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BigPipeNZ

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BigPipe

  #1543328 28-Apr-2016 12:11
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Resurrecting thread.

 

 

 

all my points in the OP still apply,  but there have been some interesting trends in the data Netflix publishes and I'm interested in what you guys think might be the cause.

 

the data is still utterly worthless for comparing ISPs within NZ, of course,  but what is interesting is that over the last few months, the average speed across almost all NZ ISPs has actually declined.  Just looking at the graph, it's a very clear trend downwards from Jan to March.

 

 

 

 

I thought at first that it might be a NZ thing, related to removal of global mode maybe or just to do with changes in local caching.

 

Bear in mind the change is fairly small, around 10-15% or so

 

BUT

 

If you look at global charts,  it still shows a pretty consistent downward trend in average speed for the top 10 countries over the last 2-3 months.

 

 

My speculation for why this might be happening:

 

  • Maybe a new Netflix app that restricts throughput to a lower amount on one particular device (e.g. iPad or iPhone).   Watching on a big screen might be exactly the same, but NEtflix might decide to push lower bitrates to i-devices or android if the overall experience will still be pretty similar. Lower bitrates on that app would bring down the overall average
  • Intentional throttling by Netflix to keep it's distribution costs down and reduce server load.
  • Improved compression algorithms in some or all of Netflix's content. If they can encode 720p in 2.5Mbps instead of 2.8Mbps (or whatever) that is going to be pretty good news for people, especially those on lower bandwidth connections or connections with data caps. 

Any thoughts from you guys?

 

 

 

 

 

ETA: and if anyone is interested,  we are now ranked 8th out of 33 countries that Netflix include in their calculations.

 

For our english speaking brethren:

 

UK is 9th,  USA 14th,  Australia a miserable 23rd.

 

Still pretty damn good.





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Talkiet
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  #1543332 28-Apr-2016 12:16
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I know for a fact it's due to Netflix changing their encoding and bitrates.

 

 

 

Cheers - N

 

 





Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.


BigPipeNZ

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BigPipe

  #1543333 28-Apr-2016 12:17
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Talkiet:

 

I know for a fact it's due to Netflix changing their encoding and bitrates.

 

 

 

Cheers - N

 

 

 

 

 

 

well there we go then.

 

thanks for spoiling the fun :P





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Talkiet
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  #1543334 28-Apr-2016 12:18
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https://media.netflix.com/en/company-blog/netflix-isp-speed-index-for-march-2016

 

 

 

Back in December, we announced a years-long effort called complexity-based encoding that allowed us to boost streaming performance of TV shows and movies while using less bandwidth. At the time, we said the new encodes would result in lower monthly averages for ISPs in our ISP Speed Index. With about 80% of our catalog now re-encoded, that change is beginning to impact the index.

 

If you look at the US ISP Speed Index graph, you’ll see the group of top performers started moving collectively down last month and again this month. That movement as a group reflects more efficient streaming on those networks due to our encoding work. For example, with the new encodes, the first episode of House of Cards Season 4 streamed 720p starting at 910 Kilobits per second (Kbps) and 1080p starting at 1620 Kbps on TVs; previously the lowest bit rates for those same streams were 2350 Kbps and 4300 Kbps, respectively.

 

 

 

Cheeers - N

 

 





Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.


BigPipeNZ

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BigPipe

  #1543336 28-Apr-2016 12:22
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Talkiet:

 

https://media.netflix.com/en/company-blog/netflix-isp-speed-index-for-march-2016

 

 

 

Back in December, we announced a years-long effort called complexity-based encoding that allowed us to boost streaming performance of TV shows and movies while using less bandwidth. At the time, we said the new encodes would result in lower monthly averages for ISPs in our ISP Speed Index. With about 80% of our catalog now re-encoded, that change is beginning to impact the index.

 

If you look at the US ISP Speed Index graph, you’ll see the group of top performers started moving collectively down last month and again this month. That movement as a group reflects more efficient streaming on those networks due to our encoding work. For example, with the new encodes, the first episode of House of Cards Season 4 streamed 720p starting at 910 Kilobits per second (Kbps) and 1080p starting at 1620 Kbps on TVs; previously the lowest bit rates for those same streams were 2350 Kbps and 4300 Kbps, respectively.

 

 

 

Cheeers - N

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet.  

 

google has really taken a lot of the fun out of rampant speculation.





bigpipe.co.nz
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Talkiet
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  #1543338 28-Apr-2016 12:23
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BigPipeNZ:

 

 

 

Sweet.  

 

google has really taken a lot of the fun out of rampant speculation.

 

 

 

 

Chuckle - If I'm being completely honest I noticed this a week or 2 ago and looked into it then - including verifying it with Netflix themselves.

 

 

 

Cheers - N

 

ps. Don't worry, I'm sure Stuff.co.nz could still spin it into an "article".

 

 





Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.


BigPipeNZ

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BigPipe

  #1543342 28-Apr-2016 12:26
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Talkiet:

 

BigPipeNZ:

 

 

 

Sweet.  

 

google has really taken a lot of the fun out of rampant speculation.

 

 

 

 

Chuckle - If I'm being completely honest I noticed this a week or 2 ago and looked into it then - including verifying it with Netflix themselves.

 

 

 

Cheers - N

 

 

 

 

looks like it might ALSO be to do with the way they do traffic on Mobile networks - capping at only 600Kbps by default instead of allowing it to ramp up to whatever.  Makes sense,  although I doubt traffic over mobile network accounted for a very high proportion of Network traffic anyway, not enough to skew the data this much I would think.

 

https://media.netflix.com/en/company-blog/helping-netflix-members-get-more-from-their-mobile-data-plans

 

 

 

"in an effort to protect our members from overage charges when they exceed mobile data caps, our default bitrate for viewing over mobile networks has been capped globally at 600 kilobits per second."

 

 

 

I wonder if this has any implications for RBI, Skinny broadband and similar products? 





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Talkiet
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  #1543344 28-Apr-2016 12:28
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BigPipeNZ:

 

Talkiet:

 

BigPipeNZ:

 

 

 

Sweet.  

 

google has really taken a lot of the fun out of rampant speculation.

 

 

 

 

Chuckle - If I'm being completely honest I noticed this a week or 2 ago and looked into it then - including verifying it with Netflix themselves.

 

 

 

Cheers - N

 

 

 

 

looks like it might ALSO be to do with the way they do traffic on Mobile networks - capping at only 600Kbps by default instead of allowing it to ramp up to whatever.  Makes sense,  although I doubt traffic over mobile network accounted for a very high proportion of Network traffic anyway, not enough to skew the data this much I would think.

 

https://media.netflix.com/en/company-blog/helping-netflix-members-get-more-from-their-mobile-data-plans

 

 

 

"in an effort to protect our members from overage charges when they exceed mobile data caps, our default bitrate for viewing over mobile networks has been capped globally at 600 kilobits per second."

 

 

 

I wonder if this has any implications for RBI, Skinny broadband and similar products? 

 

 

 

 

Hahahahahhahahaa. Hate to do this to you... But no. I can assure you for a fact it has no impact on RBI, BoLTE, Skinny BB or similar products. Again - been there, confirmed that :-)

 

No rampant speculation for you! :-)

 

Cheers - N





Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.


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