Netflix UK Confirm GBP6.99 Price Rise and Broadband ISP Speeds for 4K

Netflix UK, the Internet-based unlimited movie and TV video streaming service, has confirmed that the monthly price of their service will soon rise from £5.99 to £6.99 as already widely expected. But the good news is that this will only impact new customers, at least for now.

In an email update the service clarified that existing subscribers will continue to pay the current price (£5.99) for another two years. “As a thank you for being a member of Netflix already, we guarantee that your plan and price will not change for two years … [the current price] is guaranteed so long as you remain a member on your current plan,” said Netflix UK’s newsletter. NOTE: Netflix’s site still shows their old price so now is probably a good time to hop on.

Elsewhere the service has moved to clarify earlier remarks concerning the kind of broadband speed that subscribers will need in order to watch their latest Ultra HD 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels – resolution) streams. In April 2014 Netflix suggested subscribers would require a stable download speed of 15.6Mbps (here) and the firms CEO, Reed Hastings, has previously also noted that those with a 50Mbps connection should be “fine“. But the latest official update refines this.

Netflix on 4K Video Streams

To get the highest quality Netflix experience in Ultra HD 4K, we recommend available bandwidth of at least 20Mbps. This provides enough throughput for the stream, which is about 16Mbps, plus headroom for service variability. And speaking of variability, there are many things that can affect the data throughput to a specific device on your home network.

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Market researchers predict that consumers will buy a million Ultra HD 4K TVs this year and even more in subsequent years. We expect it will likely take up to 5 years before Ultra HD 4K becomes mainstream; when most of the TVs on store shelves are Ultra HD 4K.

At present the only 4K show on Netflix is House of Cards season 2 and similarly most people won’t be able to take full advantage of this without a 4K capable display. In addition, Netflix said that 4K wasn’t just a matter of screen resolution and their plans also included broader support via 10-bit colour precision and framerates of up to 60fps. The latter can also increase bandwidth requirements significantly, which might start to explain the prior 50Mbps remark.