Netflix — Sound Mix Specification

Netflix calls the home mix near-field, because it is made at living-room monitoring levels rather than cinema ones:

• Average loudness −27 LKFS with a tolerance of ±2 LU, dialogue-gated — the measurement follows the dialogue, not the whole soundtrack.
• Measured over the full programme to ITU-R BS.1770-1.
• Peaks must not exceed −2 dBTP, which Netflix also expresses as +18 dBu over a −20 dBFS reference — reached by peak limiting, not by turning the mix down.
• Mixed at a reference of 79 or 82 dB SPL.
• Stereo as Lo/Ro (preferred) or Lt/Rt, and mono-compatible either way.
• Delivered as one longplay file, not reels.

• 48 kHz / 24-bit for the original-language mix and the M&E, stems and mix masters alike. Secondary-language and audio-description mixes may be 16- or 24-bit at 48 kHz.
• Uncompressed only: standard or RF64 LPCM WAV or BWAV. Netflix states that lossy or lossless compression is never allowed.
• Discrete files, except where audio is muxed by nature — an IMF, a QuickTime or an Atmos BWAV ADM file.
• Mono is accepted only if the source is mono and no stereo or 5.1 mix exists, duplicated on channels 1 and 2 as a two-channel file.
• Printmasters, M&Es and stems may carry the standard 8-second Academy leader and 2-pop. Dubbed-language and audio-description mixes must not carry an extra leader.

The deliverables that decide whether a title can be dubbed into other languages:

• 5.1 dialogue, music and effects stems that equal the 5.1 mix when combined.
• A fully filled 5.1 M&E with no dialogue. Ambience and Foley fill must match the original mix, and any non-dialogue sound in the main mix must also be in the M&E.
• M&E levels mirror the final master, so a dubbed dialogue track drops in without a remix.
• For an Atmos title, the 5.1 M&E is rendered from the Atmos M&E.

When the stereo mix is derived from the 5.1, Netflix specifies the fold-down:

• Centre channel lowered by 3 dB and included in both left and right.
• Surrounds lowered by at least 3 dB and folded into their own sides.
• LFE optional, between −8 dB and −12 dB, folded into both sides and low-pass filtered at 200 Hz or lower.
• All adjustments made on the individual 5.1 channels before the fold — and the resulting stereo mix checked for artefacts before delivery.

• Mixed in a 7.1.4 room at minimum. Netflix states that Dolby certification is not required for a home Atmos room.
• Delivered as a Dolby Atmos BWAV ADM file at 48 kHz / 24-bit.
• Netflix recommends true-peak limiters at −2.3 dBFS or lower on all beds and objects, with loudness checked through a 5.1 re-render.
• For series, documentary, unscripted and comedy, beds and objects are separated and labelled — Dialog, Narration, Group ADR, Music, Effects, Backgrounds, Foley. For film, dialogue, music and effects separation is kept wherever possible.

Netflix is explicit that this section is not technical specification. It is still how a mix plays best on the service:

• Loudness range of 4 to 18 LU for 5.1 and for stereo, with dialogue LRA of 10 LU or less.
• A true-peak limiter at −2.3 dBFS on every audio deliverable, to keep minor metering differences from reading as failures.
• Where an Atmos or 5.1 mix measures less than 15% dialogue, Netflix uses a programme measurement instead: −24 LKFS ±2 LU to BS.1770-3 or -4.
• Netflix normalises every delivery on playback so titles play at a consistent level — which is why the delivery target and the playback level are separate questions.

Read directly on 2026-10-17:

• Netflix — Sound Mix Specifications and Best Practices— Branded titles. Version OC-1-6, 29 October 2024, per the document's own change log. Every figure on this page.
• ITU-R BS.1770 — the measurement every figure here uses— Why LKFS and LUFS are the same unit, and what gating does.