Netflix, like other streaming services in the cloud such as YouTube and even Facebook, has the possibility of changing the resolution of the videos. The problem is that, unlike the services we have just mentioned, the quality is limited to the type of plan that we have previously contracted. Just last week we saw how much data Netflix and Spotify use when using streaming playback. Today we will teach you how to change the playback quality of videos on Netflix .
The first thing, what quality of video do you have contracted in Netflix?
Although the Netflix application for computers and mobiles has options that allow us to change the resolution of the videos, this is limited to the one we have assigned in the plan we have contracted .
Currently the service has a total of 4 different plans, and the quality supported by each of these plans is defined as follows:
- Basic Plan of 7.99 euros : low quality to 480p and only one device
- Standard plan of 10.99 euros : medium quality at 1,080p (Full HD) and two devices
- Premium plan of 13.99 euros : high quality at 2,160p (2K) and four devices
- Ultra plan of 16.99 euros : high quality at 2,160p (2K) and four devices
One of the aspects to take into account is that although Netflix indicates a certain resolution for each type of plan, the quality of the videos on Netflix is limited to the availability of the catalog (not all series and movies are in 2K) , Internet speed and saturation of the company's servers.
Another aspect worth noting is that HD video playback on mobile phones is only compatible with phones that have Widevine L 1 certification . You can read our article about Widevine L1 and HD content playback to see if your mobile is compatible with it.
How to change the quality of videos on Netflix
Once we are clear about the limitations of the plan we have contracted and those of our own devices, changing the resolution of the videos on Netflix is very simple.
On the Netflix page
To change the playback quality of the videos on Netflix from the page, the first thing we will have to do is click on the logo of our account and select the Account option . We can also access through this link.
Then, we will navigate to the bottom of our account settings until we find the option for Playback Settings .
Finally we will choose the desired quality between Automatic, Low, Medium and High .
From now on all videos will start to play in the maximum quality only if it is available .
In the Netflix mobile app
In the event that we have the Netflix application installed on our mobile, the process to follow is very simple. The difference with respect to the web version is that we can choose the download quality of the Netflix videos as an added option when watching series and movies offline.
To change the download quality within the application, click on More in the bottom bar and then on Application Settings. Finally, we will click on Video quality of the download and we will choose one of the possible options (Standard or High).
If what we want is to change the general quality of the videos, we will click again on More and we will click on Account . The process from here is exactly the same as that followed to change the quality on the computer.
In summary, we will go to Playback Settings and select the quality among the four available.