Netflix Watch Instantly to get surround sound

Netflix Watch Instantly to get surround sound

If for no other reason than I spent all of last weekend sitting on my sofa with a chest cold, I sure have been using my Netflix instant queue an awful lot lately. The video quality has been improving, and the high-definition video content looks very comparable to HD cable (like Heroes, for example, which is available the following day after it first airs on NBC), but I have been missing out on surround sound. Netflix currently provides only stereo audio on streaming video. While the timing of this development hasn’t been confirmed, it will be some time this year.

Netflix uses the Microsoft Silverlight video player, which supports up to 1080p video and 5.1 surround sound audio. Netflix is on task to add surround sound and closed captioning this year, but unfortunately 1080p video will have to wait for now. It had previously been announced plan that Netflix would add 1080p video this year, but later claimed that was a mistake. Video now peaks at 720p with a 5Mbps internet connection.