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Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days

#222
post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The very first line of the article > Netflix will reduce the video quality on its service in Europe for the next 30 days, to reduce the strain on internet service providers . emphasis mine.

A broadband company as referred to in the parent comment is an internet service provider.

1. This is EU-wide, just because one or two broadband companies in a specific country said so doesn't mean they all can handle it.

2. I have doubt that any broadband company would openly admit to not being able to handle the extra load.

Re: Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days

#223
post #50

Does it mean they’ll pay me back for the 4K package?

You know, right now is not a time to be thinking about your ability to get the luxury service and goods you're used to. It's about us all staying alive and keeping each other alive and making it through this. Maybe you have to do with a little bit less than you're used to, maybe you don't think it's fair because you've paid $5 extra for your extra stream quality. None of us think what's happening is fair, but we have…

yes it is. i pay for 4k and my country has no problem with internet speed (we do have Gbps connections at home). this is not something we need.

Re: Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days

#224
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know, right now is not a time to be thinking about your ability to get the luxury service and goods you're used to. It's about us all staying alive and keeping each other alive and making it through this. Maybe you have to do with a little bit less than you're used to, maybe you don't think it's fair because you've paid $5 extra for your extra stream quality. None of us think what's happening is fair, but we have…

Please don't be unnecessarily condescending on this forum. They're asking a simple question.

I think GP is probably being sarcastic...

Re: Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days

#225
post #106

A few months ago there was blog post posted here from a guy making movie reviews. In the blog post he described how he managed to get 4k Netflix screenshots on his Chromecast. The effort he made was enormous and involved reverse engineering the Netflix data protocol (I probably worded this wrong). When doing that he found out that Netflix streaming in 4k isn't actually 4k. Again not exactly sure how this worked but t…

This one? https://lars.ingebrigtsen.no/2019/02/14/adventures-in-netfli...

There's nothing in there about 4K not being 4K, just some griping about low bitrates.

On computers you can access some debug stats https://www.reddit.com/r/netflix/comments/2fkylx/hidden_netf... and Roku also has it https://community.roku.com/t5/Channel-Issues-Questions/Someh...

Re: Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days

#226
post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, they should really make that clearer, especially since IIRC they charge for 4K streaming... This is probably how they get away with providing 4K without destroying their network: by making people think they are getting 4K when most are really are just watching 720p

If you don’t realise it’s not 4K, maybe it’s not worth the extra cost

Yeah, that's why they should say something. I was not aware I was getting lower quality, I thought the movies look awful.

Re: Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days

#227
post #50

Does it mean they’ll pay me back for the 4K package?

You know, right now is not a time to be thinking about your ability to get the luxury service and goods you're used to. It's about us all staying alive and keeping each other alive and making it through this. Maybe you have to do with a little bit less than you're used to, maybe you don't think it's fair because you've paid $5 extra for your extra stream quality. None of us think what's happening is fair, but we have…

Can I use this argument to the people/corporations I owe? "Oh just get over it and accept things, it's not yesterday anymore you can't just expect delivery on contracts!"

Re: Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days

#228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the real problem is that the supply is too inelastic. The marginal cost of delivering more data is trivial, until part of your network gets congested, and then your short-term options are limited. This is the same problem that water utilities often face: it's cheap, until you run out. Assigning a single rate ($/TB) requires you to make some assumptions that are at risk of being violated in exceptional circums…

> Using variable pricing to charge more during peak hours is too complicated for consumers to keep track of Why? It works for electricity.

Peak vs off-peak prices for electricity aren't that far apart—up to a factor of 3 in my area for residential service. And that's for a fixed schedule of peak/shoulder/off-peak hours. More dynamic demand-based pricing of electricity doesn't work all that well for residential service; it basically requires automated load-shifting that's far more practical for industrial customers than residential.

The cost curve for internet service during peak hours is a lot steeper. I think it would take much more than a 3x price multiplier during peak hours to get any noticeable demand reduction beyond what streaming applications already do by dropping down to lower resolutions automatically. (Assuming that the base cost for off-peak usage is remotely realistic, ie. orders of magnitude lower than the metered prices we pay for cellular data in the US.)

Re: Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days

#229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a related note, if you watch Netflix in Chrome or Firefox then you're only getting a resolution of 720p. Google Chrome Up to 720p on Windows, Mac, and Linux Up to 1080p on Chrome OS Internet Explorer up to 1080p Microsoft Edge up to 4K* Mozilla Firefox up to 720p Opera up to 720p Safari up to 1080p on Mac OS X 10.10.3 or later *Streaming in 4K requires an HDCP 2.2 compliant connection to a 4K capable display, Inte…

Note that if you pirate 1080p or 4k content you'll always get the full resolution you asked for.

Not always at a great bitrate though.

I haven't really torrented anything in a while but I doubt there are many 20GB+ Blu-ray quality rips out there that you can download in a reasonable amount of time.

EDIT: after reading the replies I stand corrected; it seems like there are some better quality uploads out there than I thought.

Re: Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days

#230

That explains a lot. Fair enough though > But it said viewers would still find the picture quality good. I beg to differ and I'm watching on my tablet in bed and it reminds me of the Avi files we used to watch on lan networks in the 90s.

Are you in Europe? I'd love to know how are services like Hulu or YouTube holding up?
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