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Netflix is to start offering high dynamic range (HDR) content which will improve the image quality for viewers.
The technology allows televisions to show millions of extra colours as well as a greater contrast between black and white to improve detail.
Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings made the announcement during a speech at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, saying it will begin later this year.
He also confirmed that Netflix has gone live in 130 new territories, expanding its reach around the world.
The streaming service is attempting to expand into China, while blackspots remain in Crimea, North Korea and Syria.
But it’s the tech advances that we’re most interested in. Many televisions being released this year will use HDR alongside 4K – ultra high definition – which adds more pixels to a screen.
Hastings called the impact of HDR a “visceral sensation that’s pretty amazing”.
“Today you are witnessing the birth of a new global internet TV network,” he added. “With this launch, consumers around the world – from Singapore to St Petersburg, from San Francisco to Sao Paulo – will be able to enjoy TV shows and movies simultaneously. No more waiting.
“With the help of the internet, we are putting power in consumers’ hands to watch whenever, wherever and on whatever device.”
On the process of launching in China, Hastings said Netflix would be “very patient”, while revealing that Chinese has been added to its list of supported languages.
The site now serves 125 million hours of television and movies a day, according to Hastings, and more than 12 billion hours of video was streamed in the final three months of 2015, a rise of nearly 50% on the same period the previous year.
