Netflix use 20 Percent of Peak U.S. Bandwith Use

[Smokey]

Netflix instant accounts for 20 percent of all non-mobile internet use during prime time in the United States, according to a new study. Streaming media — real-time entertainment — accounts for 43% of peak period traffic in the U.S., according to Sandvine.

But Netflix alone accounts for nearly half of that between 8 and 10 p.m., and that usage comes from only 1.8 percent of the service’s subscribers.

“Per-user, Netflix is the heaviest user of downstream bandwidth in North America: the average fixed access Netflix connection is 1 megabit per second,” Sandvine said. “On mobile networks, per user, only Slingbox (at almost 800 kbps) is heavier than Netflix (~125 kbps).”

Streaming video is the most bandwidth-intensive use of the internet, but there are plenty of other choices — starting with YouTube. So the dominance of Netflix, which only offers “studio” fare, would seem to indicate that there is an enormous appetite for profession programming delivered from the cloud.

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/...-bandwith-use/

[kevlarus]

Great info Smokey. This is partially why you're seeing more and more tiered internet rates -- the faster you want, the more you pay. Of course, what you don't see is how much saturation there is on the back-bone -- fibre links between the major internet providers (at&t, sprint, level3 etc. in the US).

It will be a milestone once you're able to get (reliably) 100mbit speed to the house. I'm pretty sure it was Google that was testing 1gbit to the house in a test area somewhere. Bottom line, the more you can pay the better response & quality you will be able to receive; conceivably anyway until everyone in your block does the same thing and maxes the local bandwidth.

[kexodusc]

1 gbit internet? We finally upgraded to a 25 mbit connection last month. I've been using Netflix off and on - it's ok. Not nearly as much selection up here in Canada yet but it's getting better. My wife and I easily stream two movies at once though.

Our fiber optic service dedicates the bandwidth to us, it's never throttled, and there's no cap on the data we download/upload each month. The marketing literature on our service claims the infrastructure is capable of much more, to the point we're only receiving 1-2% of its capability now. So maybe 1gbit internet isn't far off?

Now, I could be wrong but I think we're reaching a point of diminishing returns in video quality and perhaps not likely to see mass adoption of a format that requires more bandwidth than BluRay for quite some time. So...maybe the ISP's have lots of time to catch up?

[kevlarus]

For anyone interested in what Google is currently doing and planning, you can go here :

http://www.fiberforcommunities.com/

[pixelthis]

So the future is here.
And talkys wrong, as usual. Be hard to catch up, at this rate of growth, time for NETFLIX
to step up and start building onto the infrastructure themselves, especially since they
are using a good chunk of it.
Think the peeps that started the net ever thought this would happen?
And its not just netflix. Whenever it rains around here we get nonstop weathermen in
love with their own voice, which caused me to miss the Rocky Horror Glee .
Talk about irritating. So I caught it the next day on Hulu, pq wasnt half bad.
So, will it ne "nothing but net" eventually?

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

So the future is here.
And talkys wrong, as usual. Be hard to catch up, at this rate of growth, time for NETFLIX
to step up and start building onto the infrastructure themselves, especially since they
are using a good chunk of it.
Think the peeps that started the net ever thought this would happen?
And its not just netflix. Whenever it rains around here we get nonstop weathermen in
love with their own voice, which caused me to miss the Rocky Horror Glee .
Talk about irritating. So I caught it the next day on Hulu, pq wasnt half bad.
So, will it ne "nothing but net" eventually?

Oooooo, 1.8% of subscribers taking up 20% of the bandwidth at peak periods. Bump that up to 10% of the subscribers and then come back and complain to me about the only Netflix option out there being pause instead of play.

[Smokey]

Now, I could be wrong but I think we're reaching a point of diminishing returns in video quality and perhaps not likely to see mass adoption of a format that requires more bandwidth than BluRay for quite some time. So...maybe the ISP's have lots of time to catch up?

I think Netflix streams including 1080p feed require about 4 to 6 mbit bandwidth (that might be wrong), so 10 mbit connection might be suffice for most internet users. Even if subscriber have 25 or 100 mbit connection, the question is can content providers provide such a bandwidth to them?

Oooooo, 1.8% of subscribers taking up 20% of the bandwidth at peak periods. Bump that up to 10% of the subscribers and then come back and complain to me about the only Netflix option out there being pause instead of play.

I was thinking that what would actually happen if 10% (or more) of subscriber decide to stream video. Whould Netflix have to cap bandwidth, or do FCC have to get involve.

