Netflix/Sony vids only download/play in browsers as 960x540!?

Mike_M

I *think* I just figured out what is going on after having a sneaking suspicion about The Man From Toronto.

And Sony's history with Cinavia...

Sony sold the distribution rights to Netflix for The Man From Toronto.

Sony and Netflix entered into a multi-year distribution agreement on it's films to Netflix.

So far this year Netflix has 4 films under this distribution agreement from Sony.

Honey Girls - 2/3/22
Never Back Down: Revolt - 3/3/22
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America - 6/13/22
The Man From Toronto - 6/2/22

I tested each of them and these Sony films, are all 960x540! (See attached).

Upcoming Sony films to be released on Netflix include:

Uncharted 7/15/22
Umma July- October 22
Morbius July - Nov 22
Father Stu - Aug - Oct 22
Where the Crawdads Sing Nov 22 - Jan 23
Bullet Train - Nov 22 - Feb 23
The Woman King ~ Feb 23
Kraven The Hunter May - Aug 23
I Wanna Dance With Somebody ~23
Compartment No. 6 - Late June 22
Mothering Sunday - ~August 22
The Duke - ~Sep 22
Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story - ~Oct 22
The Phantom of the Open - ~Oct 22
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song - ~Nov 22
Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams - ~Jan 23
Matilda: The Musical - 12/22

Masters of the Universe Live action film
filming in summer of 2022

I hope this new Netflix quirk is just limited to these Sony films.

october262

I *think* I just figured out what is going on after having a sneaking suspicion about The Man From Toronto.

And Sony's history with Cinavia...

Sony sold the distribution rights to Netflix for The Man From Toronto.

Sony and Netflix entered into a multi-year distribution agreement on it's films to Netflix.

So far this year Netflix has 4 films under this distribution agreement from Sony.

Honey Girls - 2/3/22
Never Back Down: Revolt - 3/3/22
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America - 6/13/22
The Man From Toronto - 6/2/22

I tested each of them and these Sony films, are all 960x540! (See attached).

Upcoming Sony films to be released on Netflix include:

Uncharted 7/15/22
Umma July- October 22
Morbius July - Nov 22
Father Stu - Aug - Oct 22
Where the Crawdads Sing Nov 22 - Jan 23
Bullet Train - Nov 22 - Feb 23
The Woman King ~ Feb 23
Kraven The Hunter May - Aug 23
I Wanna Dance With Somebody ~23
Compartment No. 6 - Late June 22
Mothering Sunday - ~August 22
The Duke - ~Sep 22
Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story - ~Oct 22
The Phantom of the Open - ~Oct 22
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song - ~Nov 22
Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams - ~Jan 23
Matilda: The Musical - 12/22

Masters of the Universe Live action film
filming in summer of 2022

I hope this new Netflix quirk is just limited to these Sony films.
Mike_M

are you able to watch The Man From Toronto in high definition with your regular browser ??

Down2Earth

are you able to watch The Man From Toronto in high definition with your regular browser ??
october262

I am using Edge and it gives you the same 540p in a regular browser, without using StreamFab, checked with poster 'Mike_M'.... first post here: (It's the same crap)

DVDFab Forum - Netflix Low Res via download and in Chrome/Firefox/Edge

Mike_M

I am using Edge and it gives you the same 540p in a regular browser, without using StreamFab, checked with poster 'Mike_M'.... first post here: (It's the same crap)

DVDFab Forum - Netflix Low Res via download and in Chrome/Firefox/Edge
Down2Earth

Down2Earth,

I've been doing some more testing with Netplayer App & Edge after researching some more.

I did this because another user said his Edge was playing a higher resolution for him.

Here's what I think is happening.

Netflix is serving those files at the lower resolution of 960x540 (New Sony Films) and you can't override the playback of them via the addon's for Chrome and Firefox, but you can play them at higher resolutions in NetFlix App or Edge.

I believe this lock to lower resolutions in Chrome/Firefox and allowing higher in NetFlix App and Edge is due to later using Windows DRM and not allowing screen capturing.

1. The NetFlix App (available in Microsoft Store) right off the bat played with higher definition for me with The Man From Toronto.

It plays the The Man From Toronto at 2560x1440 on my 3840x2160 monitor.

2. While Edge installed with the defaults played "The Man From Toronto" at 960x540, I figured out how to correct this default playing resolution in my computer Edge environment for Netflix.

By typing Edge://flags in the search window and changing below:

Enable Playready
Disable Widevine

I also turned on Hardware acceleration under settings in Edge.

Edge is now playing The Man From Toronto at a full 3840x2160 for me after doing the above.

You might have to fudge with these a bit to see what works in your environment and with your video card.

I have no idea how downloaders (StreamFab & another) will get around this serving of these files at that resolution since Netflix is sensing the interfacing environment and I think using adaptive streaming and only serves higher when resolutions when utilized with Windows DRM programs such as Netflix App and Edge.

I really hope this 960x540 doesn't proliferate.

I also tested playback via Edge with the above settings for the below streaming services and quality was really good.

Amazon Prime - Purchased Movie - Dr Strange newest movie (HD)
Amazon Paramount+ - Star Trek (HD 1080p)
Amazon Discovery - Portal to Hell (HD 1080p)
Amazon Shudder - Poltergeist (HD 1080p)
Hulu - The Orville Season 3
Peacock - Downton Abby
HBOMax - Secrets of Dumbledore
Disney + - Dr. Strange again Error (had to go in Edge://flags and enable Widevine & Disable PlayerReady, then it played ok)
Netflix - The Man From Toronto & Red Notice (both said 3840x2160)

Attachments:

Netflix App 2560x1440 for The Man From Toronto
Resetting Edge://flags
Edge Turning on Hardware Acceleration
Edge now 3840x2160 for The Man From Toronto

Win10/64 Pro, 100Mbps on Spectrum, RTX Super 2070,
Netflix ULTRA Plan for HD, If your on the Standard it'll only do 1080p as max I believe, not going to change my plan to test.