Poor streaming video quality?

You have a streaming subscription with an Ultra HD 4K plan and a latest-generation Smart TV… Yet, while watching an episode of your favourite series, faces look blurred and the edges of objects appear pixelated.

Why does this happen? In fact, the speed of your Internet connection has very little to do with actual video quality. Streaming quality is determined by countless factors: let’s look at them together.

Bitrate versus resolution

Streaming services’ marketing departments put all their emphasis on the “4K HDR” label. However, resolution only describes the number of pixels on the screen—3840 horizontally by 2160 vertically—not their quality.

What defines sharpness and colour fidelity is the bitrate, the amount of video data transmitted per second, expressed in megabits per second (Mbps). Depending on the medium or platform, this number varies. For example, on a 4K disc the average bitrate is 80–128 Mbps, while on streaming sites it drops considerably. Apple TV+ offers around 25–40 Mbps, Disney+ 15–25 Mbps and Netflix Premium just 8–18 Mbps.

In recent years, to save on server bandwidth costs, platforms have introduced advanced codecs while simultaneously halving average bitrates. In fast-moving or very dark scenes, the compression algorithm removes intermediate colour shades to save data, creating the irritating “blocky” effect.

Improving streaming quality: browsers

If you stream on your computer, there is a very high chance that you are not even watching in Full HD or 4K, regardless of the plan you pay for. To protect content against piracy, browsers use DRM (Digital Rights Management) protection systems.

Google and Firefox use Widevine L3: for fear that users might record the screen, they limit playback to 720p or, at most, 1080p. Edge and Safari, by contrast, use Widevine L1. Only these browsers can therefore unlock 4K, HDR and Dolby Atmos audio on a PC.

Internet providers

You may have an extremely fast fibre connection, but your subscription speed only indicates the capacity of the connection between your home and your provider’s exchange (ISP). During peak hours—for example, between 9 pm and 11 pm—the route linking Netflix or Prime servers to your provider’s infrastructure can become congested.

When this happens, the platform’s algorithm reduces the bitrate and resolution to stop the video freezing while buffering. Playback continues, but quality deteriorates dramatically.

How to improve streaming quality

In conclusion, getting the picture quality you want requires a few steps. First, replace browsers with the platforms’ official apps—for example, the Netflix app on Windows.

Second, it is better to use a wired connection (Ethernet): the Smart TV’s Wi-Fi often suffers from interference. Finally, we recommend disabling the “sharpness” filters offered by TVs or PCs, which tend to accentuate video compression artefacts rather than hide them.