Netflix - WTH is Standard Definition?

[Frick]

Short question and I'm not friends with Google these days.

Three tiers, the basic one (among other differences) has something they call Standard Definition, and the middle one has "HD Avalaible". What is their definition of HD and doublew the fudge is Standard Definition? Is it as in old SDTV, and in that case, exactly which one?

In short, how hard is it supposed ti be to find out what resolution their stuff is available at?

 

[rtwjunkie]

As I understand it, with movies, SD is ye old square movies, and HD is 1080p widescreen.

 

[cadaveca]

sdtv, yep, maybe 720p for some content. middle tier is 1080P, top tier is 4k.

 

[Frick]

Ok. So what exactly? Give me pixels x pixels. 4:3 or 16:9? PAL pr NTSC?

 

[rtwjunkie]

Ok. So what exactly? Give me pixels x pixels. 4:3 or 16:9? PAL pr NTSC?

SD is almost always going to be 4:3.

 

[RCoon]

SD = 480p = 640x480 = 4:3
HD "Ready" = 720p = 1280x720 (sometimes 768) = 16:9
HD = 1080p = 1920x1080 = 16:9
Wide Quad HD = 1440p = 2560x1440 = 16:9
Wide Quad Extended Graphics Array = 1600p = 2560x1600 = 16:10
UHD/4K = 2160p = 3840x2160 = 16:9

240 and 360 are actually categorized as "low definition", although to some companies like T-Mobile in the US, the term they use is "optimized". Anything categorized as SD or below is 4:3

Edit: added details

 

[Frick]

SD = 480p = 640x480 = 4:3

As always I blame America and their inferiour technology. Could have been 768×576.

 

[taz420nj]

Actually as far as Netflix tiers go, all they're doing is throttling your connections to their servers. It doesn't affect the aspect, so unless the content was only released in 4:3 (The Wizard of Oz for example) it will be in 16:9 or 2.35:1/OAR. The SD tier is limited to 1Mbps per stream, the HD tier is limited to 8Mbps per stream, and there is no limit on the 4K tier.

This works because Netflix changes the stream quality dynamically. You can see it starts out at low bitrate, then gets progressively higher as it buffers and tests the connection. If the buffer runs dry it drops to a lower bitrate. So if you start an episode of House of Cards (which is available in 4K), it will start at SD quality, then it will try to load higher and higher bitrates until it hits a point where it can't keep the buffer full. If you pay for the 4K tier it should be able to go all the way up to the 16Mbps 4K level (unless your ISP can't keep up). If you pay for the HD tier then you will be throttled to 8Mbps by their servers so it will remain at 1080p.

 

[Wrigleyvillain]

I knew this was 480P! Thats because I'm old.

 

[hat]

When thinking Standard Definition, think DVD. DVDs can be widescreen, though. They're almost (I use the term almost because I'm not 100% sure) always 720x480 (for NTSC, PAL is a different resolution) and can be either interlaced or progressive (480i or 480p). However, you can get widescreen (roughly 853x480) by applying a 16:9 aspect ratio (or, this is sometimes referred to as 32/27 PAR, Pixel Aspect Ratio). If you look at the actual video itself, it will still show 720x480, though, because it's going to be stored in that resolution, but it's going to be displayed as roughly 853x480 (by applying the 16:9 aspect ratio, or the 32/27 PAR).

Also, I find it worth mentioning that DVD resolution is not 4:3. It's actually 3:2 (or, you could call this a 1.5:1 aspect ratio: 480*1.5=720).

Again, this is all NTSC. I'm not sure if the same things exist for PAL, but if they (probably) do, I'm not sure of the exact maths because I don't/have yet to deal with anything PAL.

 

[Aquinus]

As always I blame America and their inferiour technology. Could have been 768×576.

I would take 60Hz interlaced over 50Hz interlaced with slightly higher resolution any day.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

As always I blame America and their inferiour technology. Could have been 768×576.

Yeah, it's ATSC's (digital) adaptation of NTSC's (analog) 4:3 picture. ATSC only supports 4 resolutions (progressive or interlaced with frequencies ranging from 23.976 to 60 Hz):
640x480 (Digital TV or SD)
704x480 (Digital TV or SD)
1280x720 (HD)
1920x1080 (HD)

ATSC also supports PAL resolutions but...I don't think I've ever seen them.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Or did Europeans? An American (Philo Farnsworth) invented the TV, USA had the first terrestrial TV station (W2XB), and NTSC (1941) predates PAL (1962) by two decades after all.

 

[taz420nj]

Then we REALLY screwed it up by going with ATSC instead of DVB lol!

