I have just come off a lengthy chat with Netflix support.
I get solid 12Mbps on fast.com.My friend across town is experience the same issues.
Many shows and movies have dropped their max bitrate from 2500-4500Kbits to 1000-1400kbits in Chrome. On my TV and PS3 they always were 1080p and crisp and clear.
I usually use ALT-CTL-SHIFT-S and ALT-CTL-SHIFT-D to check. This is occuring in Chrome, Firefox with silverlight, PS3, Smart sony TV.
Titles such as Jessica Jones now max at 1500Kbits, Movies like Batman vs Superman 1270Kbits.
This started 2-3 days ago. Many titles are fine such as Lost - 4560Kbits.
So many titles I have seen before in HD now won't go past 480p 1000-1400kbits and you can't override because that is the max stated available.
Can anyone else check, especially in Australia and tell me if their bitrates have dropped on many titles.
As I said my friend on the other side of town is having the same probs, ruling out ISP, devices, connection, etc
TLDR: My bitrate has gone to **** on nearly all titles, all of a sudden and it's definitely not at my end. Nearly everything I have watched before in HD is now crap.
Netflix wants me to contact my ISP before they escalate, (Because somehow they could be throttling certain titles and not others and somehow limiting the max bitrate available when using ALT-CTL-SHIFT-S).
Then they want me to report each title with the bitrate, so like 35 out of the 50 I've tried so far.
Many are still fine and go to full HD on the PS3, TV and PC still looks great. Also many now look like mud, even House of Cards.
They denied ever limiting bitrate or quality, so what is going on? Why is my friend experiencing it too? Is it happening to anyone else?
It is clear as day using the Force bitrate mode and Diagnostics, something has changed a few days ago for me here in OZ. Please check.
Examples:
Dark Knight max bitrate 1400
Contagion max bitrate 1000
Total Recall max bitrate 1210
Batman Begins max bitrate 1000
Planet of the Apes max bitrate 1100
They all used to be 3-4 times the bitrate.
Meanwhile others are fine, On the PS3 and Smart Tv they are all Full HD.
I hope others except for my mate and I are having this problem. I bet most don't even notice.
Read somewhere that only IE and the Win10 version (Edge?) do 1080, other browsers are only ever 720...
I know you get a lower bitrate version when the show starts, or when your internet is slow, until the connection runs fast. Your ISP might be choking you.
Not running any VPN or DNS thingies are you?
How can my ISP decide to choke certain streams within the Netflix apps/programs. The player shows you the max bitrate you can get from the CDN.
Yeah, Smart TV and PS3 do Full 1080p (or used to on everything)
Unless you use Edge or the Netflix app on PC everything is limted to 720p, due to DRM and distribution issues?
But with a higher bitrate 720p looks fine on PC and on the TV it is crisp and clear in 1080p.
The thing is the bitrate for many streams has gone to the dogs, as shown in the pics. I can write a long list of titles that changed 3 days ago.
On PS3, TV, used to probably stream at 5-6Mbps. On Pc 2.5-4.5Mbps
Now on PS3,TV and PC many things have gone to the low 1000's and it makes a HUGE difference. Looks like mud.
I'm just trying to work out if it's a local issue around WA/Oz, because my friend is experiencing the same thing. That isolates my ISP, connection and devices. He didn't even notice till I told him and he went "I thought it looked like ****".
So basically if anyone else has Netflix, could you please load up one of the examples I stated, say..
Batman vs Superman, then press ALT-CTL-SHIFT-D (for diagnostics, it will show you how the connection and streaming is going)
then ALT-CTL-SHIFT-S will show you the bitrates for audio/video and the CDN's. I'm getting 1270 max (WTF)
Works for Chrome/Firefox, HTML5/Silverlight, should work for IE and Edge too. They removed the stats from the TV/PS app a few months ago for some reason, the bitrate to those kind of devices is much higher and in Dolby Digital.
