4K Blu-ray discs generally offer superior picture and sound quality compared to streaming due to higher bitrates, less compression, and lossless audio, but streaming provides greater convenience and cost-effectiveness, with ongoing technological improvements potentially narrowing the quality gap.
Spotify Lossless offers significantly improved sound quality compared to Very High, but it consumes a lot of data—up to 1GB per hour—especially noticeable when streaming over cellular. Users can customize their streaming settings to balance quality and data usage, such as enabling Lossless only over Wi-Fi and downloading tracks for offline listening. Despite the high data consumption, many audiophiles will appreciate the enhanced listening experience.
Spotify has finally launched lossless 24-bit audio streaming for Premium users in select regions at no extra cost, using FLAC format and requiring wired headphones or Spotify Connect for the best experience, marking a long-awaited upgrade since its 2021 announcement.
Spotify has finally launched its long-awaited lossless audio feature for premium subscribers in 50 markets worldwide, offering CD-quality streaming at no extra cost, after years of anticipation and delays.
Microsoft's push to make Xbox gaming accessible without a console, including through the Amazon Fire Stick 4K and PC Xbox app, faces significant quality issues. Cloud streaming suffers from poor image quality and input lag, while the Xbox app on PC is plagued by inefficiencies and launch problems. Despite the potential of these initiatives, the current execution falls short, making traditional console gaming a superior experience.
YouTube TV is rolling out improved picture quality with enhanced 1080p and 720p resolutions to more subscribers, including those using Roku and Apple TV. This update, which had been previously tested and temporarily removed due to bugs, now offers higher bitrates for smoother and clearer images, especially beneficial for sports streaming. The enhanced 1080p60 quality is available to users with 4K-compatible devices and supports the VP9 codec.
Nvidia's latest update for GeForce Now on Android introduces support for streaming at up to 1440p and 120fps, available to Ultimate tier subscribers, allowing for high-quality gaming on select 120Hz Android devices. The update also brings new game titles and announces the removal of over a dozen games from publisher Spike Chunsoft at their request.