4K Netflix with an NVIDIA GTX 1050Ti 4GB Video Card

4K Netflix with an NVIDIA GTX 1050Ti 4GB Video Card

The ability to stream 4K Netflix on a home theater PC (HTPC) has been the latest “Holy Grail” of HTPC computing.  Not too long ago Netflix began supporting this feature on computers having the 7th & 8th generation Kaby Lake CPUs with their built-in graphics engine.  These processors use the Intel® UHD Graphics 620 and Intel® HD Graphics 620.  Although not mentioned by Netflix, the Apollo Lake and Coffee Lake CPUs also have this ability.

But what about those of us who have an older CPU, or, God forbid, an AMD CPU?  What are we supposed to do?

• Buy a new computer?
• Replace the motherboard, CPU, and RAM of the existing computer?

Graphics cards have been available for some time that have the ability to display 4K or higher resolutions.  If only it were that simple.  In the pursuit of protecting video from being pirated, numerous schemes were devised.  So, your video display has to be compatible with all that which includes having HDMI 2.0, HDCP 2.2, and associated drivers that play nice with the DRM (digital rights management) of the video streams being played.

Yesterday the Fall Creator’s Update, version 1709 of Windows 10 became available.  This was the last piece of the puzzle for me.  I downloaded and installed the Windows update, verified I had the correct version, but no joy.

(To check your version of Windows 10, type “System Information” in the windows search bar.)

I contacted Netflix support via their chat feature and discussed the issue. The following is a greatly condensed synopsis of that chat:

Me: How do I tell if I have established a 4k Netflix connection?

Netflix:  You can’t tell.  It automatically adjusts to the highest possible resolution.   Tell me your setup & I’ll tell you if it will work.

Me:  Is there some relationship to the A/V bitrate and Throughput (kbps) on the video stats screen that can let you know if you have established a 4K connection?  It used to specify the resolution on that screen.

Netflix: No

Me: GTX 1050 Ti 4GB video card, 250mb/sec download bandwidth, 4K Samsung TV with HDR

Netflix: You MUST HAVE a 7th generation Intel CPU (Kaby Lake)

Me:  I read that the GTX 10XX 4GB cards can do it with the Windows Creator’s Update.

Netflix: No.  Here are 2 links to what you need to support 4K Netflix on a PC  (the links basically repeated what he said).

With my questions “answered” not to my satisfaction I thanked him and ended the chat.  I did not rate the chat because I didn’t want to vent my frustration on the support person.

Later that day I noticed a 4K symbol next to one of the 4K movies. (Click on the “i” symbol to get to this information screen)

The same screen on my basement HTPC with a maximum 1080p display (Ultra HD 4K symbol missing)

I played it and noticed the video bitrate that had previously been about 3000 was now 16000.  The video was noticeably sharper.  I checked the other known 4k sources and they all displayed the “Ultra 4k” symbol, which had previously been absent.

Then later that day, the 4K connection was lost and I couldn’t figure out why it worked one time, but not now.  Later that evening I had an epiphany and power cycled the Denon X4200W Receiver.  Low and behold the 4k connection re-established itself.  The problem was a partial HDMI handshake between my devices (computer-receiver-TV).  I have an ongoing issue with high definition sound sources for the same reason.  I had installed a powerline toggle switch to my Receiver for power cycling it when the high definition sound connection (via HDMI) is not established. So, the solution is when the 4K connection is not present to turn the receiver off for 3 seconds & turn it back on.  Hopefully, I’ll resolve that one day so the workaround won’t be necessary.  I suspect this won’t be a problem for direct connections from a computer to a TV.  Also, some other Receivers may not have this problem.

While troubleshooting another person’s setup I found out I had left my PC display’s HDR setting off.

After turning it on the Netflix information display included the HDR symbol.

Setting the PC’s HDR setting was great for the 4K source, but darkened the PC display generally.  To optimize the display for non-HDR content you would have to turn the HDR off before viewing it.  Having to switch pc display settings to optimize each type of source is a pain in the ass.

Another benefit of this setup is ATMOS sound.  Even though the Netflix information stats show the sound as “5.1”, my receiver understands it as “Dolby ATMOS” from sources like “The Punisher” which must have the additional speakers encoded within the Dolby Digital+  stream.

So, in conclusion:

• Every question I asked Netflix support was answered exactly wrong.  The correct answer was: To confirm your 4K connection, look for the “Ultra 4K HD” symbol on a video’s information screen or use the <ctrl><alt><shift><d> key combination and look for a video bitrate of 16000 while playing the video.
• The GTX 1050 Ti 4GB video card running on a computer with an AMD FX-8320 CPU outputs 4K Netflix just fine. No Intel CPU (Kaby, Coffee, Apollo, or any other Lake) needed.

Troubleshooting:

• Make sure you have installed the “HEVC Video Extensions” app from the Microsoft Store.
• Make sure you set your PC’s display resolution to 3840 X 2160.
• If multiple displays are connected to your PC simultaneously, they must all be 4k HDMI 2.0, HDCP 2.2
• Your Netflix preferences/settings have to be set for the highest video resolution
• You need a 4K enabled Netflix account.
• You need at least a 25 Mbps internet connection download speed.
• Your HDMI cables need to be rated for 4K HDR
• Your TV needs to be set to enable 4k HDR on the port that is connected to the PC. It may be off by default.  On my Samsung TV, the setting is “HDMI UHD Color” <ON>
• Some 4K TVs support 4k HDR on only one port.  Make sure the TV HDMI port you are using supports it.
• You may have an HDMI handshake issue and require a specific sequence of turning on your equipment or unplugging and reconnecting an HDMI cable to reset the HDMI handshake.
• Verify your HDMI cable is ok by swapping it out with a cable known to support HDMI 2.0 & HDCP2.2.
• Verify you have the Windows 10 Creators Update installed.
• Make sure you have the latest graphics card drivers, and latest TV firmware installed.
• The Netflix help page.
• HDR and advanced color settings in Windows 10.

ATMOS Problems:

• Install the Dolby Access App (It is free.  You don’t need the paid app for headphone ATMOS).
• Set Control Panel/Sound/Properties of your playback device/Spatial sound to Dolby Atmos for Home Theater.
• Your AVR must be in the correct mode, usually the mode for ATMOS/DTS:X.  It MUST be set correctly.  This can be confusing because the wrong setting may allow all other bitstreams to play properly, including Dolby True HD, but not ATMOS.  Don’t ask me how I know this 🙂
• Select the AVR’s HDMI sound device in windows setup/sound.  Do not use the SPDIF sound device.
• Set your video player app to bitstream sound.  (I use MPC-HC)