MWC 2017 | Netflix’s Mobile Optimization Announcements

Netflix has changed the television landscape, not just in the US, but in the whole world. Netflix is now available in the majority countries, and it has allowed subscribers to watch high quality content, at home or on the go. With the increasing number of mobile Netflix watchers, Netflix made several announcements regarding their mobile optimization at MWC 2017.

Mobile Encode Optimization

 

Netflix can now quantify how much consumers stand to gain with our encoding technologies:  people can stream quality content on their mobile devices with Netflix at speeds less than 200kbps. On top of that, you can now stream up to 30 hours of Netflix with a 2GB data cap. That’s significant for users who  worry about  data costs and will definitely benefit many across Asia.

 

• Netflix worked on innovative encoding techniques to provide great video quality while using less bandwidth, implementing it for broadband and mobile
• Netflix will soon roll out new video encodes for mobile devices, providing users who have extremely poor internet connection and  watching on a cell network. You’ll be able to get  a great watching experience @ < 200 kbps.
• And with the efficiency of these new encodes, if this person is worried about data caps, they will be able to stream up to 30 hours of Netflix with a 2GB data cap. Getting more bang for their bits.
• Relentless Improvement – Netflix is investing to ensure that no matter what the quality of your internet is, you’re going to have a seamless experience due to adaptive streaming technology and our encoding optimization work
• The Benefits of Silicon Valley Roots – As a global entertainment company with Silicon Valley roots, we can dedicate expert engineers and PhDs to solving these problems, leveraging our massive compute power from AWS (Amazon Web Services)  to have virtually limitless possibilities for delivering tailored streams to your device.
• Mobile is on the cutting edge of streaming quality. Devices tend to be newer, more frequent app updates, and have implementations of new codecs like VP9.
• VMAF – This allows us to measure quality at scale. Funded research at USC to fund 100’s of people to watch content for subjective quality data. We use predictive quality to drive encoding decisions. Also an open source tool that anyone can use. Rising tide raises all ships.

 

Supporting HDR on Mobile (Starting with the LG G6 phones that support both Dolby Vision and HDR 10 streams.)

 

• Netflix is very excited about HDR as it offers better pixels with greater depth than 4K.
• Now you don’t have to have an expensive TV to get HDR: bringing the best picture quality to a small screen and making the best picture quality even more accessible
• Internet television enables Netflix to give consumers the best and most exciting picture quality available today with 4K and HDR
• Today, you can watch shows like Santa Clarita Diet, Chef’s Table, The OA and all of the Marvel series all with HDR (with Iron Fist coming soon!)

 

For more details on Netflix at Mobile World Congress, check keynote of CEO Reed Hastings: https://media.netflix.com/en/company-blog/mobile-world-congress-2017-netflix-ceo-reed-hastings-keynote-highlights