How to Test Your Netflix Streaming Speed | Hacker News Reader

How to Test Your Netflix Streaming Speed

wired.com

67 pointsnehap42924 comments

> Within a few seconds, my Netflix stream topped out at 3000 Kbps (3 Mbps) and a resolution of 1280 x 720.

This confirms my suspicion which I mentioned in a previous comment in another thread:

> I think Netflix has a weird way of measuring bandwidth, unlike say the way Speedtest.net would do it. I've noticed this before when they compared Google Fiber to something like Comcast, and Google Fiber won [1], but was only slightly better, so I was thinking "that can't be right - Google's fiber is 50x faster. So why isn't that being shown here?" I think Netflix just shows what's the "maximum" speed needed to deliver their service. It doesn't actually measure the speed of that ISP's connection. So all they care about in their test is whether the ISP meets that ~3 Mbps they need for a perfect Netflix streaming.

[1] - http://www3.pcmag.com/media/images/381404-netflix-april-isp-...

From the Netflix test perspective, as long as your ISP can hit 3 Mbps, that's a great ISP. I think we all know that not to be the case. If an ISP gets 1,000 Mbps, Netflix doesn't take that into consideration in this "ISP speed index".

They mention this in the fine print:

These ratings reflect the average performance of all Netflix streams on each ISPs network from Nov. 2012 through Jun. 2014 and average performance during prime time starting in Oct. 2013. The average is well below the peak performance due to many factors including the variety of encodes we use to deliver the TV shows and movies we carry as well as home Wi-Fi and the variety of devices our members use. Those factors cancel out when comparing across ISPs, so these relative rankings are a good indicator of the consistent performance typically experienced across all users on an ISP network.

If an ISP is averaging higher than 3 Mbps, then their users are either watching more Super HD streams than the rest, or are able to watch Super HD more often than the rest. Of course, they don't include that data.

> I think Netflix just shows what's the "maximum" speed needed to deliver their service.

Exactly this. Assuming your connection is faster than 3 Mbps, the number they are showing is neither the bandwidth your ISP is providing you, nor the instantaneous rate that bits are flowing to your home network. If you have a faster connection, they will send you large chunks of bits at a rate higher than 3 Mbps (upto 35 Mbps from what I've seen), and then send nothing for several seconds.

It seems that Netflix tops out at 5.8 Mbps and 1920x1080 no matter how capable your network connection is -- that's the highest number this test will produce.

I've seen around 10Mbps for Super HD streams.

The reviews on the Netflix site are, of course, absurdist.

http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/70136810?sod=search-autocompl... if you have Netflix, if you don't it's pretty much what you'd expect:

    Very avant-guarde. Reminds me of Picasso's Blue Period.
    Scenery was beautiful and deep, but acting left 
    something to be desired. That said, the sexual charge 
    among the cast keeps you involved. All in all a great 
    date movie.

    .....................................................
    .....................................................
    .....................................................
    .....................................................
    .....Still a better love story than Twilight.

This is amazing. I am with Verizon Fios and the speed peaked at 560kps. If I use a vpn, it reaches 3000kps very quickly.

I had similar results. Internet only ATT Uverse at home. Started at 560 dropped to 235 and never made it above 560. VPNed using openvpn into work where it is a commercial ATT fiber connection. Started at 560 and within 4 minutes was at 3000.

I am shocked.

It strikes me like this would be good evidence in an antitrust case against ATT, Verizon, and other ISPs. In most markets there is only one high speed ISP, and one can argue that they are using their monopoly power to force other competitors to their TV programming business out of business. Also, on the consumer side, this might be a good class action case, though thanks to the wonderful state of Texas such cases are rather hard to litigate nowadays.

Time Warner in NC (Raleigh area) is quite obviously throttling netflix. I did some tests back and forth with viewing directly and via a vpn I have in DC. Direct I have hit 3k a few times but normally I can't get above 1k. Activate the vpn and I hit 3k within 20-30 secs....

Connecting to a VPN routes you around the congestion point between TWC and NetFlix's CDN. This is kind of exactly what ISPs are upset about. They can have more than enough bandwidth but NetFlix's size and lack of network diversity requires them to make special accommodations.

Netflix are paying to have the data delivered to the door of TWC (to TWC's router at the correct TWC regional point for the customer requesting the data). TWC is limiting the incoming rate and not delivering the data to their paying customers. Netflix cannot provide diversity within TWC's network and it shouldn't really matter what port the data show up on.

Peering is a special deal for huge ISPs already. If you are small/medium size you will have to pay Level3/Cogent etc. for them to deliver data to you. Now the big players without competitors are pushing to alter the terms so the internet so that they get paid by both ends. And if companies give in the incentive for the ISPs is to worsen performance so more people have to pay for decent performance.

lack of network diversity?! surely you're joking.

edit: as an afterthought I invite you to visit peeringdb.com, carefully following the instructions, and then compare AS7843 with AS2906. I find the recent breadth of AS714 thought provoking.

I always just start up any 1080P stream and then watch my router traffic graph. I guess this assumes nothing else is going through the router. I am seeing 5.2 Mbps right now on a 1080P stream, although some times it is closer to 6 Mbps. Assuming the DSL link is good I always get 1080P. My physical link is a 6 Mbps DSL link from Sonic.net. It would make me sad if I had a 50 Mbps link from AT&T or Verizon and couldn't stream in HD.

On a Mac, you can press Shift+Option+LeftClick > A/V Stats on any Netflix stream to see the video bitrate (and a whole lot more). It's the "playing bitrate v" value.

Also, the test video is strange. http://www.netflix.com/WiPlayer?movieid=70136810

Thanks that is very cool. I knew about Ctrl-Shift-Alt-S which shows you the bitrate and lets you manually select it.

I'm in New Zealand. For giggles I tried running this test from my TV via Chromecast. I expected terrible results. Instead I hit 4300Kbps somewhere around the point where the dude was doing the sweet moon walk whilst e-mailing his grandmother. Since then it's stayed right there.

At least, I assume it was his grandmother.

> The highest speed in the U.S. is 3.03 Mbps

Actually Google Fiber takes the cake at 3.51 Mbs ... you click on "show smaller isps" link on http://ispspeedindex.netflix.com/

I had kind of noticed this in my casual viewing and this test confirms it: my Apple TV does a much better job of keeping the resolution and bitrate up than my TiVo. Also, they both do much better job than Chrome on my Mac.

Can't actually test this with my preferred browser: Netflix uses Microsoft Silverlight for some mysterious reason, which is not supported under Chrome, which is either the 1st or 2nd most popular browser on the Mac.

Pretty shoddy. Get with it, Netflix and Microsoft.

You should be able to install Silverlight on chrome, I had it working in the past;

http://www.microsoft.com/getsilverlight/Get-Started/Install/...

(via https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chrome/1C3cEX...)

Works fine for me.

Chrome Version 35.0.1916.114

OSX 10.9.3

Are you certain? I watch Netflix with Chrome on my macbook pro pretty frequently. Although I do hope they ditch silverlight anyway.

The new Safari in OS X Yosemite will use the new HTML 5 media extension stuff that allows streaming video directly without using Silverlight :-).

Now we just need to get Chrome on board too!

I just ran the test on Safari in Yosemite using HTML5. Looks great, but pegged my CPU.

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