Improve Your Streaming Quality: Why Netflix Looks Worse Than Disney+

If you’ve ever noticed that the picture quality on your Netflix isn’t quite as sharp as Disney+, you’re not alone. It turns out, it’s not your TV’s fault at all. Netflix actually uses lower bitrates than its competitors, which means sacrificing some quality in favor of saving bandwidth. This interesting tidbit about streaming has been a hot topic of conversation for a while now, and it all comes down to the engineering choices made by each platform.

For example, when it comes to 4K content, Netflix averages around 8-15 Mbps, while Disney+ demands a higher 20 Mbps for the same resolution. This aggressive compression strategy on Netflix’s part helps them save millions in server costs each year. The downside? You might notice some visible artifacts and softer details in more intricate scenes when compared to Disney+.

The issue with Netflix’s picture quality got even more noticeable after 2020, when the streaming service reduced their bitrates by a significant 50% to manage the increase in streaming due to the pandemic. Unfortunately, they never raised them back up, leaving users feeling like they were experiencing a drop in quality, especially on 4K TVs. Dark sequences might seem crushed, bright scenes lose their detail, and motion can look slightly unnatural. Even the HD tier lags behind Disney+ by about 30%.

In contrast, platforms like Disney+ and Apple TV+ prioritize visual fidelity over efficiency, spending more on content delivery to provide users with cleaner, more detailed pictures. Netflix, on the other hand, has been placing its bets on compression algorithms improving faster than viewers can notice. But as we’ve seen, viewers have definitely caught on.

Netflix has a few tricks up its sleeve to combat these aggressive bitrate cuts, using different codec strategies like H.264, H.265 (HEVC), and AV1. AV1 is their primary focus now, offering better compression than H.265. Recently, Netflix introduced Film Grain Synthesis technology through AV1 encoding to maintain quality while reducing bitrates on classic films. The competition, especially Disney+, doesn’t tamper with their codecs as much and uses higher bitrates for a noticeably sharper picture on comparable TVs.

Ultimately, the gap in picture quality between Netflix and Disney+ boils down to their different strategies. Netflix caters to a global audience with varying internet speeds, while Disney+ focuses more on developed markets where bandwidth is less of an issue. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do from your end to change Netflix’s bitrate allocation. Premium subscribers might get slightly better bitrates, but the max for 4K still hovers around 15 Mbps.

If picture quality is a top priority for you, consider making the switch to Disney+ for certain films, make sure you’re using a wired internet connection, and check your playback settings on Netflix to ensure the best quality. And most importantly, before you blame your TV for the picture quality, consider upgrading to a different streaming service first.

At the end of the day, it’s not your TV that’s to blame for the lower quality picture on Netflix—it’s all about how the streaming platform manages its bitrates and compression techniques.