Despite enabling its subscribers to watch films and TV shows in the highest possible resolution, Netflix has revealed it is taking things old school with the introduction of a film grain effect.
In a post on its technology blog, the streamer has revealed the introduction of AV1 Film Grain Synthesis (FGS) streams.
FGS has been part of the AV1 standard since its inception, but was only available on a limited number of titles during Netflix’s initial launch of the AV1 codec in 2021.
According to the company, the introduction of the AV1 Film Grain Synthesis has led to significant bitrate reduction, allowing it to deliver high-quality video with less data while preserving the artistic integrity of film grain.
The grain is analyzed for its unique pattern and intensity in different parts of the video, with the information sent alongside a cleaner, grain-free stream.
The grain is then synthesized to match the original as it appears on the viewer’s screen.
Netflix carried out A/B testing prior to rollout to understand the overall streaming impact of enabling AV1 Film Grain Synthesis. It showcased a smoother and more reliable Quality of Experience (QoE), including lower and average bitrate, decreased playback errors, 10% fewer rebuffers, 10% fewer noticeable bitrate drops and a 10% reduction in the time users spend adjusting their playback position during video playback, likely influenced by reduced bitrate and rebuffering, said the streamer.
Netflix added that about 0.7% of viewing hours shifted from lower resolutions (≤ 1080p) to 2160p on 4K-capable devices. This shift is attributed to reduced bitrates at switching points, which make it easier to achieve the highest resolution during a session, it added.
The full blog post is available here.
This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister brand TVBEurope.
