Netflix has made 4K video streaming, that thing that makes your UHD TV worth having, official for certain offerings on the on-demand video service but Stuff is unable to get too excited about the news just yet.
South African viewers who have made arrangements for a Netflix subscription in a country that doesn’t officially have access will have their work cut out for them accessing the Ultra HD content. The first hurdle is getting a television that is capable of supporting the 4K video stream. Netflix has said that just having a 4K TV isn’t enough, early models of 4K TV are missing the H.265/HEVC decoder required to view the high-res content and laying hands on a (supported) television released onto the market this year is the only way to overcome this.
Then there are the required line speeds to view 4K without any hiccups. An average connection speed of 15.6Mbps, according to the BBC, is needed to stream the second season of House of Cards and other presentations in 4K, well above what most South African households are capable of. Long story short, even for those locals who have Netflix access, 4K content is probably going to have to wait a while. Like until 20 and 40Mbps lines are more widespread and also until it isn’t raining in South Africa.
Source: BBC