps on getting streamed without any interruptions.
It is worth adding that Netflix has used the same approach earlier for its video feeds, which also adjust automatically. But then, till now, the bitrate of any video’s audio was set before it started streaming. And once the show or the film started, users did not have an option of adjusting it again. This was very annoying in some situations as it meant being stuck with low quality audio when your internet connection could actually run more. The only situation worse than this one was to wait for a show to buffer because it had a higher bitrate than the one the internet connection could take.
It should be noted that even with 5.1 audio bitrate of 640 kbps, which is basically the maximum that Netflix has, the video streaming platform is compressing the audio a lot compared to the 24-bit / 48 kHz mastering sample frequency.
Netflix has been leading the video-streaming platform since its inception. Addressing this, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook recently said that the company’s upcoming video service can co-exist with Netflix.
Although Cook has spoken about co-existing, we should mention that Apple plans to spend $2 billion on content in the next one year in order to make sure that its service is at par with others.
But then, on the other hand, Netflix spent $13 billion on content last year and in 2019, the video-streaming platform eyes to spend $15 billion.
Currently, Apple has no choice but to co-exist with Netflix in the video-streaming sphere, since it will take a lot more money and time to beat the latter in its own game.
We should mention that Apple is really leaving no stone unturned to lure customers to its service. The company has partnered with a number of celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carel, Kumail Nanjiani, Jason Momoa, Alfre Woodard, JJ Abrams and Sara Bareilles.
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