The Netflix video service program menu. Source: Supplied

Ultrahigh definition, or 4K, is four times the resolution of 1080p high definition content. But users will pay more for it. It is one of three tiers of Netflix membership available here, the others being standard definition and 1080p.

While it’s uncertain how much 4K content Netflix can offer initially, it says all original content that it makes available next year will be produced in 4K quality.

Until now, the sparse availability of 4K in Australia has given consumers little reason to buy a new 4K or UHD TV. That may now change as more movie streaming services embrace fine resolution streaming quality.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that in the US, Amazon would release a catalogue of movies and TV shows that stream in UHD.

As with Netflix, original home grown series would be a way to get more 4K content on the catalogue.

Amazon’s 4K programming will include original Amazon series such as “Alpha House” and “Transparent,” along with the BBC series “Orphan Black”, the Journal reported.

In Australia Netflix says it will offer programming suggestions based on 250 tags and subgenres. It will detect over time if a user has a particular liking or disliking for certain actors, genres, producers, or strong male or female leads, and make recommendations accordingly.

In addition to availability through Netflix apps, the Australian service will be accessible through Apple TV, Sony’s PlayStation console and Google Chromecast. Users can pause watching a movie on their home theatre screen and pick up from where they left off on their tablet or smartphone.

Netflix director of Corporate Communications and Technology Cliff Edwards said the company had been in talks with Australian ISP’s and was confident it could deliver high quality streaming to customers.

Mr Edwards said Netflix would not use multicasting for 4K content, and regarded it as “very inefficient” for its own operations.

In Australia the National Broadband Network (NBN) has had a long-term strategy to make available multicasting to content providers.

It means the one movie can be streamed simultaneously to a large group of users while minimising network bandwidth — a little like free-to-air broadcasting but over cable instead.

Mr Edwards would not confirm what cloud services and other infrastructure Netflix would use to stream its content in Australia, but he said the company had a long standing arrangement with Amazon Web Services.

In Australia Netflix is not alone in seeking to offer 4K content, with Quickflix previously saying it was “definitely on the radar” and Telstra saying it was keeping “a close eye on the demand for the technology”.

A Foxtel spokesman said the company was exploring “all avenues of delivery” but there was nothing to announce at this point.

One issue is whether ISPs will include or exclude the high data usage in monthly allowances associated with 4K streaming, and whether CODECS that compress a 4K stream can alleviate this.

Mr Edwards says its local Australian service will dramatically reduce the audience here that currently logs into its US network using a virtual private network (VPN).

It is estimated about 200,000 Australians use a VPN to circumvent geo-blocking and access Netflix’s US services disguised as a US user. It is not illegal in Australia to use a VPN, but it does breach Netflix’s terms of service.

Movie houses have criticised the company for not detecting VPN users and not booting them off its system, as the practice undermines international movie contract arrangements.

Mr Edwards said users had circumvented geoblocking “out of frustration”, and, based on the experience in other countries, the practice should subside once users had access to a legal local service.

Netflix is aiming at about 6 million subscribers in Australia, a figure based on attaining market penetration similar to the US. It says it has 53 million subscribers worldwide, and this year it spent more than $US3.2bn on content.

With next year looming as a huge battle between online movie services in Australia, Foxtel has announced a new sweetener: it will provide a Foxtel catch-up TV service as part of its Presto movie on demand offering.