Netflix just gave your favorite films and shows a great free upgrade that increases image quality and streaming performance
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- Netflix’s new AV1 film Grain Synthesis Tech increases image quality
- It also reduces file size and improves streaming performance
- The technology has been rolled out to films and TV programs since March 2025
Film grain is something of a ‘secret sauce’ that makes films look there, well, like films. Go to the cinema and although you will hardly notice them, these pointed imperfections flicker about the image that give it a depth that is difficult to recreate digitally.
Well, now Netflix has unveiled in one Techblog -post That it has found a better way to do it, with a new technique that also improves play -up stability with handy, while errors are reduced and rejections. It has been rolled out worldwide since March, with FGS-compatible streams that are now available on supported devices.
So what exactly did Netflix do? Films filmed on digital cameras can seem too clean and perfect, and even digitized versions of analogue films may have difficulty retaining the grain. This applies in particular to films on services such as Netflix, for which compression is needed to reduce file size for flexible streaming performance.
In his efforts to keep things efficient, the compression process will remove grain from the original video file, which means that the viewer gets a nice steady power, but an image that misses that real film look.
Not anymore. Netflix has revealed that it has rolled out a technology called “AV1 Film Grain Synthesis” (FGS), which delivers a pleasant grainy image without increasing the file size.
It is smart things: FGS analyzes the source video to determine and estimate the specific grain pattern and shape by comparing the original video with a de-raised version of the difference is the grain.
Then it scales the grain intensity for different scenes and adjust it for lighting and color. This information is then streamed in addition to the compressed, grain -free video file and used to re -create the grain effect on your device.
Better image quality, more efficiency
This means that films and TV programs on Netflix now offer that desired analogue film look, stimulate image quality and give users a nicer streaming experience.
It is interesting that during a/b testing of the Netflix function also discovered that FGS significantly reduced the bit rate and network band widders, reduced play errors and weather situation and reduced start-up delay, all of which resulted in a more stable overall streaming experience. Double victory.
If you are enthusiastic to see FGS in action for yourself, you need a playback device that supports it. Unfortunately it is not yet exactly which shows and films will benefit from the technology, nor the hardware requirements – we have contacted Netflix to find out and will update this story when we hear back.
However, Netflix’s blog post with details about the rollout suggest They have cloned tyrone And Department Q His good places to start. The streaming giant says you might have to switch off HDR In the menu settings to see those FGS streams.
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