[kevlarus]

I think Netflix streams including 1080p feed require about 4 to 6 mbit bandwidth (that might be wrong), so 10 mbit connection might be suffice for most internet users. Even if subscriber have 25 or 100 mbit connection, the question is can content providers provide such a bandwidth to them?

I was thinking that what would actually happen if 10% (or more) of subscriber decide to stream video. Whould Netflix have to cap bandwidth, or do FCC have to get involve.

First, I didn't think Netflix was streaming full HD ? 720p maybe ?

As far as I know, the FCC has not introduced or passed anything uncapping or limiting internet traffic per se. I point you to Net Neutrality for that and the battle between users, internet providers (phone/cable) and government for that.

Locally, AT&T has finally unlinked the requirement of requiring a phone in order to have DSL. This was just a marketing & income requirement and not a technical issue. When we moved a couple of years ago, it took 9 months for them to correct & remove the DSL charge from the old location that they added to the phone bill of the new location. Yes, a complete cluster...

[Smokey]

First, I didn't think Netflix was streaming full HD ? 720p maybe ?

This information about bitrate I had in my post was wrong.." I think Netflix streams including 1080p feed require about 4 to 6 mbit bandwidth (that might be wrong), so 10 mbit connection might be suffice for most internet users."

I digged into Sir T thread about PS3 and Netflix, and it seem that Netflix 1080p streaming (as of now only to PS3 owners) require more than 10mbps bandwidth for VC-1 coding. Netflix 720p streaming have bitrate of 4mbps.

As far as I know, the FCC has not introduced or passed anything uncapping or limiting internet traffic per se. I point you to Net Neutrality for that and the battle between users, internet providers (phone/cable) and government for that.

I think only 1.8% of subscribers hugging 20% internet is kind of alarming. If Netflix expand their 1080p feed platform and/or more subscribers download more during peak time, it could easily overwhelm internet traffic.

[Woochifer]

This information about bitrate I had in my post was wrong.." I think Netflix streams including 1080p feed require about 4 to 6 mbit bandwidth (that might be wrong), so 10 mbit connection might be suffice for most internet users."

I digged into Sir T thread about PS3 and Netflix, and it seem that Netflix 1080p streaming (as of now only to PS3 owners) require more than 10mbps bandwidth for VC-1 coding. Netflix 720p streaming have bitrate of 4mbps.

And that's the crux of the problem. Most residential service in the U.S. isn't at that level. Keep in mind that the datarate on DVDs max out at around 9 mbps. Yes, that's using the less efficient MPEG-2 codec, but it illustrates just how much compression needs to be applied in order to display "720p" resolution from streaming video.

I think only 1.8% of subscribers hugging 20% internet is kind of alarming. If Netflix expand their 1080p feed platform and/or more subscribers download more during peak time, it could easily overwhelm internet traffic.

And that's why you got so much talk about tiered pricing. It's only a small group of heavy users that account for the bulk of the net traffic. Already, you got mobile providers eliminating their unlimited data plans for new subscribers and putting everything on metered service tiers. Supposedly, there's still a lot more available capacity on wired internet connections, but I can easily see tiered service or cost hikes for unlimited service in the not too distant future.

[Worf101]

How soon before the cable providers go to a sliding scale based on bandwidth use, or has that already happened. I'm fine with that ONLY if they give me something in return. That something is alacarte cable. Period!!!

Worf

[SlumpBuster]

I don't get why tiered pricing is such a boogie man. Hasn't tiered pricing always been around for speed? If it extends to bandwith, that's not unreasonable. Back in my PC gaming days I was paying in excess of $100/month for 15/2 down up connection. And that was just to be able to frag some camping nOObs. There was talk in the gaming forums I was on in the late 90s/early 2000s about bandwith caps that never materialized. If I'm paying for a fast connection, bandwith is probably just be built into that price. But, of course, I live in a major metro area. Now I have a plain vanilla 2mbs down line and Netflix works fine. 720p compressed feed looks fine. Not as good as BD, but acceptable.

What Netflix needs to do is team Valve to finally release Half-Life 3, then I will gladly pay for more internet infrastructure as both a tax payer and consumer. I can see it now, "Half-Life 3 available only through Netflix download with dedicated servers hosted by Netflix."

[Mr Peabody]

I haven't looked at TV's in some time. I recently was looking at some LCD's online and noticed there are models like from Sharp and Samsung that have the internet capability built right in for streaming Netflix and other internet video content. My next TV will have that, hopefully it will be a feature that will be able to work. I'm at the end of a line and my DSL sucks pretty bad.