Netflix and Amazon may have lost their 4k content exclusivity to pirates. Until now, high-quality 4K resolution rips were almost non-existent, but recent new releases from various groups suggest pirates may have found a loophole to access Netflix’s and Amazon’s 4k movies and TV shows, says a report from TorrentFreak.
Pirates accessing very secure content
The market already has had 4K streaming videos for quite some time now. But until now, the protection of these online streams from pirates was excellent. It was believed that High-Bandwidth Digital Copy Protection (HDCP) version 2.2 is very secure, but certain signs suggest that pirates have succeeded in finding ways to bypass that protection.
Earlier this year, the first 4k Netflix leak surfaced, but there was silence after it. Then a major change was noticed a few days ago when more such releases started to appear online. TorrentFreak spoke to one of the release groups, which confirmed that it was indeed a significant change.
“Many groups started releasing 4k rips recently and they are working perfectly. I expect that 4k resolution releases will become more popular now,” the insider told TorrentFreak.
The new 4k leaks are from both Amazon and Netflix, indicating a general loophole that pirates are taking advantage of to circumvent the protection on both services. It was impossible to do so until recently.
Popular Netflix and Amazon shows leaked
Netflix’s Jessica Jones was among the high-profile 4k leaks last week. Several Amazon shows such as The Man in the High Castle, Edge, Good Girls Revolt, Highston, One Mississippi and Patriot are among the new true 4k releases. Media info for one of the Jessica Jones leaks showed 4k at a 32.5 Mbps bit rate, but this does not assure exceptional video quality.
“For example for Marvel’s Jessica Jones new TV series from Netflix the 4K captures look bad, because the master from Netflix is probably bad,” an insider told TorrentFreak.
Netflix and Amazon are two key vendors in the 4k content market. While the average consumer may not be equipped to play 4k content on their TV or computer, there are video geeks who wait eagerly for every new 4k release. So far, physical offerings were limited to adult content mostly with a very few mainstream productions. But the scenario is expected to change soon with the adoption of Blu-ray standard for Ultra-High definition video.
