Netflix Ranks Performance on Top ISP Networks For Vid Streaming

[bassrique]

I guess they would know who does a better job at delivering video content.

http://techblog.netflix.com/2011/01/...-networks.html

EDIT: Click on the images below or link for larger graphs.

USA:



Canada:

Hi there. This is Ken Florance, Director of Content Delivery here at Netflix.

As we continue to stream more and more great movies and TV shows, we find ourselves in the unique position of having insight into the performance of hundreds of millions of long duration, high-definition video streams delivered over the Internet.

The throughput we are able to achieve with these streams can tell us a great deal about the actual capacity our subscribers are able to sustain to their homes. In the charts below, we’re using a time-weighted bitrate metric to represent the effective data throughput our subscribers receive over many of the top ISPs.

Currently, our top HD streams are about 4800 kilobits per second. Clients may switch through a number of bitrates as they ramp up to the highest stream, or shift down from the highest stream if they cannot sustain play at that rate due to throughput constraints. No client would sustain a 4800 stream from start to finish (there would at least be a few smaller streams averaged in for startup) but the higher the sustained average, the greater the throughput the client can achieve, and the greater the image quality over the duration of the play.

As we use a number of CDNs, and our clients can adapt to changing network conditions by selecting the network path that’s currently giving them the best throughput, Netflix streaming performance ends up being an interesting way to measure sustained throughput available from a given ISP over time, and therefore the quality of Netflix streaming that ISP is providing to our subscribers. Obviously, this can vary by network technology (e.g. DSL, Cable), region, etc., but it's a great high-level view of Netflix performance across a large number of individual streaming sessions.

In the metric below, we’re filtering for titles that have HD streams available, and for devices capable of playing HD streams (which also filters out mobile networks), to highlight what’s achievable in terms of HD performance on the various ISP networks. As you can see, Charter is in the lead for US streams with an impressive 2667 kilobits per second average over the period. Rogers leads in Canada with a whopping 3020 kbps average.

We'll update these charts monthly, and we welcome questions, comments and suggestions to help improve our understanding of Netflix performance on top ISP networks.

[dullsilver_mike]

The only time in my life I have actually been happy about using Charter.

[Kwesi]

Wow, so Canada owns our ish and Verizon is outstripped by a good portion of the competition? I gotta say, I'm surprised!

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by Kwesi

Wow, so Canada owns our ish and Verizon is outstripped by a good portion of the competition? I gotta say, I'm surprised!

My ISP is about 4 times faster than Rogers mentioned above. Too bad we pay out the nose in Canada for Internet service though.

lowsound

[L-A]

Yeah, at least we have it fast.

Too bad it's almost 1$ per gigabyte.

P.S. Some Canadian ISPs throttle services like Netflix and Torrent/P2P because it generates a ton of bandwidth overcharges.

[hover]

Yeah? I still hate Charter and their stranglehold over the infrastructure in my area. Because they suck.

[HEIST]

Yes, Telus sucks big time! A movie just under two hours will take 5 hours to watch because of all the stops and skips in between! Telus usually runs at 0.4 even though they promise 2.8-3.0.

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by HEIST

Yes, Telus sucks big time! A movie just under two hours will take 5 hours to watch because of all the stops and skips in between! Telus usually runs at 0.4 even though they promise 2.8-3.0.

Ha, my Internet usually runs in the 13000kbps(not a typo) range. On a slow day it will be 6000kbps. I don't think I could ever go back to anything slower. I downloaded a copy of AutoCAD, which is 50gigs and it took about 5 minutes.

lowsound

[HEIST]

What company are you going with?

[bongomania]

I'm not surprised to see Qwest in the below-average range. They advertise speeds up to 30 MBPS, but only provide up to 3MBPS in this region, and the actual performance that tests show is about 1/3 that much--and they have a monopoly-stranglehold on my part of town.

[PSPookie]

Originally Posted by Kwesi

Wow, so Canada owns our ish . . .

Well when your whole network is only providing service to 50 people (and a few mooses) you get some pretty nice speeds. Of course, with the smaller customer base you also pay more for your service.

[Chunk-O-Funk]

I had Cox for most of my streaming and switched to FIOS. Both had good to great performance but FIOS wins for a better product. The quality went up with FIOS.

If everybody doesn't know, Cox high speed internet is cable and FIOS is fiber-optics. Cox would go down below at busy times and higher at times. FIOS is consistent to what package you pay for.


I have my computer hooked up to my TV.



Thanks for posting the article.

[L-A]

Originally Posted by PSPookie

Well when your whole network is only providing service to 50 people (and a few mooses) you get some pretty nice speeds. Of course, with the smaller customer base you also pay more for your service.

Watch your words, neighbor. We also have a ton of horror-movie sized snow plows, pointed south.

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Too bad they had to use so many similar colors in the US graph.

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by HEIST

What company are you going with?

A small Ontario company called Whiteman Communications. I have fiber optics running right to my router. They have a mini monopoly on small towns around here, better service at a cheaper price than any of the big companies.

lowsound

[PSPookie]

Originally Posted by L-A

Watch your words, neighbor. We also have a ton of horror-movie sized snow plows, pointed south.

I'm not worried; the mooses are working for US

[smperry]

I wish I knew more about this stuff. I don't do a lot of streaming, but might get Netflix sometime soon. Is Verizon okay? I'm usually able to use Hulu with no problems. My home network speed is usually 54 Mbps.