Samsung promised that it would happen but it took almost 9 months. Owners of 2015 Samsung TVs in the US are now finally able to enjoy Netflix in HDR quality with the latest firmware update.
Netflix HDR update
Netflix started streaming in HDR quality in April 2016 and owners of 2016 Samsung TVs have been able to enjoy the higher video quality ever since. Owners of 2015 TVs were also promised an update but it has taken so long that some people were starting to doubt that it would ever happen.
Luckily, it will. Samsung has started rolling out its latest firmware (version 1467) that includes support for Netflix HDR. Owners are now seeing the small “HDR” logo show up on series such as ‘Marco Polo’, ‘Daredevil’, and ‘Chef’s Table’. Netflix has promised to expand the catalog of HDR content and one of the next major shows to get the treatment is ‘A Series of Unfortunate Evens’.
The update is a 1513.15 MB download and is currently only available on the support site, which means that you have to manually download it, unpack it to a USB thumb drive, and install it on your TV.
The update has been released for to certain JSxxxx models but others are still not listed at the support site. The update description also refers to JU6 and JU7 models but we are not sure if it changes anything here. The update is still rolling out gradually, as firmware updates usually do.
The update is not yet available in Europe but it is not uncommon for Samsung to roll out new features in the US before Europe. It was added on the US support site yesterday on January 10. The update will likely be added to the European support sites very soon.
Samsung says that the update also has “improved browser performance, improved app performance, improved stability, and improved usability of input devices”.
An update on the Tizen update
We actually asked Samsung about the Netflix update at CES 2017 last week but at that time the company was unable to confirm much. They told us that Samsung and Netflix engineers had encountered some difficulties that had caused the long delay but did not get any more specific than that.
We also asked Samsung about the promised Tizen update for 2015 models and the company told us - to our surprise - that it had already happened. 2015 TVs will not get the much-improved Tizen 2.0 user interface but the update has added several under-the-hood improvements for the system and apps. So no major Tizen update and no new Evolution Kits.
- Source: Avsforum. Thanks for the tip, Simon and Simone!
