Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days

5punk3monk3y · 8 May 2020 at 22:57

SixTwoSix said:
Cheers mate.

Although would it make a difference if I'm not watching a real 4k show, better call Saul in this case? Even thought advertised as uhd

Yes, I found it quite apparent in that show. I noticed there was a reduction in clarity and panning shots suffered.

jpaul · 9 May 2020 at 22:20

are you getting your five a day ? https://reincubate.com/blog/netflix-data-tracking/

According to Business of Apps, in the UK, the average 18-34 year-old watches over an hour of Netflix every day, showing just how often we’re allowing such companies access to our devices and data. We wanted to shed light on how this entertainment giant stores our data and the different points they track on us.

To achieve this, we extracted the Netflix data from 5 millennials who are all avid users of the streaming service, in order to discover exactly what sort of data Netflix tracks on users. To gather the data, iPhone Backup Extractor was used to pull out raw data stored by the Netflix app on each user’s mobile device.

not surprising
We found Netflix keeps track of the following user data

Most-watched categories

Most-watched lists

Total number of hours spent watching Netflix

Number of minutes spent watching each flix

The title, episode, description, and type of content (movie or episode) watched

Date last viewed

Flix completed and unfinished

Whether the user is the Netflix account owner

Whether the flix was watched on a mobile

LuckyBenski · 9 May 2020 at 22:45

jpaul said:
are you getting your five a day ? https://reincubate.com/blog/netflix-data-tracking/

That's exactly what all the CPs are doing :confused:

Werewolf · 9 May 2020 at 22:51

That's the sort of data I'd expect them to have...

It's basically the same sort of data you get from a basic web server with log in requirements (even without log in you can get partial info by the ip address).

The_Abyss · 9 May 2020 at 23:06

jpaul said:
are you getting your five a day ? https://reincubate.com/blog/netflix-data-tracking/

That's absolutely nothing compared to what Amazon is collecting when you're simply reading your Kindle.

jpaul · 9 May 2020 at 23:07

.... It was the 1 hour per day , of, lowered bandwidth, consumption that was surprising ..
(edit; ibaw - which is why I 'd tagged the telematics as not surprising)

Ayahuasca · 12 May 2020 at 15:57

It looks like they are starting to lift this on a country by country basis: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnar...onavirus-streaming-restrictions/#752954247388

TheVoice · 12 May 2020 at 16:05

Werewolf said:
That's the sort of data I'd expect them to have...

Yep, it's not even the half of it either, they measure absolutely everything about how the user navigates the interface too such as how long they hover on certain titles and which titles you look at (without even actually watching), how quickly they navigate around, what menus they use etc. It's why, as is presumably common knowledge now, Netflix shows different posters/tiles for the same shows and movies to different people. Wouldn't surprise me if they do the same with the trailers/previews too.

Psycho Sonny · 12 May 2020 at 17:07

rp2000 said:
Weird though it's exactly 50% less for people on fast connections

On the dog and bone to them now for 1 last attempt at a discount

Edit: Nothing! They suggested dropping my plan, which would take effect next billing cycle. I guess that is all that can be done for now.

rp2000

I can't drop my plan as I get it through Sky. So I'm not even sure I would get a discount if Netflix even gave one anyway.

However I'll be leaving sky shortly and I may drop my plan if this continues. I have several 4K tv's. I have a 350MB connection on which I get around 375MB download. So I can stream 15MB no issues. It wouldn't affect my usage at all if they upped the bandwidth to 50MB.

I can still download games off steam in seconds.

5punk3monk3y · 12 May 2020 at 17:14

Ayahuasca said:
It looks like they are starting to lift this on a country by country basis: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnar...onavirus-streaming-restrictions/#752954247388

Well, that's reassuring at least.

5punk3monk3y · 12 May 2020 at 17:18

Psycho Sonny said:
I can't drop my plan as I get it through Sky. So I'm not even sure I would get a discount if Netflix even gave one anyway.

However I'll be leaving sky shortly and I may drop my plan if this continues. I have several 4K tv's. I have a 350MB connection on which I get around 375MB download. So I can stream 15MB no issues. It wouldn't affect my usage at all if they upped the bandwidth to 50MB.

I can still download games off steam in seconds.

Wow that's a fast connection 2800Mb/s, do you live in a data center.

Also I have a 1000w microwave but I don't think anyone cares about that in this thread either.

MaXxBoulton · 12 May 2020 at 17:21

5punk3monk3y said:
Also I have a 1000w microwave but I don't think anyone cares about that in this thread either.

Haha, I bet you can for a ready meal in 75 seconds.

MaXxBoulton · 12 May 2020 at 17:21

Psycho Sonny said:
I can still download games off steam in seconds

Bet you can't...

5punk3monk3y · 12 May 2020 at 17:26

MaXxBoulton said:
Haha, I bet you can for a ready meal in 75 seconds.

Mine does it in 35 seconds

It's been calibrated by me

Nexus18 · 12 May 2020 at 17:46

Tbh, I won't bother renewing, enjoy having all my content in one place and the far higher quality now, not to mention, the money being saved..... so thanks netflix for not acting sooner on this.

MaXxBoulton · 12 May 2020 at 17:50

5punk3monk3y said:
Mine does it in 35 seconds

It's been calibrated by me

nice, you have to be pushing a 100w OC there

chaparral · 12 May 2020 at 17:53

Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days

I take it these 30 days were last month ?

MaXxBoulton · 12 May 2020 at 17:56

chaparral said:
I take it these 30 days were last month ?

I would think its still cut. They did it because of the lock down and the extra load

chaparral · 12 May 2020 at 18:24

MaXxBoulton said:
I would think its still cut. They did it because of the lock down and the extra load

Thanks

I haven't watched anything on Netflix for a few months now..

Does anyone know if the 4K movies you buy on itunes have also had there quality cut ?

Psycho Sonny · 12 May 2020 at 18:39

5punk3monk3y said:
Wow that's a fast connection 2800Mb/s, do you live in a data center.

Also I have a 1000w microwave but I don't think anyone cares about that in this thread either.

this thread is about them cutting bandwidth so download speed is 100% relevant.

I also have a 1000w microwave it's an inverter by panasonic with no rotating table in the middle. And it definetely does cook things quicker than the piece of crap i used to use at work.