MrC Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 I am on a UHD Netflix subscription service and I have noticed that its PQ has diminished recently. I receive this via my Apple 4K TV and usually I get a PQ via Netflix that is very good and close to UHD Bluray discs. Recently I am now noticing real blotchiness in many scenes of many Netflix movies. My home network is in good shape (no changes in structure or any new devices added) and my NBN FTTN internet speed is a rock solid 47-48 Mbps (doesn't matter whether it is night or day). So I decided to contact Netflix via their online chat service and the technician I chatted to tells me that Netflix have reduced the data that they are sending out to "reduce the congestion" for ISP's. The technician then proceeded to ask all sorts of irrelevant questions like "have you reset your Apple TV" ... which I said yes. "Have you checked with your ISP" .... my speed is not in question and I am getting very good pictures out of movies via the Apple Movies store or even YouTube for that matter !!! I re-iterated that I have previously been able to receive very good PQ via my Netflix UHD service but not for the last couple of weeks. I said that I am paying for something that I am not receiving. Then to add insult to injury the "chat was terminated", not by me !!!! Has anyone else noticed this? Any ideas of what to do? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrC Posted April 19, 2020 Author Share Posted April 19, 2020 (edited) Here is a clipping of part of the chat conversation I had with the Netflix chat agent: Edited April 19, 2020 by MrC spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydrology Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 (edited) I think despite the rude cutoff, they have answered your question. If you arent happy with their necessary steps to reduce congestion to allow all users the ability to stream competently while in a state of lockdown or self isolation, you can always vote with your wallet and cancel the service. I however havent really noticed any drop off in bit-rate on the 4K tier (via NVidia Shield) Edited April 19, 2020 by Hydrology 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mobe1969 Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 I'm glad steaming of any form is just my last resort. Eg if I can't even get it on Blu Ray. I just don't understand, especially now, that they don't offer something that they all allow on every mobile device. Eg, download, to watch offline. The reason I used iTunes was could buy a series on HD that was only on DVD, download it, and watch via homeshare on the Apple TV. 4k they stopped that. Anyone that relies on streaming for entertainment, just be thankful though that you are still an infinite amount of content and quality beyond what we had available in ANY format for home consumption 20 years ago. Infinitely... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrC Posted April 19, 2020 Author Share Posted April 19, 2020 29 minutes ago, Hydrology said: I however havent really noticed any drop off in bit-rate on the 4K tier (via NVidia Shield) On my projector screen, you can see the blotchiness particularly in the background of many scenes. Previously I certainly did not get this ... clearly the effect of lower bitrates. I will continue to monitor the situation and decide if I can live with the current PQ (supposedly a temporary situation). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Caesar Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 (edited) By q4 2020 this is will more than likely be back to normal. The compression artefacts are. most visible in shadows so if watching in a darkened room it can be quite jarring. From what I can tell iTunes purchases are not affected - Apple has not subjected its a la carte media to the same bitrate compression that the majors have agreed to meet at the request of the eu, oz and other Governments so film and tv shows, thru their direct service still look quite good, same seems to go for Stan. Edited April 19, 2020 by Lil Caesar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 The long and the short of this is that governments all around the world requested that Netflix (and others) reduce the quality ..... people in the industry rolled their eyes, and palmed their faces. There was no need for it.... but "govt. fixed it". Also. NBNCo has givn ISPs 40% more backhalu capacity than they've purchased for the next 3 months. That's a better approach.... although pretty excessive also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwstereo Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 They've done it on purpose, and I see no attempt to reduce the monthly charge. I pay a premium for the 4k quality, they've reduced that and are still charging the same. I understand why they've done it, but I feel I should be getting a discounted rate while the quality is reduced. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 Some context https://ct.id.au/abb-cvc/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 1 hour ago, Lil Caesar said: By q4 2020 this is will more than likely be back to normal. The compression artefacts are. most visible in shadows so if watching in a darkened room it can be quite jarring. From what I can tell iTunes purchases are not affected - Apple has not subjected its a la carte media to the same bitrate compression that the majors have agreed to meet at the request of the eu, oz and other Governments so film and tv shows, thru their direct service still look quite good, same seems to go for Stan. compression artefacts visible before and all the more visible now I for one understand and accept it is what it is and why it is .... but do wish they had also backed the charge down from 4k uhd to 1080p or something ... because it isnt upto previous levels.