I cannot see how an ISP can interfere with this. For the record I have Network Admin qualifications and think I am not completely stupid where I have to do 8 speed tests between restarting everything (which I had already done)
I also know this is the wrong day to ask this, stuff Netflix.
Happy Australia Day.
I'm having no problems in QLD, for what it's worth. I just got my NBN hooked up a month ago and I won the node lotto, I'm getting 55kbps down and 25 up. It's been a 13x speed increase down and 30x up. True unlimited speed & download on a $60/m plan. Lets hope things stay like that as the rest of the street connects.
I'm finding netflix and web browsing much snappier at the moment 
My only advice would be: don't panic. Give it another week and see if it's still happening.
I know this is totally off subject but I just watched a movie on Netflix which was a real find. "The hundred year old man who climbed out the window and disappeared "
I use apple tv and my internet is so slow that I limit everything to 720p. Cant wait for NBN by July, or so they have advised me.
I use Telstra TV and I noticed that some movies start a bit blurry and improve after 2, 3 minutes. Most are ok.
I spoke with someone on reddit and they are getting the same bitrates. But they say it looks "OK" on their monitor. Well it now looks crap on a 65" TV. It's easy to check using ALT-CTL-SHIFT-D for Diagnostics and ALT-CTL-SHIFT-S for available bitrates and CDNs.
Netflix was great when you could watch most movies at 1080P, now so many of them are 480P with 1000-1500kbps. Looks great on a phone or tablet. Can people not notice the difference between 1080p with 4 times the bitrate/bandwidth vs 480p on a large TV?
It is because they are implementing per title optimisation. I found this is from the Netflix blog
netflixtechblog.com/per-title-encode-optimization-7e99442b62a2?gi=eb7ba4c79d6d
This is how it used to be
Looks like I'm gonna be stuck with it. Time to start watching on a tablet. But hey think of how much cheaper it is for them to host and deliver content now.
Select to expand quoteCassa said..
Try a DVD
can you get endless supply of DVDs for $10-00 a month?????
Select to expand quotefelixdcat said..Cassa said..
Try a DVD
can you get endless supply of DVDs for $10-00 a month?????
I'm only upset because Neflix fed me premium nice thick steak since it came to OZ, along with the VPN capability of being able to watch any library in the world. Each one was so different. It was great. The high seas were left unsailed. Quality was instant and great.
They then did a VPN crackdown which could be bypassed for awhile, but not really anymore.
Now suddenly nearly everything looks like a dogs breakfast, but think of my bandwidth savings (on my unlimited plan)
They have taken the steak away and are now giving me sausage meat in the hope I wouldn't notice.
I've had NBN available for almost a year, but my current ADSL2 plan at $50 Unlimited with no congestion ever at 12-14Mbps has been so good for years and years.
Time is ticking till Telstra cut the line. They have been leaving messages. Every phone call made from the landline says to ring this number and we'll convert you for $$$$$$. I've seen MyRepublic has unlimited for $59.99 p/month with a very active Whirlpool thread on their service (Many good and many baaad replies) Seems to kill the competition but they ALL suffer congestion at the POI and several other latency issues.
So once I flick to the NBN with 95+Mbps, (I too hit the Node Lottery KBD, I can see the node and pillar from my driveway 100m away), watching Netflix at 1000-1500kbps is a ****ing joke.
I'm aware they probably have more users on phones/tablets than an actual computer and TV's anyway, and it's a great way to cut their costs and the bandwidth costs to the average user, but it's still sad to see something decline instead of getting better for other users.
I'm not gonna cancel my account anytime soon, but they are beginning to turn me from a Netflix follower/promoter to a scolded disbeliever.
Also just to counter-balance my whinging, as RockMagnet divulged, there are some great finds on Netflix. The reward is finding them. Content you would never have seen before. No Adds. It's a great company so far.
Bitstream quality is really a non-issue if the content is good, just don't start by giving people Wagyu Beef then all of a sudden we are bettering our service by giving you mince. Most people probably don't notice.
Browser limitations? I don't know.
They can choke what you're streaming based on where it's coming from, no?
Thanks Kamikuza.
