Samsung is finally clearing the way for a major upgrade to a better Netflix streaming experience on your smart TVs and monitors. The prodigious Korean display maker has confirmed HDR10+ codec support for Netflix streaming is coming to its large screens after the streaming giant added support last week.
In a newsroom post, Samsung confirmed HDR10+ content on Netflix will now be accessible on 2025 Samsung Neo QLED, OLED, and Lifestyle TV models. It added support for PC monitors from 2024 and 2025 as well, which should include the Smart Monitor M7, M8, and M9 series at the very least. While the announcement means Samsung has updated the Netflix app for its Tizen OS running on the TVs, supported models should also be able to make use of the recently added support with external streaming devices, such as an Apple TV or an Android TV streaming box, so long as they are also certified for HDR10+.
While older models have yet to gain proper support, Samsung says it will be extending the compatibility in the future — but with no timeline specified. The update is a major convincing factor for anyone who has been on the fence about buying Samsung’s premium OLED and QLED TVs but avoiding them for the lack of proper HDR10+ support in Netflix.
This is because Netflix has traditionally supported Dolby Vision, another dynamic metadata HDR codec. As a result, any content suited for Dolby Vision would downgrade to HDR10 (not the 10+), which is a free, static HDR technology. Meanwhile, HDR10+ is more advanced, and like Dolby Vision, it adapts brightness on a scene-by-scene or frame-by-frame basis instead of applying one treatment throughout the entire video, as HDR10 does with static metadata. More importantly, you do not need to a flip a switch manually, and can expect the TVs to show the best possible video based on the content.
A resounding victory for Samsung
While HDR10+ has been supported by other leading streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+, Netflix recently came around and added support, allowing playback on screens that support HDR10+ but not Dolby Vision.
This also means a significant victory for Samsung, which has been resisting to adopt Dolby Vision on its TVs, monitors, or phone screens. That is primarily because Samsung co-owns the HDR10+ protocol and earns royalty from other brands that use it. This hesitation has also led to a lingering display problem on flagship Samsung phones, which should hopefully be solved soon, even though Samsung has yet to make an announcement specifying that.
Incidentally, you can already enjoy HDR10+ content on Netflix if you own a Samsung Galaxy phone — or even a Google Pixel with the right display for that matter. These features were turned on last week for Android when Netflix announced support.