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 (edited) 10 minutes ago, pwstereo said: I pay a premium for the 4k quality, they've reduced that and are still charging the same. I understand why they've done it, but I feel I should be getting a discounted rate while the quality is reduced. Really, it's our fault, not their fault. .... given that the overall costs to run the netflix company would be very much, if not totally, unchanged .... then why should they "lose money", for something that WE forced them to do? Edited April 19, 2020 by davewantsmoore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazzzy Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 I have been using my daughter's account which is HD( was). It isn't even watchable now with speed of 1 mbps if you are lucky. Plenty of internet speed, just not with netflix. 2 hours ago, davewantsmoore said: then why should they "lose money", for something that WE forced them to do? This is a good argument but price should be adjusted to reflect the product being supplied in my humble opinion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 17 minutes ago, Hazzzy said: I have been using my daughter's account which is HD( was). It isn't even watchable now with speed of 1 mbps if you are lucky. Plenty of internet speed, just not with netflix. It would seem that your ISP has put their traffic to netflix in the slow-lane (or there's some other technical issue). Perhaps your ISP is struggling to cope with demand. [There's plenty of bandwidth out there.... your ISP just has to pay for some] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazzzy Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 2 minutes ago, davewantsmoore said: It would seem that your ISP has put their traffic to netflix in the slow-lane (or there's some other technical issue). Perhaps your ISP is struggling to cope with demand. [There's plenty of bandwidth out there.... your ISP just has to pay for some] It was fine a couple of weeks ago. I'm getting 45 mbps speed. Mabey my ISP is the culprit re netflix in the slow lane but it seems many have an issue. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwstereo Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 2 minutes ago, davewantsmoore said: [There's plenty of bandwidth out there.... your ISP just has to pay for some] I thought that NBN Co. had actually released additional bandwidth at no additional charge or similar. I've noticed some of the big ISPs announcing that they've stopped charging for extra data (above plan allocation) and that the NBN Co. is supporting that. My ISP has been conspicuously quiet on the matter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 11 minutes ago, pwstereo said: I thought that NBN Co. had actually released additional bandwidth at no additional charge or similar. I've noticed some of the big ISPs announcing that they've stopped charging for extra data (above plan allocation) and that the NBN Co. is supporting that. My ISP has been conspicuously quiet on the matter. ours has been all over the place. I might test it and get 45-90+ Mbps but reality has been drop outs and such. a week hasn't gone by with some work happening and outages.... use regularly for work and its no doubt things are stressed beyond normal. for ourselves both telstra and optus and obviously nbn are involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazzzy Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 12 minutes ago, betty boop said: ours has been all over the place. I might test it and get 45-90+ Mbps I don't have speed issues. Just netflix speed issues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 16 minutes ago, pwstereo said: I thought that NBN Co. had actually released additional bandwidth at no additional charge or similar. Yes. NBN Co has given ISPs a 40% increase in bandwidth This ISP buys a connection from each part of the NBN network .... back to the ISPs network. NBN have made these 40% bigger for free. .... but there is also then the connection from the ISPs network to the rest of the world. The ISP has a data pipe to netflix..... perhaps it is full. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwstereo Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 My ISP has had two big total outages in the last few days, luckily both weren't at times that were important for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazzzy Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 2 minutes ago, davewantsmoore said: The ISP has a data pipe to netflix..... perhaps it is full. This might be my issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 18 minutes ago, betty boop said: drop outs If you have "drop outs" .... then that will almost certainly explain the variable speeds. 20 minutes ago, betty boop said: its no doubt things are stressed beyond normal If you mean "in general" ..... when I look at traffic graphs across major ISPs and the NBN network itself ..... there is no evidence of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 3 minutes ago, Hazzzy said: This might be my issue. Ask them. If there is a general issue with them for netflix, they will certainly know..... so if not, they might be able to troubleshoot what is going specifically for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazzzy Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 1 minute ago, davewantsmoore said: If there is a general issue with them for netflix, they will certainly know My experience with ISP providers tells me they will say the issue is not their end. I am changing soon so I won't bother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 1 minute ago, Hazzzy said: My experience with ISP providers tells me they will say the issue is not their end. Heh. These days you can't get away with lying about an issue which affects all your customers for long ..... unless you only have 40 customers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazzzy Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 4 minutes ago, davewantsmoore said: Heh. These days you can't get away with lying about an issue which affects all your customers for long ..... unless you only have 40 customers. In my case it starts with E and ends with L, 12 months are up soon and will be going elsewere. Having said that I don't know where the handbrake is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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