Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days • Hacker News Board

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

#301

Post by op00to » Thu, Mar 19, 2020, 10:09 PM UTC

jasoncartwright wrote: post #88

tyingq wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that's what they are relieving...edge traffic volumes. If the local ISP cache box lowers it's maximum quality, the ISPs get relief. The ISPs oversubscribed, and can't deal with this many people being at home all at once.

Citation needed. In the UK... "UK broadband companies say they can cope with increased demand as many more people stay at home during the coronavirus crisis." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51870732

Just note, in your service contract the measure of whether service is working or not will likely be limited to being able to reach your ISPs website. As long as you can do that, it’s just the vagaries of the internet, other providers you know.

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

#302

Post by vimslayer » Thu, Mar 19, 2020, 10:10 PM UTC

This is totally offtopic but since bunch of people are talking about torrenting here I figured I'd ask - are you getting subtitles from somewhere?

I think my English is pretty good but still watching shows without subs feels like it takes more work and doesn't let me focus on the content.

I used to use opensubtitles.org but it's gotten from difficult to use to impossible to use due to all the popups and crap like that.

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

#303

Post by MaxBarraclough » Thu, Mar 19, 2020, 10:11 PM UTC

mikkelam wrote: post #173

DavidVoid wrote: post #152

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…

This is really driving me nuts... Netflix is consistently giving me subpar resolution in firefox. It's quite rare that I even get 720p. Yet switching to microsoft edge, boom suddenly it's great. There used to be some extensions to switch the resolution up on chrome and firefox, but I do believe they're not working anymore. Another case for piracy I guess.

I believe this is because Edge is capable of decrypting and displaying DRM-protected 4K streams. I don't think it's just Netflix being difficult.

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

#304

Post by op00to » Thu, Mar 19, 2020, 10:11 PM UTC

hobofan wrote: post #200

turbinerneiter wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a made up problem. In Germany, journalists asked the network providers and they said everything is fine. Such a ridiculous and pointless thing to do by the EU. Especially since all the apps drop the quality automatically anyway if the connection is slow.

German ISPs to public: "Everything is fine!" German ISPs to EU representative: "Could you please ask Netflix to turn down the traffic so we don't look too bad?" Not too hard to imagine, is it?

More like German ISPs to EU Representative: oh noes we got caught overselling remember when I gave you all that money now please ask Netflix to slow down

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

#305

Post by op00to » Thu, Mar 19, 2020, 10:14 PM UTC

rosybox wrote: post #50

dogma1138 wrote: post #2

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…

This is a fake problem, as evidenced by many network operators commenting on Twitter that traffic is only slightly higher. If people are having problems, it’s because their ISP has oversubscribed the last mile and are defrauding customers.

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

#306

Post by dylz » Thu, Mar 19, 2020, 10:14 PM UTC

Bnshsysjab wrote: post #266

deno wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Availability aside (bluray rips are a thing), most people can’t tell the difference between FullHD and 4K at all, at least in moving pictures[1]. I doubt bitrate will make much difference on top of that, as long as you start from some reasonable value. I seriously can’t tell the difference between a very low quality YIFY rip and a proper Bluray. If you freeze frame they both look bad, and when they’re moving they bot…

I’d rather see 60-144hz before any increases in resolution above 1080p and maybeeee 4K. I think lower quality rips show themselves a bit more on high quality playback devices, but I generally don’t hit low quality releases purely for Snob factors so I could be wrong.

Are movies actually made in 144 FPS?

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

#307

Post by op00to » Thu, Mar 19, 2020, 10:16 PM UTC

Hamuko wrote: post #270

gandalfian wrote: post #195

So they are rolling out gigabit fibre in homes but 5mbs is overloading the system?

Just because they're selling you Gigabit, doesn't mean that they actually have the capacity to provide you a guaranteed Gigabit pipe. They're overprovisioning their network and hoping that not enough people want to max their connection out at the same time.

In other words, a bill of goods.

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

#308

Post by cortesoft » Thu, Mar 19, 2020, 10:16 PM UTC

dogma1138 wrote: post #177

Invictus0 wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The technical needlessness of this decision has been thoroughly reviewed in this thread; therefore this is just a fear-based decision because of the panic. Why should anyone tolerate pointless moves like this to appease people that are panicking?

I don't think it's a fear based decision, it would without a doubt reduce their costs considerably. Netflix runs on AWS and while they are paying a special rate they are still paying through the nose. Netflix is operating at a loss, has a mountain of debt and it's most profitable when people maintain their yearly sub and binge 1 show ever 2-3 months basically the same way gyms make their money you pay for a year, go…

This is not how Netflix distributed their content at all. Most ISPs use their open connect system, which places a Netflix box inside their network. Content is streamed from there, which is cheaper for both the ISP and Netflix.

https://openconnect.netflix.com/en/

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

#309

Post by kislotnik » Thu, Mar 19, 2020, 10:16 PM UTC

knicholes wrote: post #275

jazzyjackson wrote: post #256

Maybe if we had kept using bittorrent for TV distribution we wouldn't have so much global traffic downloading "The Avengers" for the millionth time, you would just download it from the nearest host (also the way the internet worked before HTTPS, there used to be way more local caching of content being downloaded over and over again)

It sounds like it's time for some popcorn.

Excuse me, but if the problem is in overloading of local networks, popcorning full-quality vs streaming downsampled might revert their efforts in cutting traffic, which might be for a good reason.

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

#310

Post by colonwqbang » Thu, Mar 19, 2020, 10:16 PM UTC

dragonwriter wrote: post #231

jandrese wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

If you pirate it originally yourself, sure. Pirated content from other people that lies about what it is isn't unheard of, though.

Not unheard of, but uncommon. Typically the uploader will list the particulars of his precious file in extreme detail. Video resolution down to the pixel, framerate, mean bitrate and the exact settings and version of the libx264 codec software used...