I have used 3 types of browsers on each 3 computers in different locations, ISP's. 2 types of Smart TV's (always 1080p 5.1 audio) over different ISP/Connections. A PS3 too always 1080p 5.1, (Fairly recent update removed being able to view the res/bitrate. How convenient.) I also have Test Participation turned off(from the VPN days)
Since 3 days ago many titles changed. I can only put them down to implementing this...
netflixtechblog.com/per-title-encode-optimization-7e99442b62a2?gi=f1d9e2b29889
It turned me and any friends I've now checked back to 2007.
They are rolling it out. There is no other explanation. Who watches TV on a TV anymore. It's all about the Ipad Air 12 and the Iphone 16, plus you (I mean Netflix) save in data infrastructure costs. I mean just take out a mortgage and get Foxtel Platinum idiot.
www.engadget.com/2016/12/05/netflix-updated-its-video-encoding-to-make-downloads-look-better/
variety.com/2016/digital/news/netflix-offline-downloads-codecs-vp9-1201932502/
I feel robbed. Maybe none of you have got the rollout yet. Just check with the diagnostics.
I give up, the whole post just disappeared again........
Time to go back outside. But it's hot and there is no wind and I've already been for 2 floats/swims.
You are probably correct BennyB12. My last 2 posts were about why this has happened with info if anyone cared. But when I posted it all disappeared. Anyway...
I should go probably go back to my Titanic VHS tape which came with Dolby Pro Logic Surround and great quality in the late 90's or a Shrek DVD with almost 10Mbps 15 years ago. Sure codecs changed and got better but what I'm paying for now is a joke.
I think others will notice this when it happens to them.
But life is too short for this ****. Let's get windy. As long as the beach doesn't change.
Is there a way I can remove this whole thread? I found help and the source of the problem elsewhere. Probably doesn't belong in a watersports forum anyway, as BennyB12 said it's boring, and I was only trying to determine if the problem was a local issue.
Thanks Scotty, I actually did. My first sentence was. "I have just come off a lengthy chat with Netflix support."
After 4 hours / 8 speed checks and many tests with Netflix Support, support level 1 denied any changes and would not escalate. I was asking here if anyone else local was noticing the downgrade, and could they show me a bitrate or anything, as Netflix denied everything. (I showed how to post that bitrate / diagnostics).
I then found the reason why after posting on another forum. Per-Title Encode Optimisation implementation. It wasn't just me. Great in a way. Nothing I can do anymore. I'll just have to deal with it for now.
I agree it's a boring topic, but I found info and help by reaching out to several local forums. I found the answer which Netflix Support didn't offer. Some people helped, including here on Seabreeze, others not so much. I was just looking for an answer. **** me right?
So basically end thread/?
Too true Kamikuza. I'm fine with 720P, at a decent bitrate. My issue is Netflix has been perfect since availability.
But now all of a sudden I'm getting 480p at 1-1500kbps for most titles that used to be 720-1080p at 4x the quality. Check for yourself with the Diagnositcs/Bitrate menu.
It's alright. I found out why. I hope other people will start noticing if/when it happens to them. They roll it out in increments. Netflix support has no idea and could not help. I'm not the only one I know this has happened too.
I could just torrent/Kodi/stream with no issue. Sometimes trying to do the right thing sux. Back to a VPN?
Select to expand quoteKamikuza said..
2007 LOL I remember having to rip DVDs down to CD size, and I ain't even that old.
Have a chat to markie australia, when he was your age he had to wait for movies to be delivered by telegram, and if it was an illegal pirate copy it was sent by morse code. lol
I know somebody who (wasn't me, prove it) ripped most the DVD's at the video shop and also all their games using cracks.You had to choose your bitrates/file sizes and codecs. It was always for someone else. What a waste of time.
He also had a friend who had a CD collection worth $33,000. He was so proud of it. Added at least $100 every week. Took up an entire huge wall with a special cabinet in alphabetical order. You couldn't play any songs because you would could scratch the CD's.
It's now worth....
