All of Netflix’s original shows will be produced in 4K, according to the company. CEO Reed Hastings said as much at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, where he promoted the company’s use of the ultra HD video format along with partnerships with TV makers.
We knew that House of Cards: Season 2 was produced in 4K, and a new trailer (also in 4K) was made available this week. Now we can expect upcoming seasons of shows like Hemlock Grove and Orange is the New Black to follow suit, not to mention initial seasons of shows that have yet to debut (like Sense8 and the untitled project from the Damages creators).
Netflix reportedly has partnerships in place with Sony, LG, Vizio and Samsung for 4K video. The Hollywood Reporter shares some comments from Hastings:
“Netflix is working with Sony to create a fabulous entertainment experience. When 4K started to be talked about, we saw the Internet as the natural medium to deliver it because most 4K content was going to be available online. We know that content creators are very excited about 4K because of the additional picture range they get to play with. All new original content from Netflix, including season two of House of Cards, will be shot, edited and produced in 4K…and we’ve been working with Sony to show Breaking Bad in 4K.”
He added that Netflix’ 4K service will require 15Mb/s of in-home bandwidth compressed using HEVC. “This is very practical,” said Hastings. “You can stream 4K over WiFi if you want to. It’s testament to the work we’ve been doing on encoding and what Sony has been doing on decoding.”
Hastings also appeared at LG’s press conference at CES, which saw the launch of LG’s Web OS-powered Ultra HD smart TVs.
As Netflix focuses on 4K content, 3D appears to be taking a backseat. A year ago, Netflix launched Super HD and 3D streaming, but now the company is indicating that 3D will likely go away due to lack of interest.
Giga Om’s Janko Roettgers spoke with Netflix’s Joris Evers at CES, and was told that the company may end support for 3D in the future. Evers also reportedly said that Netflix will not charge consumers any extra money to watch content in Ultra HD.
Image: Breaking Bad (YouTube)