Chrome-based Microsoft Edge to support HD and 4K streams (Netflix)

One of the benefits of running Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 is that you can play some streaming content in HD or 4K resolutions. All other web browsers that you can use for this, whether it's Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or any browser based on Firefox or Chrome, such as Opera, Vivaldi or Pale Moon , can not play certain streams of multimedia content, for example. those of Netflix, in 1080p or 4K officially.

Although there are extensions available for Chrome and Firefox to elevate the default value of 720p to 1080p, nothing has appeared yet to unlock 4K streaming in these browsers on Netflix as well. .

The only other option under Windows, any version or edition of Windows, to read Netflix in 4K is to use the official Windows 10 Netflix application.

Although it is possible to run Windows 10 on a virtual machine to read streams in unsupported resolutions, this is not the best option.

Microsoft's announcement that future releases of the Microsoft Edge browser would use Chromium as a core might have puzzled some users as to whether the new browser would also support 4K feeds on Netflix.

The answer is yes, in the end. The latest release of the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser supports WideVine and PlayReady streams, and therefore Netflix 4K streams. The browser is still under development and the option to unlock HD and 4K streams is currently behind the flags.

Users with access to the leaked version of Microsoft Edge or to an official access on Windows 10 can enable the flags in the following ways (note that this requires * .111 or later compilation).

1. Install the HEVC video extensions from the device manufacturer from the Microsoft Store.
2. Load edge: // flags in the browser's address bar.
3. Look for Windows 10.
4. Set "PlayReady DRM for Windows 10" to On.
5. Set "PlayReady Experimental HEVC Decoding" to Enabled.
6. Restart Microsoft Edge.

This feature is only available on Windows 10 and there is no indication that Microsoft will use it in earlier versions of Windows or the new Microsoft Edge browser for Linux or Mac OS X.

Closing words

Microsoft needs features that differentiate its Chrome-based Edge browser from the world's most popular Chrome browser. Features such as 4K playback on Netflix may be of interest to a small but dedicated audience. If Microsoft manages to support enough features that make it unique, it could become more popular than the current version of Edge.

It remains to be seen if this is enough to usurp Google Chrome.

Now, it's your turn: What would you like to see supported in the new Edge? (via Deskmodder / Reddit)

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