 

[Mussels]

SD on netflix is 16:9

Its merely bitrate capped to a lower bandwidth - they do change resolutions, but mostly its just bitrate changes.

You're paying extra for higher quality streams, is all. Nothing to do with the old SD TV standards or resolutions.

 

[taz420nj]

SD on netflix is 16:9

Its merely bitrate capped to a lower bandwidth - they do change resolutions, but mostly its just bitrate changes.

You're paying extra for higher quality streams, is all. Nothing to do with the old SD TV standards or resolutions.

.... lol which is what I explained 6 hours ago....

 

[Mussels]

i must have missed the one correct answer in all the technical jargon about hating on television standards

 

[taz420nj]

i must have missed the one correct answer in all the technical jargon about hating on television standards

 

[newtekie1]

When thinking Standard Definition, think DVD. DVDs can be widescreen, though. They're almost (I use the term almost because I'm not 100% sure) always 720x480 (for NTSC, PAL is a different resolution) and can be either interlaced or progressive (480i or 480p). However, you can get widescreen (roughly 853x480) by applying a 16:9 aspect ratio (or, this is sometimes referred to as 32/27 PAR, Pixel Aspect Ratio). If you look at the actual video itself, it will still show 720x480, though, because it's going to be stored in that resolution, but it's going to be displayed as roughly 853x480 (by applying the 16:9 aspect ratio, or the 32/27 PAR).

Also, I find it worth mentioning that DVD resolution is not 4:3. It's actually 3:2 (or, you could call this a 1.5:1 aspect ratio: 480*1.5=720).

Again, this is all NTSC. I'm not sure if the same things exist for PAL, but if they (probably) do, I'm not sure of the exact maths because I don't/have yet to deal with anything PAL.

Actually, I'm pretty sure the 16:9 on DVDs is achieved by lowering the resolution to 640x360, not increasing it.

I think it is funny that we label video quality the way we do.

SD = 480p
HD = 720p
FHD = 1080p

But the thing is, those are the height measurements. The height measurements can always be different, lower than the label. The thing that doesn't change is the width. So what we really should be labeling them is:

SD = 720w
HD = 1280w
FHD = 1920w

Because the width is always the same, they get the different aspect ratios by lowering the height. So when a movie is in an ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio, the HD version would be 1280x549.

To answer the OP's original question directly, since it hasn't been yet(Sorry taz, didn't see your post). Neflix content will be presenting in the aspect ratio it was originally released in, regardless of what plan you pick. The SD content will always have a width of 720, but the height will vary depending on the aspect ratio of the original content. So an old movie will be 720x480(3:2), if the movie is originally 16:9 then the resolution will be 720x405(16:9), a newer movie that was originally 21:9 will be 720x309(~21:9). They aren't going to change the aspect ratio of the content.

 

[RCoon]

UHD = 1080p

I've never seen anyone label 1080p as UHD

UHD has been classified as 4K since 2012

To answer the OP's original question directly, since it hasn't been yet.

It actually was by @taz420nj and @hat

 

[cdawall]

I've never seen anyone label 1080p as UHD

UHD has been classified as 4K since 2012

That's because he is wrong

SD 480P
HD 720P
FHD 1080P
QHD 1440P
UHD 2160P

 

[newtekie1]

I've never seen anyone label 1080p as UHD

UHD has been classified as 4K since 2012

Yes, you're right. That is what I get for posting before coffee. I meant FHD.

It actually was by @taz420nj and @hat

Yeah, didn't see taz420nj's post. Hat's post on the other hand, was wrong, which is why I corrected it.

 

[Tatty_Two]

Or did Europeans? An American (Philo Farnsworth) invented the TV, USA had the first terrestrial TV station (W2XB), and NTSC (1941) predates PAL (1962) by two decades after all.

It can't be our fault, Europe does not have a single standard, it actually has 4 different standards dependant on where you are, we are always so consistently inconsistent don't you know

 

[bogmali]

Stay on topic gents. The thread is about resolution and not who's standard is better or who is to blame for the changes (or the lack thereof).

 

[hat]

Actually, I'm pretty sure the 16:9 on DVDs is achieved by lowering the resolution to 640x360, not increasing it.

How sure are you? I've been working with standard and widescreen DVDs for some time now, and I first noticed this while ripping South Park. The older seasons, being 3:2, were stored in 720*480 and were displayed as 720*480. The newer ones, being 16:9, showed that they were stored as 720*480 but displayed as ~853x480. Visually comparing one of each side by side showed one wider than the other, yet with equal height. This page covers the issue:

https://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/AnamorphicGuide