I watch Netflix on a 55” LG 4K OLED,(internal Netflix app), 92” HD rear projection set(Apple TV) and now a 120” 4K projector(internal Netflix app)(just replaced the 92” two days ago). I’m also a cameraman who shoots HD and 4K and I see the images coming straight out of the camera onto professional and broadcast OLED monitors, so I know what good looking source material looks like and have a good benchmark with which to compare. A good looking Netflix stream of 1080p and up looks damn good. If you think it looks like old 460p YouTube videos, something is wrong somewhere in your chain.
I dont doubt you can certainly jugde a good image. My guess is, Netflix just uses a very low bandwith here in Germany. I looked at the streaming quality at a friends tv, and it was the same. Sky and Amazon are even worse. The netflix-Rips in the internet are way better.
I attached 2 screenshots where its especialy well visible. The first one is from the witcher episode 2 around 5:44, the second is from el chapo Season 1, episode 1, around 15:02. The details in the shadows are pretty much non existant especialy in the door and around the candles. The banding in screen 2 is truely insane. Its only 5 shades of grey!
The screenshots are taken on a 4k screen, our internet is very steady with 250mbit, we pay fo Netflix UHD. The app and different browsers behave similar. So I don't think its a problem on my end. YouTube does look absolutely fine.
What I also dont like is the missing DTS sound.
I would love to see comparison screenshots, maybe you can check these example scenese. My guess, its about the bandwith netflix "gives out" to users in different areas. I guess they try to get away with the absolutele minimum where people will not complain.