Netflix VP9 codec (for Standard Def)

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tim0001

274 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 146

#215223 17-Jun-2017 19:27

I was thinking that using VP9 codecs for Netflix might be a good thing for those of us with slow internet connections. (My connection is between 0.05-3.3Mb/s, depending on time of day etc). My question is can we easily download/stream VP9?

I can't post links, but there's an interesting blog : "More Efficient Mobile Encodes for Netflix Downloads - Netflix TechBlog"

So I was hoping that my Android TV box (Nexbox A95X -Amlogic S905 ) would use VP9 for Netflix. And the answer is that I’m not sure…

When I downloaded the same show on the both the android and the windows Netflix app the file sizes were different (189MB and 218MB respectively). I’m pretty sure the windows download was H.264 because the cpu usage was low and the app said “Video Track Codec encv(avc)“ (Ctrl + Alt + Shift + D). On the android app I couldn’t find a way to show any codec info. Does anyone know how to show this info.

Any other thoughts for the internet (speed) challenged?

Cheers

Tim

Athlonite

1828 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 210
Inactive user

#1802749 17-Jun-2017 19:43

Apparently the 905X supports VP9 but not the 905

http://www.top10tvboxes.com/s905x-vs-s905-which-is-faster-and-better-android-tv-box/

tim0001

274 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 146

#1802876 18-Jun-2017 09:22

Yes, perhaps Netflix checks for hardware decoding capability. That would make sense from a battery saving perspective.

However what has me on the fence is that the cpu usage on the Nexbox is highish when playing Netflix. I created a VP9 480p file using handbrake, and this plays on the Nexbox fine using SPMC (Kodi fork). The cpu usage is similar (but perhaps higher) than Netflix, but its hard to make a direct comparison with different content.