9 ms·

Fast.com is through Netflix, so your carrier is probably throttling. Try a different speed test with no VPN to confirm.

ikeboy 8y ago
Using the speed test app I get 65 direct and 58 using the NYC setting in PIA. Ping is 31 ms for PIA vs 28 direct. I look forward to testing with Warp once it's released, but I don't see how it could be much better than the status quo. PIA has lots of servers all over the place, cloudflare might have a bigger network but the delta should be negligible. I am a bit surprised that fast would get throttled though.
- tracker1 8y ago
  It's been pretty common and a big part of why Netflix created the service iirc. ISPs have been throttling netflix as a negotiating tactic when creating peering agreements for upstream traffic or deploying more content servers. The whole process has been really horrible imho. Some mobile providers do it to force lower quality streams, that in fairness are probably more appropriate for small/mobile devices. 1080p-4K are probably overkill on a 5-6" device.
  - ikeboy 8y ago
    Flagships from Apple, Samsung and Google are 1080p resolution or better. 4k is overkill but 1080p absolutely is not.
    - tracker1 8y ago
      The question is, on a 5" screen will you really notice the difference between a 1080p stream and a 720p stream for video? Especially considering the 720p may be higher bits per pixel than the 1080p stream. I'd rather have a 720p stream at 3/4 the bitrate of a 1080p stream, which is often the case as there are multiple levels for a given resolution. Then again, I don't always notice even on a larger screen from a better 720p stream and a poorer (relatively) 1080p stream. I often notice the difference from 1080p to 4K though, which is a slightly bigger bump on a much larger screen.
  - jedberg 8y ago
    Netflix will never even try to show you 4K on a mobile device. The ISPs know this. They just want to throttle Netflix so that you'll prefer the ISPs streaming service to Netflix.
    - tracker1 8y ago
      I think it's more about double dipping and getting extra money for network agreements and near-side content servers from Netflix.
      - jedberg 8y ago
        That too. They want to get paid on both sides of the network drop, even though their customers are already paying for both sides.
- jedberg 8y ago
  > I am a bit surprised that fast would get throttled though. Fast.com runs its tests against the actual servers that stream Netflix to you. It uses the same selection algorithms as actual Netflix. The whole point of it was so that you use Fast.com and then call your ISP and say you did a speed test and aren't getting anything close to the speed that they advertised. On the back end they can't tell the difference between a Fast.com speed test and actually playing Netflix, and that was the point. So if they are going to throttle one they have to throttle both.

Using the speed test app I get 65 direct and 58 using the NYC setting in PIA. Ping is 31 ms for PIA vs 28 direct. I look forward to testing with Warp once it's released, but I don't see how it could be much better than the status quo. PIA has lots of servers all over the place, cloudflare might have a bigger network but the delta should be negligible. I am a bit surprised that fast would get throttled though.

tracker1 8y ago
It's been pretty common and a big part of why Netflix created the service iirc. ISPs have been throttling netflix as a negotiating tactic when creating peering agreements for upstream traffic or deploying more content servers. The whole process has been really horrible imho. Some mobile providers do it to force lower quality streams, that in fairness are probably more appropriate for small/mobile devices. 1080p-4K are probably overkill on a 5-6" device.
- ikeboy 8y ago
  Flagships from Apple, Samsung and Google are 1080p resolution or better. 4k is overkill but 1080p absolutely is not.
  - tracker1 8y ago
    The question is, on a 5" screen will you really notice the difference between a 1080p stream and a 720p stream for video? Especially considering the 720p may be higher bits per pixel than the 1080p stream. I'd rather have a 720p stream at 3/4 the bitrate of a 1080p stream, which is often the case as there are multiple levels for a given resolution. Then again, I don't always notice even on a larger screen from a better 720p stream and a poorer (relatively) 1080p stream. I often notice the difference from 1080p to 4K though, which is a slightly bigger bump on a much larger screen.
- jedberg 8y ago
  Netflix will never even try to show you 4K on a mobile device. The ISPs know this. They just want to throttle Netflix so that you'll prefer the ISPs streaming service to Netflix.
  - tracker1 8y ago
    I think it's more about double dipping and getting extra money for network agreements and near-side content servers from Netflix.
    - jedberg 8y ago
      That too. They want to get paid on both sides of the network drop, even though their customers are already paying for both sides.
jedberg 8y ago
> I am a bit surprised that fast would get throttled though. Fast.com runs its tests against the actual servers that stream Netflix to you. It uses the same selection algorithms as actual Netflix. The whole point of it was so that you use Fast.com and then call your ISP and say you did a speed test and aren't getting anything close to the speed that they advertised. On the back end they can't tell the difference between a Fast.com speed test and actually playing Netflix, and that was the point. So if they are going to throttle one they have to throttle both.