[abtom]

1. 480p resolution is almost retina at about 20 inches distance on a 6 inch screen.[1] Maybe I'm part of a minority, but I find 480p quality to be totally acceptable for viewing on a smartphone.

2. Users in India access the internet via data packs and not wifi/broadband. Most are on a daily data limit of 1-2GB/day. Netflix uses about 1GB/hr for standard definition streaming.[2] So most users will likely be able to watch only 1-2 hours of video per day. Had they been streaming in HD, this would drop to about half an hour a day.

My opinion is that this is brilliant move by Netflix.

[1] https://www.designcompaniesranked.com/resources/is-this-reti... [2] https://help.netflix.com/en/node/87

[darkpuma]

I think we're beginning to see the emergence of the videophile, like the audiophile, in which a small minority of consumers become obsessed with video quality and pursue it to the ends of the earth, all the while illogically neglecting obvious issues like "Gold plated TOSlink cables are completely moronic"[1][2] or "maybe I should be buying bluray DVDs instead of streaming video onto my smartphone."

I don't think the GP is really exemplary of this, but I've seen it cropping up more and more. For instance people who insist on running their low-quality anime rips through numerous interpolators and scalars to knock 720p/12fps source material up to 4K/60fps, or similarly insane endeavors.

[1] Technology Connections brought my attention to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICcEOXVZ3F0

[2] https://www.amazon.com/s/?field-keywords=TOSlink+gold