Microsoft hopes 1080p Netflix makes Edge your next browser
It also claims Edge bests Chrome and Firefox in battery life while streaming.
As Microsoft continues to nudge folks into trying its new Edge browser on Windows 10, its latest tease is the promise of better looking, more efficient video streaming. Just like Apple's Safari browser on OS X, it turns out that on Windows only Microsoft's browsers stream HTML5 Netflix in 1080p, while Chrome, Firefox and Opera all max out at 720p and a much lower bitrate. It also claims the browser makes use of Windows 10's enhancements to offload video and audio processing to the right hardware in ways that save significant battery life.
Microsoft's blog post even says chipsets able to handle the hardware-based DRM required for 4K are already shipping, and the software should come this fall to move further beyond the reach of other browsers. Of course, if all that streaming prowess and the addition of extensions aren't enough to drag you away from Chrome, you don't necessarily need to use a backup browser even on your PC -- Netflix's Windows 10 app can handle 1080p streaming all on its own.
