Editing Introduction to a Self Managed Life: a 13 hour & 28 minute presentation by FUTO software (section)

=== Netflix’s 4K scam ===

Modern streaming services are equally dishonest when they try to upsell customers to a higher priced plan for higher quality video. Modern media companies are obsessed with control and want you to view and listen to content on completely locked down platforms. This is to the point where you have to build a special computer or use a television that is [https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics/privacy/how-to-turn-off-smart-tv-snooping-features-a4840102036/ blatant spyware] to watch the content you paid for in the advertised bitrate &amp; resolution.

'''I don’t use the Netflix application on my LG television to watch Netflix because my television attempts to collect &amp; sell my personal data without my consent from the moment I turn it on. I find this unacceptable.''' I am happy to pay to watch content; but I am not going to give up my data &amp; my privacy to do it, nor do I wish to trust such an unscrupulous piece of hardware that '''''opts me into this by default.'''''

Netflix will upsell you to 4k, but '''nowhere on their plans page, pricing page, or help page do they tell you that you will receive a low bitrate, 720p stream if you use firefox on GNU/Linux - or a very low bitrate 1080p stream in chrome''' The only way to get a high bitrate, 4k stream is as follows:

<blockquote>The requirements to actually get 4K streaming working on a PC are buried in documentation and frankly absurd. You need:

* Windows 10 or newer (not necessary when pirating)
* HDCP 2.2 compliant monitor and GPU (not necessary when pirating)
* GPU with HEVC hardware decoder (not necessary when pirating)
* 4K monitor (even if you just want higher bitrate, or to view 1080p content on a 1080p monitor, which is not a problem when pirating)
* 4K HDR monitor (some services won’t deliver 4K without HDR, which is not a problem when pirating)
* PlayReady 3.0 support (not necessary when pirating)
* Microsoft Edge or the Windows Store app (pirating is cross platform &amp; operating system agnostic)
* Intel processor with SGX enabled (AMD processors are unsupported, enjoy your oxidating 14th gen intel CPU; by the way, piracy is processor/platform agnostic &amp; works on all)
* No DisplayLink products or similar display adapters (piracy plays on any display product)

As someone who repairs motherboards professionally, I find it unreasonable to expect average consumers to verify all these requirements before subscribing to a service that prominently advertises “4K streaming” as a feature. For comparison, game publishers clearly list their system requirements right next to the purchase button.

Even more frustrating is that these restrictions exist purely due to DRM requirements, not technical limitations. The same content can stream perfectly fine at full quality to smart TV apps, proving the bandwidth and technology exists to deliver high-quality streams to any capable device.
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