Netflix 4K How to tell?

[Fidcal]

Paid for Premium and tested a couple of movies I thought should be 4K but I'm uncertain they are. The info I got was that there should be a 4K or UHD logo but I never see that, only HD. I can't think of any technical way of telling if what I am looking at is very good 2K or simply 2K resized to 4K. I mean, my display is 4K. Netflix's own info says to search 4K or UHD and list lots of movies, but none of them I glanced at said anything other than HD. I mean, what does a UHD logo look like? Is it just the text UHD? I never see that.

[jaxa]

Try Ctrl + Shift + Alt + D to get the Netflix equivalent of YouTube's "stats for nerds".

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/16-netflix-power-user-tips-you-should-have-your-back-pocket/

[Fidcal]

OK, thanks. That shows me that I'm not seeing 4K as I suspected. Funny cos one video is called "Fireplace 4K". It's erm... a video of a fireplace. Anyway, in the nerds info it's shown as 1920 x 1080. So what do I do? Is there an app one can download for Windows instead of watching videos in the web browser?

Another question: when I'm watching a movie, how do I exit back to Netflix? I mean, there's a left pointing arrow top left that sometimes works but mostly it does all sorts of wierd things. All I can do is close that tab and open my Netflix bookmark again. Strange that. Can't believe every body does that. No home page button or nothing? There's a white flag at top [right] but I'm scared that might mean 'surrender' all my assets to Netflix, no refunds.

Edited May 6 by Fidcal
corrected top left to top right

[Fidcal]

OK, I got the app on my PS5 and this is clearly 4K so I'll settle for that. Thanks.

[Arcturus]

Netflix in browser has capped resolution. If you want full resolution you need to install a desktop application. Here it says that the only browser to support 4K playback is Microsoft Edge. It's to prevent easy screen grabbing.

[jaxa]

Fidcal cursed by Microsoft Edge yet again.

[Fidcal]

I can never get that desktop app because my Microsoft Store is screwed up. It keeps saying there is something wrong with my Microsoft account and I should log in to fix it, but I can log into my Microsoft account no problem.

Anyway, I'm doubtful the app gives 4K anyway. (sour grapes, hehe ;))

[Fidcal]

On PS5 I search for jodie foster and it comes up with a ton of movies that I'm sure she's not in. So, guessing it's searching for jodie OR foster, I try to do an exact search with quotes. But on the PS5 Netflix you can't. It's not the normal ps5 virtual keyboard but Netflix's own one, and only low case alpha plus digits plus space and backspace are allowed.

So I go back to my pc and type "jodie foster" in quotes. I'm still not convinced the movies listed are all hers. If I click one, it doesn't provide any info, instead it begins showing the movie.

I try to escape back to the search. I can't. There is a left arrow top left. If I click it, I get a black screen with the message "showing picture in picture" and the movie shows in a tiny window bottom left. If I hit the back arrow again then it goes back to the movie in a full window. So, no way out that Netflix provide that I can see.

So I hit my main Netflix bookmark again and start over. Same. Rinse and repeat. Am I cursed, stupid, or what?

[Frost_Salamander]

1 minute ago, Fidcal said:

On PS5 I search for jodie foster and it comes up with a ton of movies that I'm sure she's not in. So, guessing it's searching for jodie OR foster, I try to do an exact search with quotes. But on the PS5 Netflix you can't. It's not the normal ps5 virtual keyboard but Netflix's own one, and only low case alpha plus digits plus space and backspace are allowed.

So I go back to my pc and type "jodie foster" in quotes. I'm still not convinced the movies listed are all hers. If I click one, it doesn't provide any info, instead it begins showing the movie.

I try to escape back to the search. I can't. There is a left arrow top left. If I click it, I get a black screen with the message "showing picture in picture" and the movie shows in a tiny window bottom left. If I hit the back arrow again then it goes back to the movie in a full window. So, no way out that Netflix provide that I can see.

So I hit my main Netflix bookmark again and start over. Same. Rinse and repeat. Am I cursed, stupid, or what?

What, you mean you actually want to choose what you want to watch? 

It's not you - I'm on the verge of cancelling Spotify for similar reasons.  The other day I couldn't even figure out how to find the stuff in my own library after one of their updates.  But it would have been very easy to just do nothing and be force-fed 'we thought you'd like this'-type content.  

[datiswous]

Netflix interface is horrible, but it's accepted by most, just like spotify and other online garbage. Garbage ui seems to be the standard nowadays.

[revelator]

also it is the old edge the new one also does not play 4K content and no other browser can.

the netflix app should be able to play 4K if you have the premium package but you might need the HEVC codec before it works (this used to be free but you can get it from windows store for a small fee now).

vlc should be able to do 4K but i heard rumors about massive lag spikes.

smplayer also does 4K (this is the one i use) and so far i had no problems with 4K content whatsoever.

using kodi for your streaming -> forget it... the plugins use widewine drm and it can only do 1080 on windows.

[Fidcal]

Sturgeon's Law: 90-odd% of everything is crap. 90-odd% of software is crap, 90-odd% of movies are crap, 90-odd% of books are crap, 90-odd% of music is crap, 90-odd% of games are crap, 90-odd% of tv recorders are crap, 90-odd% of Amazon is crap, 90-odd% of all products and services are crap, 90-odd% of sports commentary is crap, 90-odd% of tv is crap, and as you get older 90-odd% of having a crap is crap.

[jaxa]

Better downgrade your Netfux subscription to the 1080p one. Better yet, upgrade to p*racy.

[Fidcal]

You missed my above post where I said I'm getting 4K on PS5. Problem is, Sturgeon's law applies; most of the stuff is crap. Movies-by-numbers, boring start I skimmed forward trying to find something to grab my interest - without success.

Useless info. I mean you browse pictures and titles: Stannish (with picture of a car), Draw Fast (with a picture of a falling horse), Fever Zone (picture of a woman screaming), and so on. Why sould anyone with a brain click on those and start watching? Zero info.

So you move from picture to picture and get a one-liner above. It might give minimal info like 'Man struggles with life in the new town he moved to'. Oh, wow! Must watch that! But that's if your lucky and get any info at all. Often what you get is zero info but instead: 'Widely proclaimed binge fest rated 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and high on our rewatched list!' Oh, right, I'll watch that one then.

So all one can do is start watching almost anything that doesn't look dreadful, skimming forward to try to find interest. The dynamic range of sound and vision is dreadful: speech is near-inaudible and shouting disturbs my neighbours, while street scenes may be glaringly bright and washed out, while a shop interior is almost black with a few pale faces visible.

It's as bad as tv. Every Sunday I skim through the tv guide on my recorder and maybe find one or two things to record during the following week - often none.

Sturgeon was absolutely right, but if only one could find that small percentage of good stuff amongst the millions there should still be a lot of good stuff, right? Maybe AI is the answer. Once we get our real personal assistant that learns what I really like it can do the legwork and find it for me. It won't be distracted by promos and bullshit.

[datiswous]

5 minutes ago, Fidcal said:

Once we get our real personal assistant that learns what I really like it can do the legwork and find it for me. It won't be distracted by promos and bullshit.

You get that with the extra premium subscription. Only $20 more. It's a steal.

[Xolvix]

4K this, 4K that.

Be like me (1080p) and keep your standards low-ish and you can never be disappointed!