Netflix launches new Premium features

3 years ago 1

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Netflix rolled out two new features for customers on its top-end Premium plan on Wednesday.

The first is the addition of spatial audio support on around 700 of the streaming service’s most popular titles.

Netflix’s spatial audio uses software to manipulate sound from stereo speakers to create a virtual surround sound experience.

“Netflix spatial audio brings an immersive, cinematic sound experience on any device with no additional equipment required,” said Netflix product management director Rishu Arora.

“Our members with Premium will enjoy the highest quality sound experience available, whether they are watching at home on TV or a computer, or on the go with a phone or tablet.”

Netflix said the spatial audio experience will be more immersive when using headphones and is primarily optimised for laptops and tablets.

“It’s also noticeable on TVs (up close) and phones with stereo speakers (usually when in landscape mode),” Netflix said.

The titles that will initially include support for spatial audio include Stranger Things, The Watcher, Wednesday, and Knives Out: Glass Onion.

“We’ll also be adding spatial audio to popular new titles as they’re released, including You, Your Place or Mine, Luther: The Fallen Sun, and Tour de France,” said Arora.

A complete list of supported titles can be found by typing “spatial audio” in the Netflix search bar.

The Premium plan already includes support for virtual surround technology Dolby Atmos, but TV and speaker manufacturers that want to use this tech have to pay for a licence.

That means it tends to only be available on more expensive devices.

More devices for offline watching

Netflix has also increased the number of devices on an account that can download movies and TV shows for offline watching.

The Premium plan will now let users download content to up to six devices at a time — two more than previously allowed.

“With people more connected than ever through multiple devices, we’ve learned through research that members would like the option to download Netflix series and films to watch offline on more devices, particularly as they travel and switch between devices,” said Arora.

Netflix’s offline watching capability has been particularly useful for South Africans.

It allows for watching downloaded movies and TV shows on battery-powered devices like laptops, tablets, and smartphones — handy during load-shedding.

With the bump in device number for offline watching, Premium account holders get three times as many devices as Standard subscribers, and six times as many as those on the Basic and Mobile plans.

In South Africa, Premium is priced at R199, compared to R159 for Standard, R99 for Basic, and R49 for Mobile.

Premium also has several standout features which aren’t available on the lower-end packages — including up to 4K streaming resolution, Dolby Vision or HDR10 video, and up to four concurrent streams.

The table below compares the features and pricing of Netflix’s four plans in South Africa following the updates to Premium.

Netflix South Africa plans compared
	Mobile	Basic	Standard	Premium
Supported devices	Mobile phone Tablet	Mobile phone Tablet Computer TV Streaming box	Mobile phone Tablet Computer TV Streaming box	Mobile phone Tablet Computer TV Streaming box
Device sign-in limit	None	None	None	None
Device download limit	1	1	2	6
Number of personalised profiles	5	5	5	5
Concurrent streams	1	1	2	4
Maximum streaming quality	Up to 480p (SD)	Up to 480p (SD)	Up to 1080p (Full HD)	Up to 2160p (4K Ultra HD)
Dolby Vision or HDR10	No	No	No	Yes
Dolby Atmos	No	No	No	Yes
Dolby 5.1 Surround	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Spatial audio	No	No	No	Yes
Price	R49	R99	R159	R199