Netflix just made its shows literally sound a whole lot better

Netflix has today announced that it has begun rolling out higher quality audio for its shows. Calling this feature “high-quality audio” (duh!), Netflix claims this will provide users audio that “sounds closer to what creators hear in the studio”.

Users who have a 5.1-channel speaker system or a Dolby Atmos setup stand to benefit the most. For 5.1 audio, Netflix is upping the maximum bitrate from 192 kbps to 640 kbps. Why this bitrate? Netflix says it has run tests and found 640 kbps to be "perceptually transparent"; anything higher won’t bring any additional value to the listening experience at this point.

For Dolby Atmos, Netflix is raising the bitrate ceiling from 448 kbps to 768 kbps. Take note though, Dolby Atmos is only available if you’re subscribed to the Premium plan. This plan also gives you access to 4K UHD titles and supports streaming for up to four screens simultaneously.

Taking into account that not everyone has the same internet bandwidth or watches Netflix on the same device, the company has also made the high-quality audio feature adaptive. The adaptive bitrate switching tech will happen seamlessly so you won’t get any bad audio experiences when you stream. For those interested to learn how Netflix pulls this off, hit the link to their blog post here.