Netflix finally adds support for frame rate matching on Android TV / Google TV

Netflix's latest app update has added support for Android 12's 'match content frame rate' feature, matching to both integer (24.000fps) and fractional (23.976fps) frame rates.

Late last year when Google finally rolled out Android 12 to Chromecast, we concluded in our testing that the new 'match content frame rate' feature was a work in progress and no match to Apple TV 4K's elegant frame rate matching system – which now also supports HDMI 2.1 QMS.

If content is not played back at the correct frame rate, which differs from title to title, it will lead to judder.


Netflix adds support
It is still a work in progress on Android because each streaming service must individually add support but at least the biggest player, Netflix, has now put its weight behind it.

Netflix's latest app update (version 10.0.4) for Android TV and Google TV adds support for frame rate matching, if you are on Android 12 on Chromecast or another device.

  Also read: Netflix now uses 3 approaches to frame rate matching / conversion

See this short video shot by FlatpanelsHD using Chromecast with Google TV and the updated Netflix app:



Both integer and fractional
Parts of Hollywood have united to phase out fractional frame rates (23.976fps) but a lot of content is still encoded in 23.976fps rather than the integer 24.000fps.

  Also read: Filmmakers urge TV industry to phase out fractional frame rates (e.g. 23.976fps)

A frame rate matching system should support both and luckily Android's system does, as confirmed in our testing after Netflix's app update. So The Witcher, for example, plays at 24.000 while the Arnold documentary plays at 23.976. Of course, it also supports 50fps and 60fps frame rates, as shown in the video.

It is the second step towards a functional frame rate matching system on Android TV and Google TV. We hope to see additional streaming services jump on board soon.

- thanks for the tip, unnamed tipster!