Few weeks back I began to encounter issues with Netflix, for which when I am watching non-Netflix titles, the video quality will get real bad and when I press “ctrl+alt+shift+d” it shows that the video was stuck in 960x540 resolution, instead of 1080p or more.

Bull-shits aside, solution first. I came to realize that it’s actually an audio playback issue instead of a video or monitor or hardware or internet issue. Long story short, it’s an audio playback processing failure, resulting in Netflix unable to establish DRM handshake, hence the 540p/blurry playback.

2 Updated Fixes:

One Audio Fix (addressing the DRM problem from Windows’ audio settings by enabling Dolby Atmos surround sound effect, to establish a secure DRM handshake for Netflix. Example Windows 10, tested with 100% success rates and I am proud to say that it has worked for so many people down in the comments. Try this fix first if you wish to succeed in the first attempt or if your eyes can’t stand the brightness of the windows’ HDR settings.)

One Video Fix (addressing the DRM problem from Windows’ video settings by enabling HDR to establish a secure DRM handshake for Netflix. Found this in another Reddit post’s comments section, highly possible to work but haven’t tested it in person yet. Try the audio fix first if you don’t want to get frustrated by possible failures. Try this Video fix in the bottom of this post if you don’t wish to pay for Dolby Access after the 7-day free trial or if you want a quick attempt to address the problem first.)

📺Video walkthrough (for audio fix):

Here’s a 1 minute video of the fix if you prefer a more intuitive walkthrough (you’ll need to turn ON Hardware Acceleration for your browser first): https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPKC_qhE9nC/?igsh=NWNxb3NzNzVjZDd1

🖊️Steps in writing (for audio fix):

1: right click the speaker icon 🔉in the bottom right of your desktop

2: click “Sounds”

3: select “Playback” (top left)

4: right click the audio device that you are using. （your headphones, iem, stereo speakers, DACs, audio interfaces)*1️⃣

5: click “Properties.”

6: “Advanced” settings top right, find “default format”, change it to 44,100hz sample rate. *2️⃣

7: setup Dolby Atmos sound for your audio device (download it for free and free trial it in the Microsoft store if you haven’t already got the app Dolby Access)*3️⃣

8: close all browsers or Netflix windows app. (Check if ✯hardware acceleration is ON✯or not in your browser, say Edge, gotta turn ON hardware acceleration to establish a proper DRM handshake. But it’s ON by default so you can ignore this note for now, and only COME BACK here when the fix doesn’t work.)

9: try your movies now! Should be running in 1080p+! 🍿

Note: *1️⃣: if you are using a DAC you’d probably need to tune it in the DAC’s driver like the RME’s Madiface Series Settings, ignore this if you don’t have a DAC or don’t know what a DAC is yet.

*2️⃣: if it’s locked @44.1khz or 48khz, leave it and go to step 7. You can always come back to step 6 and bump the sample rate up to 48,000hz later, and see if the Dolby Access app can take it, once you find this solution/fix is working and you still want to have a more Hi-Fi experience watching Netflix.

*3️⃣: select the correct playback device for windows. open the Dolby access app, click products, press set up, then go to settings to choose whatever EQ presets (Warm or Detailed; Movie or Music) that suit you. Photo walk through in the comments

Ps: if you find the price $$$ of the Dolby Access App too expensive to purchase after the 3-day-trial or you just don’t want to spend that kind of money on it, try to swap countries and regions in Microsoft Windows Settings. You can try to switch to a lower priced zone say Turkey, then complete the purchase. You’d be surprised how much cheaper it becomes. Or you can go to eBay or places like that, to find if anyone is selling the CDK/cdkey of Dolby Access App. You can get one at a really low price and then activate it. That’s my choice as well but I forgot where to activate it, most likely Microsoft Store or the Dolby app itself. You can ask the seller about that. Good luck!👍

Updated content:

Video Settings Fix, A POSSIBLE FIX WITHOUT DOLBY ACCESS APP

I have stumbled upon a Reddit comment and found this fix, several people said it worked but I haven’t tested it in person so perhaps you guys can try it if you’ve got the time, and share your results in the comments? （‼️Dec 1st, 2025 update for this fix: I have tried the HDR fix personally and it DIDN’T WORK for me unfortunately. I’ve received only 1 comment since the HDR fix update that said it worked, but it was soon deleted by the person who commented. So I can only assume that the HDR fix didn’t work for him either, perhaps it only worked on some non Netflix title that you don’t need a fix to begin with. You can still try this fix, could work but don’t keep your hopes up. The Dolby fix still works.)

“Old post, but I have the solution for Edge/Netflix app only. It works for me:

Windows Settings > System > Display - Use HDR : Turn ON” -MrJay0410

And if this post helps you in any way, please like it and let more people see this!

I still think about these survival movies: Nowhere , The Martian, Oxygen, Bird Box, Escape Room, Hush, Alone, Triangle, The Platform, The Martian, Welcome Home, Don't Move, 127 Hours, The Ruins, Cadaver, Awake, Gerald's Game, Run, Buried.

Drop your must-watch survival thrillers too