How do I force Netflix HD on Android?

I have an LG G2 and it's the only phone that Netflix has supported for a while.

I've tried to get it to work on my phone for the past month, but have yet to be able to do so.

I've tried following instructions from various sources, including but have had no luck. I've tried connecting to the TV and using Chromecast on my phone, but it doesn't seem to work, or at least I can't get it to work. I've also tried the same method in the past, and had the same problem. However, I managed to get it to work. If anyone can explain how, or if there's any other way to force HD on Netflix, it'd be great!

If you can't connect to the TV or Chromecast, then you can't force HD. You'll just have to wait until Netflix releases an update for it. The only way to force HD is to install an app like AndroidBox.

You need to change the MVC to HLS. Then download and install the Androidbox app. The androidbox app will do all of the trickery for you.

When you first open up the app it will ask if you want to enable HD. If you click yes you should see HD right away. If you choose No, you will have to wait for Netflix to upgrade their app to support HLS.

I've tried changing the MVC to HLS and enabling HD, but when I go to the app, it doesn't have HD. It's always the same thing. I have to connect to the TV to get it to work.

I'm not really sure how to change the MVC to HLS. Do you have any suggestions? Yes.

Which is better Widevine L1 or L3?

I have read different opinions about widevine L3 as the official solution for HLS/HDS.

The opinion by Microsoft seems to be 'widevine L1 is already the recommended choice, widevine L3 is just an alternative'. What's your opinion on that? As of now, widevine L3 is still a bit immature in terms of features and stability. Should I stick with widevine L1 for now or start exploring widevine L3?

I think this question really is only relative to a specific implementation, as far as what they mean by L1 and L3. With a given implementation you can easily figure out what is L1 and what is L3. But I think people may not realize that you do not really get L1 or L3 with all implementations.

With the Microsoft implementation, it appears to use SDP. You are right though that L3 is pretty much only available in the Microsoft implementation so any future extensions will appear in L3 instead of L1. The reason being that as things progress, the need for newer features increases and as those new features become common place it would better to have them in a higher level specification such as L3.

So if you're running a Windows Phone version 8 (with Widevine L1) and you install widevine L3 on the same device, then the phone automatically upgrades to widevine L3 (and not L1). This is because Windows Phone 8.1 doesn't support multiple profiles per app, but it does support multiple versions of an app (the main purpose of L3).

However, there's no clear direction on whether Windows Phone 8.1 also supports L3. It should (as Microsoft says), but nothing is guaranteed when it comes to Windows Mobile.

Hi Ben, Thanks for the info. How about Windows Phone 8. Can you confirm whether it supports L3? Thanks in advance.

Windows Phone 8.1 (Lumia 930) will support L3. There's nothing else special on the L3 side of the world. L2 (on WP8.1) has some additional features, but L1 on WP8.

How do I watch Netflix in HD on Widevine L3?

It appears that Widevine is supporting Netflix in HD on Widevine L3.

For me it looks like Netflix in HD doesn't work properly, the picture is not sharp or good in HD. I also have a Samsung TV and the image appears to be very weak, like the picture is all over the place. It works fine for HD on other content, like Hulu. Any ideas?

The video on Netflix is still pretty good though, it's just not in HD. I found an app called "Super HD" that makes the Netflix HD video look really good, but it's kind of pricey and doesn't support most regions.

I think this has to do with which device you are watching it on. I'm going to guess it's your phone that's the problem here. I have an HTC One and this is the worst possible experience. When you start streaming from your phone it's clear that it's not even 720p but 480p.

Can you clarify this a little bit? Are you talking about your TV or your phone? If it's the phone, how is it streaming the video? What kind of phone is it? I've heard that some phones will auto switch to a lower quality mode when streaming to them (or at least it happened on my old iPhone), so if you have an older model and you're having problems, it could be the case. But yes, it could be your phone.

How do I force Netflix to L1?

I have a smart TV, and I love it.

But it is missing one major feature: it can't play Netflix L1. It's not only missing it, it doesn't even support it, either, despite the fact that the Netflix app on the TV has several "Play on Netflix L1" options.

When I put in a Blu-ray disc with Netflix L1 content on it, it works. But not from streaming video on my phone. If I turn it into a "Play on Netflix L1" option, it won't work at all.

This leaves me with two options: wait until Netflix L1 comes to streaming, or go the third option and buy a Chromecast dongle to use as a dumb tv. I choose the third option.

The third option is not easy to set up or configure. In fact, I've never had it work from the beginning. But there are ways to get it to work.

Set up a computer as a NAS. One way to get Netflix L1 to work is to get a computer with an attached storage drive. I used to use a Drobo, but it broke after a year. Now I use a Synology DS214SE rack unit.

Download the Netflix app, which doesn't work. Install Plex Media Server, which does work. Now Netflix L1 works, but if you try to connect it to Plex, it won't work because you're using both a media server and a Netflix app at the same time.

To get Netflix L1 to work, I have to create a Plex server account. This means installing the Plex Media Server, logging in, and setting up an account. In this case, I went with a FreePlex server.

After it's set up, the Plex Media Server needs to be configured to work with Netflix L1. That means telling Plex to do something with the files on the connected storage device.

In this case, I wanted to tell Plex to do something with the files on the external hard drive. It's actually the easiest way to make it work. The only real benefit of the NAS method is that you can stream from the NAS to your phone and your computer at the same time.