Netflix Launches Ultra-HD! But, can your Internet handle it?
Netflix Australia has recently launched Ultra-HD channel, which means you can now stream selected content in 4K! That’s 4 times the quality of standard HD!
Excitement has been building over 4K for a while now with Samsung and Apple vying to be leaders in the Ultra-HD space. But, you’re not just going to need a 4K capable TV to watch Ultra-HD, you’re also going to need a pretty slick super-fast Internet connection!
A quick google search in streaming 4K will recommend having an Internet connection with download speeds of at least 25Mbps and 5Mbps upload, and a minimum data allowance of 500GB per month.
But, we aren’t so sure.
Che Metcalfe, Co-Founder and CEO of Uniti broke it down for us. Che says there are two important factors to take into account when streaming Ultra-HD:
“To stream in 4k, you will need data! A lot of data! Netflix estimates that 1 hour of Ultra HD streaming will use 7 Gigabits of data. Which adds up pretty quick. If you stream just 2 hour of Ultra-HD a night, you will need at least 98GB per week, and 392GB per month! You need a plan of at least 500GB of data, and even then, you are not going to be left with much data for anything else.”
“When it comes to speed, Netflix recommends 25/5, which as long as you have nothing else connected to your network and are not being impacted by peak time slow down, so you can actually get 25Mbps, you might be able to stream without buffering but we wouldn’t recommend it.
So, what do you need to stream Ultra-HD?
We recommend a connection of 100Mbps or at the very least 50Mbps. This means you will have enough bandwidth can be streaming 4K uninterrupted and there will be spare bandwidth for your family to still connect. Not to mention all the other devices you have or will have connected to the WiFi network… your phones, your smartwatch, laptops, the kids gaming consoles, your Alexa home device, even your smart fridge.
You also want to make sure you have unlimited data, otherwise, just streaming one movie per night, could put you well over your data limit, which can end up costing a pretty penny! And, make for some not-so-happy campers in your household.