Netflix Delivery Specs, Explained

Approved Cameras and the 90% Rule

Netflix requires 90% of a program's final running time to be shot on cameras from its approved list, recorded to its capture requirements. Nonfiction may get more flexibility. The other 10% covers drones, crash cams, archive and the like. The minimums a camera must meet to be considered:

• • At least 3840 photosites of capture width (spherical); anamorphic may need more
• • Lightly compressed or uncompressed RAW, or an intraframe codec at 4:2:2 or better
• • 10-bit or greater
• • At least 240 Mbit/s at 24 fps
• • A scene-referred log or RAW color space (S-Log3, LogC, Log3G10, V-Log and so on), not Rec. 709

Meeting the minimums doesn't approve a camera: only the list does, and it names the approved recording formats for each model (some flagged for anamorphic). In October 2026 it listed 71 models from ARRI, Canon, Panasonic, RED, Panavision, Sony, Blackmagic Design and DJI. Check the current list for the exact body and recording mode before you lock the package.

To plan card and drive space at an approved codec's data rate, use Data & Storage or the storage planning guide.

Source: Cameras & Image Capture: Requirements & Best Practices

The Master: an IMF Package

The primary deliverable is an Interoperable Master Package to SMPTE's Application #2E. If IMF is new to you, the IMF packages guide covers CPLs, track files and supplemental packages.

Standard

SMPTE ST 2067-21 Application #2E, the 2016, 2020 or 2023 edition. Atmos titles add ST 2067-201 (IAB Level 0 plug-in).

Resolution

UHD 3840×2160 or HD 1920×1080. Deliver the highest resolution you have.

Picture codec

JPEG 2000. UHD up to 30 fps: 4K IMF single-tile lossy, max 800 Mbit/s; above 30 fps: max 1,600 Mbit/s. HD: max 400 Mbit/s, or 800 Mbit/s above 30 fps.

Color encoding

RGB 4:4:4, full range

Frame rates

23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 or 60, progressive, at the native capture and editing rate. No 3:2 pulldown flags.

HDR

P3-D65, SMPTE ST 2084 (PQ), 12-bit, Dolby Vision metadata embedded in the image track, ST 2086 mastering display metadata

SDR

ITU-R BT.709, D65, BT.1886 (gamma 2.4), 10-bit

Audio

48 kHz, 24-bit PCM. 5.1 in the order L, R, C, LFE, Ls, Rs; stereo as L, R. One audio language per CPL.

Head and tail

1 second of black and silence at each end. No bars, slates, ratings or FBI cards, commercial blacks or VITC.

Timed text

Not inside the IMF: Netflix says timed-text track files are not supported. Subtitles go as separate files.

Source: IMF Delivery Specifications

HDR and SDR Deliverables

Every Netflix Original delivered in HDR must be mastered in Dolby Vision. Netflix derives its Dolby Vision, HDR10 and SDR streams from the Dolby Vision IMF, so you don't deliver an HDR10 file, and a master made only for HDR10 is not accepted.

• • Monitoring: HDR on a P3-D65, PQ display of at least 1,000 nits; SDR on a Rec. 709, BT.1886 (gamma 2.4) display at 100 nits
• • Grade order: the HDR grade first, then Dolby Vision analysis and a trim pass
• • Metadata: Dolby Vision CM v4.0 (XML 4.0.2 or 5.1.0, CMVersion "4 1" or "4 2") or CM v2.9 (XML 2.0.5), embedded in the IMF with Level 1 on every frame
• • Calibrate to P3-D65, not Rec. 2020

The HDR guide explains PQ code values, nits and reference white.

Sources: Dolby Vision HDR Mastering Guidelines, Color Critical Display Calibration Guidelines, IMF Delivery Specifications (newer, and the source for the CMVersion values)

Audio: Mix, Stems and M&E

Netflix measures loudness on dialogue, not the whole mix, with the original BS.1770-1 meter. A mix that hits −24 LUFS integrated for broadcast can land anywhere against −27 dialogue-gated, so measure it the way Netflix does.

Loudness

−27 LKFS ±2 LU, dialogue-gated (ITU-R BS.1770-1), measured over the whole program

Low-dialogue programs

Netflix's best-practice guidance: under 15% dialogue, it measures the full program instead, at −24 LKFS ±2 LU (BS.1770-3 or -4)

True peak

−2 dBTP maximum. Netflix suggests a true-peak limiter at −2.3 dBFS.

Format

LPCM WAV or BWAV, 48 kHz, 24-bit for the original-language mix and M&E. No lossy or lossless compression.

Required mixes

Non-Atmos titles: a 5.1 mix and a Lo/Ro (preferred) or Lt/Rt stereo mix. Atmos titles: the home mix as BWAV ADM from a room of at least 7.1.4; the 5.1 and 2.0 re-renders are optional for streaming, though the IMF spec still asks for the 5.1 as a dubbing reference. Dubbed and audio description mixes have their own requirements.

Stems

5.1 dialogue, music and effects stems that sum to the 5.1 mix

M&E

Fully filled 5.1 M&E with no dialogue, including ambiences and Foley fill; on Atmos titles, rendered from the Atmos M&E

Delivery

Long-play files, not reels, for the near-field (home) mix

Sources: Sound Mix Specifications & Best Practices (version OC-1-6, October 2024), Audio Mastering & Archive Specifications

Timed Text: Subtitles, SDH and Forced Narratives

Netflix makes subtitles (a translation) and SDH (same-language subtitles for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers, with speaker IDs and sound cues) for its branded content, rather than broadcast-style closed captions. The picture stays clean: forced narratives are a separate file, shown when subtitles are off, and every forced event must also appear in each full subtitle and SDH file. Numbers from the English (US) guide:

Characters per line

42 (English US, subtitles and SDH)

Lines

2 at most

Reading speed

Up to 20 characters a second for adult programs, 17 for children's programs

Duration

5/6 of a second minimum (20 frames at 24 fps), 7 seconds maximum. The separate timing guidelines say "20 frames (or 4/5 sec)", which only matches at 25 fps; 20 frames is the figure both agree on.

Gap between events

2 frames minimum at every frame rate. At 24 fps, close gaps of 3 to 11 frames down to 2.

In and out times

In on the first frame of audio; out about half a second after the line ends, snapped to a shot change within that window

Forced narratives

A separate file for on-screen text and foreign dialogue meant to be understood; never burned into the picture

A full two-line subtitle of 84 characters needs at least 4.2 seconds on screen at 20 characters a second. Each language has its own guide with its own limits. The caption and subtitle formats guide compares Netflix's rules with the FCC, the BBC and other platforms.

Sources: Timed Text Style Guide: General Requirements, English (USA) Timed Text Style Guide, Subtitle Timing Guidelines, forced narratives

Netflix Delivery Checklist

• Confirm whether the title is branded (an Original) or licensed: the two use different spec documents
• Check every camera against the approved list before the shoot, not after
• Master HDR in Dolby Vision; an HDR10-only master is not accepted
• Package an App 2E IMF at the native frame rate with 1 second of black and silence at each end
• Mix to −27 LKFS dialogue-gated with peaks under −2 dBTP, and deliver the mixes, stems and M&E your title's audio format calls for
• Write subtitles and SDH to the Timed Text Style Guide, with forced narratives as their own file
• Keep the picture free of burned-in subtitles; deliver a textless supplemental package