How To Add Widescreen Support To Netflix [Firefox]
The media controls that you see on Netflix are basic. You can manage subtitles, audio streams, toggle fullscreen, and control the volume. There isn’t much else and if you want more control, you’re likely going to have use an extension for your browser. The Netflix app for Windows 10 prevents even that so anything extra that you want to do, will force you to watch Netflix in your browser. Likewise, if you use a VPN for Netflix then it’s probably better to use a browser instead of the app. Better Netflix is a Firefox add-on that can add widescreen support to Netflix. You get two aspect ratio controls; 16:9, and 21:9, but it also adds a plus and minus button that you can use to increase or decrease the width of the screen.
Add Widescreen Support
Install Better Netflix. Sign into Netflix in Firefox and play something. You will see widescreen controls at the bottom, next to Netflix’s default controls for subtitles, audio, and fullscreen.
You can use one of the two presets to change the aspect ratio or you can use the plus and minus button to fill the entire screen.
By default, Netflix leaves what is commonly known as black bars at the top and along the sides. You can see in the screenshot below that the player has filled out the available space within the browser.
Without Better Netflix, this is how a normal movie plays back. You can see there’s a thick black border all around the player. It’s a waste of screen space regardless how big or how small your screen is. The borders from the sides disappear when you watch in fullscreen mode but the black bars at the top and bottom are still there. The add-on will remove them provided you have a screen that’s big enough.
Limitations
Better Netflix doesn’t check what your screen’s aspect ratio is, nor does it dictate what ratio you ought to use for a better playback experience. This means you need to be mindful you don’t increase the screen size to the point where it’s being cut off from the sides.
Better Netflix doesn’t let you freely stretch the screen. If it did that, you’d be left with a distorted screen that was stretched too far vertically, and not enough horizontally. The add-on is best used for anyone with a widescreen monitor that can support the two widescreen presets.
If you don’t use a large monitor, or you’re not sure what aspect ration is best for your screen, use the plus and minus buttons to fill it up as much as you can without cutting it off from the sides. It will take a little trial and error but it’s worth it in the end.
