Netflix Teases Comcast, FiOS Users With SuperHD They Can't Get
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I wondering how much more the isp's would be willing to charge for the end user using the extra bandwith? ....a nice sum for sure
Are you kidding me? Unless you're watching on a 26" & lower or an old CRT tv there's definitely a difference in quality for those streaming titles marked "Super HD". We used to be able to get it with our old ISP that went out of business, and noticed the significant drop in pq with our new ISP that doesn't carry it. I didn't even remember the feature until I saw the difference in pq & realized that my new ISP doesn't provide it.
The difference is enough to choose one provider over another but unfortunately none of the other providers in my area have that feature either. I do have nice quality 50" & 55" tvs so maybe that shows up the difference in pq even more.
I didn't think Charter was one of the ISPs that offered Super HD. I know it wasn't when netflix first announced their partnership with a few ISPs that agreed to it. I am a charter customer with 30Mb download and I don't think I am getting the Super HD streams.
Ive seen the super HD label, but if your provider is not set up with them, you wont get that higher quality stream.
Ahh,I just assumed since it had the label super hd,it was super hd.Here is a link that will test your provider to see if they support super hd.
https://signup.netflix.com/superhd
I also agree with navychop,seems like a money grab to me.
It is not a money grab by netflix but by the ISPs. Netflix is trying to make it easier for cable companies, but they are the ones that do not want good netflix service to compete with their video offerings. What Netflix is offering is free content delivery to any location the local ISP wants. The key here is free, the ISP would rather charge netflix a peering fee or transport fee for the special connection. Netflix is trying to get their content delivered with plenty of bandwidth.
It's not just about bandwidth. Many of us have broadband connections that can easily handle their new higher bitrate streams but they are blocking them from us. I don't fully understand the ISP partnerships but I think what they are trying to do is put equipment on the ISP side to lower their bandwidth bill.
There is a long thread about it on AVS. Apparently Netflix removed their older highest bitrate stream called x- high HD just before announcing this super HD project. Essentially they started offering customers who aren't on an ISP that provides Super HD a lower bitrate than we were getting before this new offering. Now they are just reserving their best quality streams for ISPs that agreed to play ball with them. Now what we get still looks very good to me. I didn't see any noticeable drop in quality when they reduced the bitrate I get and at $8 I think it is a great value so I won't cancel. I'm not very happy about them blocking the best quality streams from me when I pay the same amount of money as their Super HD customers and I have plenty of bandwidth to spare.
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Netflix would argue that they cannot send the highest quality to customers on ISPs that do not cooperate because they do not have a fast enough connection to serve all the customers on that ISP simultaneously. If the ISP forces netflix to use a CDN that the ISP pairs with they must share that connection with all the other traffic going through that CDN for who knows how many customers. The customers could all lets say have a 10mbit connection minimum, but if 50k homes are sharing one 10Gb/sec connection with who knows how much non netflix traffic, netflix cannot guarantee a high level of service. Netflix might want to peer a 100Gb/sec private connection with the ISP to allow it to reach all its customers at a high bit rate.
Netflix is offering to run fiber to the ISP's head end, and even pay for the needed router upgrades for the connection. They just do not want a per bit monthly charge in exchange.
Netflix is offering to run fiber to the ISP's head end, and even pay for the needed router upgrades for the connection. They just do not want a per bit monthly charge in exchange.
I can see Netflix's side of this. As a customer who pays just as much as anyone else I should get the top quality streams if the bandwidth is available though. They lowered our bitrate to start offering this super HD to select ISPs. It's a slippery slope when stand alone, paid streaming services start reserving features for select ISPs. HBO Go and Watch ESPN are a little different because they are free services. I can see Hulu plus, amazon, Vudu, MLB.tv starting to do stuff like this in the future.
I'm not totally savvy on all of this but as far as I'm concerned bandwidth is bandwidth. I don't want to have to start picking my ISP and switching back and forth based on which streaming services made deals with them.
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I'm not totally savvy on all of this but as far as I'm concerned bandwidth is bandwidth. I don't want to have to start picking my ISP and switching back and forth based on which streaming services made deals with them.
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Being a person that pays for bandwidth (I have a 50mbit/sec cable modem), I want my ISP to cooperate with netflix and deliver the bits I have paid to have delivered. I do not think it is a fair preposition for the ISP to charge me for my connection and then charge those that want to send me stuff I have requested. It is like if I make a long distant phone call to netflix and they want to charge both of us. It is not netflix that is originating my request for the video, netflix does not send packets to random people. Those people have originated the request.
Both ISPs I work with have taken netflix up on their deal. Also note the number of ISPs that have done it... The hold outs are the ones I bet are trying to double charge.
Both ISPs I work with have taken netflix up on their deal. Also note the number of ISPs that have done it... The hold outs are the ones I bet are trying to double charge.
That really does make sense. However all the other streaming services have to pay for bandwidth. That is just a cost of running an online business. I'm not mad at Netflix for putting these deals in place with ISPs. I am a little mad at them for cutting my bitrate when absolutely nothing changed in regards to bandwidth. If bandwidth is available they should use it to give us their best streams instead of cutting me back because of the ISP I use even when they don't have to.
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The streaming businesses pay for their own bandwidth. Either by paying a CDN (content delivery network), their own ISP or by running fiber nationwide. Netflix has run fiber nationwide (i.e. they bought a ton of fiber).
That's great but as far as I'm concerned it still doesn't justify holding back the best streams when bandwidth is available. It certainly doesn't justify lowering the bitrate from what they were offering before they announced Super HD.
Getting SuperHD on Comcast
Am in Jacksonville, FL. Have Comcast Blast. 2 Rokus 2 Panasonic connected TV's. Only on some content and only on the Roku does it actually say SuperHD in the Netflix description. Accessed content that said SuperHD on the Roku (description) with Netflix app on either Panasonic TV. Pressed the info button on the TV remote and in the upper left corner stream rate is displayed in real time. Started in SD and ratcheted up to 1080P. This process takes 1 to 2 minutes. Picture is nearly as good as BluRay when receiving Netflix in 1080P. The info also states play time, time elapsed, and type of audio. All that was identified on the Roku as SuperHD was in DD 5.1. Accessing the SuperHD content with the Panasonic built in Netflix app the picture is gorgeous. Same content with Roku 3 looks more like 720P. But I don't know how to see stream rate in realtime using the Roku. Do not know why this works. But it does.
Am in Jacksonville, FL. Have Comcast Blast. 2 Rokus 2 Panasonic connected TV's. Only on some content and only on the Roku does it actually say SuperHD in the Netflix description. Accessed content that said SuperHD on the Roku (description) with Netflix app on either Panasonic TV. Pressed the info button on the TV remote and in the upper left corner stream rate is displayed in real time. Started in SD and ratcheted up to 1080P. This process takes 1 to 2 minutes. Picture is nearly as good as BluRay when receiving Netflix in 1080P. The info also states play time, time elapsed, and type of audio. All that was identified on the Roku as SuperHD was in DD 5.1. Accessing the SuperHD content with the Panasonic built in Netflix app the picture is gorgeous. Same content with Roku 3 looks more like 720P. But I don't know how to see stream rate in realtime using the Roku. Do not know why this works. But it does.
