In particular, the European Commission asked Netflix to switch to a lower streaming quality for the next 30 days to reduce the strain on ISPs. The measure is expected to cut Netflix bandwidth consumption by 25 percent. Netflix will temporarily reduce the bitrate of its video streaming:
Several factors influence how much data is used when streaming a movie online.A similar deal was closed with Google. The search giant's YouTube service is now using SD quality by default in Europe. Users can still select a higher image quality if needed.
One of them is video resolution, including whether a video is high-definition (HD) or ultra-high definition 4K.
Another is bitrate, which influences how clear and smooth videos look when streamed online
Videos with a higher bitrate tend to look less "blocky" or pixelated, but use more data.
Out of these two, Netflix says it will cut its streaming bitrates.
YouTube is the second company after Netflix (NFLX.O) to act after EU industry chief Thierry Breton urged streaming platforms to cut the quality of their videos to prevent internet gridlock. Videos account for a substantial part of internet traffic data.