OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
I do feel confident they will throttle quality on a slow connection.
Netflix, Amazon, HBO GO and most of the streaming services use sophisticated dynamic compression algorithms to vary the quality (data rate) of your stream to match changes in your internet connection. This is a key reason why you don't experience nearly as many "Loading" delays as you used to just a few years ago.
I happen to be a second-hand expert in this because my computer scientist son works for one of the major players in the business. Lots of effort is being devoted to improving the perceived quality of your video stream regardless of the quality of your connection. These issues aren't nearly as important to someone watching a stream on something like a FIOS connection, but with cellular it's a big deal.
Next time you watch a Netflix video and have your resolution set to automatic, watch the details of the image very carefully. Most likely you will see subtle changes in the resolution every couple of minutes; what you are seeing are adjustments to the data rate to compensate for changes in your connection. If you're not a geek like me, it's likely you'll never notice these changes and that's the whole idea.
