Netflix to Offer 1080p and 3D Streaming... For Select ISPs

Netflix is offering "Super HD" and 3D streaming for certain ISPs.

Netflix announced that it'll be offering "Super HD" and 3D streaming for customers on "select ISPs".

No, Netflix isn't an early adopter of 4K resolutions. "Super HD" is simply Netflix's term to help hype its support for 1080p.

Unfortunately, Netflix isn't kidding about "select" ISPs. Only Netflix subscribers with Cablevision or Google Fiber will have access to the exclusive "Super HD" and 3D streaming.

But it's not Netflix's fault. In 2012, Netflix launched Open Connect, allowing ISPs to manage the flow of content to their customers. So, for now, Cablevision and Google Fiber are the only ISPs that have opted to support "Super HD" and 3D streaming.

There are currently a select few devices besides PCs that are compatible with Netflix's "Super HD" streaming, which include the Wii U, Roku with 1080p, PlayStation 3, and Apple TV with 1080p, though more devices are promised to come.

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There are 13 Comments.

Top Comments

11

otacon72 , January 10, 2013 6:19 AM

You'll never see this on the major ISPs, Comcast, Cox, etc. Their backbones would charge them up the ass for all the added bandwidth usage. L3 already went after Comcast for more money because of the all the bandwidth Netflix subscribers were sucking up.

Other Comments

11

otacon72 , January 10, 2013 6:19 AM

You'll never see this on the major ISPs, Comcast, Cox, etc. Their backbones would charge them up the ass for all the added bandwidth usage. L3 already went after Comcast for more money because of the all the bandwidth Netflix subscribers were sucking up.
4

merikafyeah , January 10, 2013 7:01 AM

Only direct-to-the-home fiber or minimum 50mb/s (sustained) connections could support such bandwidth for streaming 1080p 3D content, and only from ISPs without caps, since otherwise it'd be pointless if you stream a few movies and use up all your bandwidth.
Not many people have access to such ISPs, since they're only common in tightly packed urban areas where buildings are all squeezed together to make laying cables easier, like New York City or y'know, most of modern Eurasia.

Streaming still doesn't compare in quality to Blu-ray though, so I don't give a damn either way.
3

CaedenV , January 10, 2013 10:21 AM

In my home with a 20MB/s connection we can stream 3 720p movies from Netflix at once with no problem... I am pretty sure we could handle 1080p on our modest internet connection.

Anywho, data caps are a problem for those who have them. I remember there was a month where my family was really into a few HD shows on netflix and we managed to hit nearly 2TB of usage that month (this according to the reporting on my router). I just kept thinking "Man, if we had data caps we would be broke!"

Netflix to Offer 1080p and 3D Streaming... For Select ISPs

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