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Why is my video streaming so choppy?

Why doesn't Netflix buffer a few more seconds to increase the quality of streaming video?

  • I would gladly wait a bit longer to start watching a video if the quality were higher. The main problem with Netflix streaming is the quality is often much lower than DVD, often noticeably blocky and full of artifacts. Why not increase the buffer? Especially if I pause it for a few seconds, it could easily just keep streaming and buffer more. I watch Netflix through my TiVo, does that matter?

  • Answer:

    Almost all of our data I've seen on customer behavior shows that customers dislike "rebuffering" (i.e. an interruption in playback to buffer more video)far  more than reduced bitrates. As such, the adaptive streaming algorithm has been optimized to favor continuous playback even if at a reduced birate. Increasing the buffer size won't do anything to improve the bandwidth available to stream the video. And at some point, the buffer would become so big that it would no longer be streaming--you would just be downloading the movie. A frequently updated platform such as PS3 or Silverlight may have adaptive stream algorithm enhancements not found on a Tivo. It's possible those enhancements may improve your playback quality. If you really want to force the higher bitrates, you can use the Silverlight Player or Windows 8 Player. The current version has an option to force a specific bitrate which will cause the player to rebuffer rather than reduce the bitrate.

James Schek at Quora Visit the source

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Other answers

The thing about you being willing to wait a few extra seconds is that you are abnormal. Most video users will prefer a lower-quality video to a delayed start. It's just human nature. Imagine, for a second, that you're loading up Netflix and you select a movie to watch. You wait. 1 second...2 seconds...maybe up to 5 seconds. On paper this might not seem like a lot of time, but in practice it makes the user think something is broken. After all, it's just a loading spinner sitting there on the screen. The majority of people, when presented with a video delay, will just close the window/program. In effect, they'll give up and go away. However, if you start streaming video immediately, but in a lower quality, you'll know that it's working and your only complaint will be that maybe the quality isn't so great at first. But do the first 10 seconds of a movie matter, quality-wise? The intros to many movies are just credits/filler. Knowing this (and believe me, Netflix KNOWS a ton about movie streaming), Netflix, like most video streaming companies, opts to start with a lower-quality stream in order to achieve almost immediate playback. That way they lose fewer viewers and people don't assume their product is completely broken.

Ryan Ford

This is a real temporary problem. As Mpeg-DASH and h.265 take hold over he next 5 years the quality issues will be more or less remedied due to lower bitrates for same quality and better handling of variable connection speed. Netflix creates the best possible quality by delivering a steady stream first and then adjusts once consistent connection speed is measured.

James R. Cahall

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