Netflix will release tons of new content in 4K this year, the company told CNBC at MWC in Barcelona. By year’s end the catalogue should include 600 hours of 4K content. The company is in no rush to create VR content, however.

Will 2016 be the year of 4K?
2016 is shaping up to be an exciting year. The first UHD Blu-ray players and movies will be released, and Netflix and Amazon are going head to head in streaming, using 4K and HDR as ammunition. 

Netflix expects to have 600 hours of 4K content available by the end of the year. Most of that will be TV series but it will include some movies, too. As we reported earlier, Netflix will also start streaming in HDR quality this year, starting with the Marco Polo and Daredevil series. However, Netflix says that it will some time to build a catalog of HDR content.

- "We think what you'll see over the next two years in terms of TV refresh is more 4K…HDR's longer," said Chris Jaffe, vice president of UI innovation at Netflix, to CNBC.


To enjoy Netflix’s 4K streaming you need a 4K TV with HEVC decoding and a Netflix app. To enjoy Netflix’s HDR streaming you need a HDR TV with HEVC decoding and a Netflix app that has been enabled to receive HDR.

When it comes to VR (virtual reality) Netflix says that “we don't see an opportunity right now in the near-term for Netflix and VR”.

Netflix is available as a VR app on the Samsung Gear VR and the upcoming Oculus Rift but only as a flat screen in a virtual living room. What Netflix is referring to is instead full 360-degree VR. The company clearly believes that the market needs more time to mature.

- Source: CNBC via Forbes