Netflix confirms it throttles streams on mobile apps

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Mar 2016 4:34 User comments (8)

Netflix has admitted this week that they throttle streams for mobile users, following a report by the Wall Street Journal that claimed they downgraded the quality specifically for AT&T and Verizon customers.

The company had also allegedly said that T-Mobile and Sprint have much "more consumer-friendly policies," and therefore Netflix kept the quality in full for the carriers.

In response, Netflix said that they limit video quality for all mobile users, capping the video at 600kb/s, in order to save consumers from crushing their data caps in quick order.

Additionally, the company says they will soon introduce a data-saver feature for mobile that will give you better control over quality and data usage.

Source:
WSJ

Tags: streaming Netflix Mobile Apps

<Sources: Microsoft willing to back bidders for Yahoo >TiVo and Rovi looking to merge

128.3.2016 00:53

Jemborg

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

Is that for real? It's a bit nanny-like.

228.3.2016 01:43

SoTired

Send private message to this user

Junior Member

I'm happy that Netflix is not chewing up more of my data plan than necessary, but it is nice that they'll start giving us control.

328.3.2016 19:33

KillerBug

Send private message to this user

AfterDawn Addict

Originally posted by Jemborg:
Is that for real? It's a bit nanny-like.

Without the controls, it is a godsend. Hopefully they will add controls for PC so when using a tethered laptop you can set the stream rate easily.

429.3.2016 01:10

Bozobub

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

Originally posted by KillerBug:

Originally posted by Jemborg:
Is that for real? It's a bit nanny-like.
Without the controls, it is a godsend. Hopefully they will add controls for PC so when using a tethered laptop you can set the stream rate easily.

You can force a particular stream bitrate manually, actually, including forcing HD as long as you have HD available with your specific membership (not all do) and the content is available in HD. Once the stream has started, hit CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-S, and a dialog with bitrate options for will pop up.

Hopefully, this will be of some use to you.

Note: Different browsers have different limits on the video resolution, as well.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 29 Mar 2016 @ 1:10

529.3.2016 02:09

Jemborg

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

Originally posted by Bozobub:

You can force a particular stream bitrate manually, actually, including forcing HD as long as you have HD available with your specific membership (not all do) and the content is available in HD. Once the stream has started, hit CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-S, and a dialog with bitrate options for will pop up.

Hopefully, this will be of some use to you.

Note: Different browsers have different limits on the video resolution, as well.

It is, thanks.

(I'll pass it onto my brother as my internet is too crappy for Netflix and it's like. Besides, in Oz Netflix is nowhere near as good as the US's. Here people recommend a streamer called "Stan".)

Which browser would you recommend anyway Bub?

629.3.2016 02:58

Bozobub

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

I prefer Pale Moon, a Firefox variant. But if you mean for watching HD video on Netflix, Firefox variants are limited to 720p, while good ol' Internet Explorer can run 1080p. Edge (for Windows) and Safari (for Macs) are the only 2 other "mainstream" browsers that will run Netflix in "true" HD, sadly; Chrome, Firefox, and Opera all are stuck with 720p.

Additionally, even with IE11/Edge, some content will still refuse to play in 1080p, unless you get the Netflix Windows Store app - which requires Windows 10 - and play content with that.

The reason for this odd dichotomy is due to the limitations of moving away from Silverlight (which handles 1080p just fine, along with offering many more options) and the simple fact that the DRM portion of HTML5 hasn't been fully standardized yet; as usual, M$ feels free to forge on ahead, standards be damned ^^' .

By the way, that key combo only works in windowed mode, apparently. Any changes do persist while the video is active, but you can't see the dialog in fullscreen mode.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 29 Mar 2016 @ 3:05

730.3.2016 11:54

hearme0

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

This is not surprising and totally fair and understandable!

HD and/or massive data streaming is absolutely unnecessary for mobile phones......PERIOD!

830.3.2016 13:05

Bozobub

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

Absolutely false. You ARE aware a lot of people tether their phones to their PCs, correct?

	Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets (06 Jun 2023 9:19) Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
	Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38) Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028. 5 user comments
	How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25) The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. .... 18 user comments
	How to Enable Bluetooth on Stadia Controller (11 Feb 2023 1:04) Google shut down its streaming game service Stadia late last month and this means that some people have Stadia controllers lying around that seem to be of no use. That is fortunately not the .... 2 user comments
	Guide: How to Kick Unwanted Guests from Your Netflix Account (26 Jan 2023 2:14) Sharing a Netflix account with a person in a different location is possible and indeed very common, although the company doesn't necessarily enjoy this behavior from their customers. However, .... 2 user comments

	Windows 11: Check if TPM is enabled on your computer In this short guide we will look at how you can check the status of Trusted Platform Module (TPM) on your PC ahead of the coming launch of Windows 11.
	GUIDE: Wi-Fi speeds are slow? Here are some tips Having problems with Wi-Fi speed and stability at home? Here are some tips to follow to alleviate the issues. 1 user comment
	What happens if you don't update Android? Sometimes it can be tempting to avoid updating to a new Android version. What happens if you decide to delay major updates to the OS?
	What IP rating for dust and water resistance means An IP classification (such as IP68) is given to mobile phones, Bluetooth speakers, and other devices, but what do these classifications mean?
	HOWTO: Boot Android device into Safe Mode Are you having trouble with your Android device? If you find that your device has become sluggish, is freezing, takes too long to boot or any of a host of other performance concerns, you may want to boot into Safe Mode.

Netflix confirms it throttles streams on mobile apps

8 user comments

Latest news

Reviews

Guides

News archive

Subscribe

Sections:

Follow us:

	Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
	Review: Samsung Jet Bot 90 AI+ - a high-end robot vacuum cleaner Samsung's Jet Bot 90 AI+ is a top-class robot vacuum cleaner that can avoid obstacles and empty its own dust container. Here we review the product. 1 user comment
	Samsung Jet Bot 80+ review - excellent robot vacuum cleaner We review Samsung's Jet Bot 80+ robot vacuum cleaner over a period of three months. 1 user comment