Millions of Netflix subscribers receive free hidden upgrade – and it’s a big boost for their Wi-Fi speeds

NETFLIX has issued a free upgrade to millions of accounts that solves a problem we all hate.

The streaming giant has carried out some big changes behind-the-scenes that will benefit anyone with a premium plan.

And it will be a surprising relief for your Wi-Fi.

As you may know already, 4K is the best quality for TV around at the moment.

But it requires a lot of broadband bandwidth to seamlessly send those massive video files to your screen.

There are some technical ways providers like Netflix can optimise 4K streams so they’re easier to deliver.

And that’s exactly what the platform has just done to its movies and TV shows.

Netflix has converted them all to something called Dynamically Optimized (DO) HDR which should make streaming them a lot smoother.

“Improvements have been seen across all device categories ranging from TVs to mobiles and tablets,” tech experts from Netflix said.

Tests by the firm show that users should expect 40 per cent fewer rebuffers – this is a measure of how often video playback is temporarily interrupted while more data is downloaded from the server.

It should also provide lower internet data usage, especially on mobiles and tablets.

There are a load of other technical benefits too, such as lower initial bitrate, higher initial quality, less variation in delivered video quality and lower play delay.

Of course, to benefit you’ll need to be a premium subscriber as that’s the only tier that can watch content on Netflix in 4K.

For those who are eligible, you don’t need to do or change anything, the upgrade is available automatically.

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