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
74 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
74 months ago
Why do I feel like this will cost more eventually
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
archer75 Avatar
archer75
74 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
74 months ago
This will be perfect for The Office theme song!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vipergts2207 Avatar
vipergts2207
74 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
74 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
[doublepost=1556731881][/doublepost]
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)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
Read Full Article • 28 comments
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
Read Full Article • 109 comments
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
Read Full Article • 153 comments
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
Read Full Article • 129 comments
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
Read Full Article • 176 comments
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
Read Full Article • 95 comments
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
Read Full Article • 159 comments
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...
Read Full Article • 136 comments