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I think the throttling thing was a long time ago. I've been a Netflix subscriber for 4 years and have never been throttled. And yes, there have been many occasi

by nothlit 15y ago

I think the throttling thing was a long time ago. I've been a Netflix subscriber for 4 years and have never been throttled. And yes, there have been many occasions where I've sent discs back on the same day I received them (putting them in a blue mail box that hasn't been picked up yet). The only delays I've ever had were due to postal holidays or once when a couple of discs over a span of a few days were mangled in some processing equipment (the USPS dutifully delivered the torn-off front flap to me, sans DVD).

joshfinnie 15y ago
Living in Hartford (home of a distribution center), I find that I am still experiencing some throttling on my unlimited disk plan. I recently went on watching Big Bang Theory and saw a surprising decrease in turn-around-time as I started to return disks at a regular pace again. I don't know if it is actually due to throttling or not, but Netflix is preceived at least to still be throttling me.
- phillijw 15y ago
  It's possible that many people were also watching those DVDs and they would rather delay your stream a small amount instead of licensing another disc out. I'm sure there are some algorithms in place to deal with usage spikes. If it helps keep their costs low then I am ok with slight delays.
- mishmash 15y ago
  Same here. Our turn-around is usually two days. We routinely get the "we've received" emails but our next ones won't ship for 1-3 days after that. It's annoying considering the "unlimited" plan claim.
metaguri 15y ago
Netflix has algorithms that decide how quickly your next dvd is sent. More accurately, it uses a score to rank the group of people who have the same DVD at the top of their queue in order of who should be allocated the next available copies. This score is based on a number of factors, with the objective being to maximize subscriber happiness (one example question is whether is it more valuable to have quick turnaround for a frequent subscriber who is already happy with the service, versus an infrequent user who might be on the fence--it is not obvious who would be more sensitive to and negatively impacted by a delay in receiving the next DVD). (Source: I work with people who previously worked at Netflix. This is not confirmed fact but a loose understanding based on casual conversations.)
Klinky 15y ago
Netflix has never stopped "throttling", perhaps it has gotten better over the years as they opened more distribution centers & expanded their library, but it's never gone away. They are rather vague about how it works & don't want to explain it to customers which is why they tuck it deep in their DVD Terms and Conditions. DVD Terms and Conditions As a result of your viewing habits and our operational practices, the actual number of DVDs you rent in any month may vary, and you may experience differentiated service during the course of your membership. Also, such service may be different from the service we provide to other members on the same membership plan. The type of differentiated service you may experience includes, (i) the shipment of your next available DVD occurring at least one business day following return of your previously viewed DVD, (ii) delivery taking longer, as the shipments may not be sent from your local distribution center and (iii) the DVDs you receive coming from lower in your Queue more often than our other members. http://www.netflix.com/TermsOfUse?id=7686 http://www.netflix.com/TermsOfUse?id=7686

by nothlit 15y ago

joshfinnie 15y ago

Living in Hartford (home of a distribution center), I find that I am still experiencing some throttling on my unlimited disk plan. I recently went on watching Big Bang Theory and saw a surprising decrease in turn-around-time as I started to return disks at a regular pace again. I don't know if it is actually due to throttling or not, but Netflix is preceived at least to still be throttling me.

phillijw 15y ago
It's possible that many people were also watching those DVDs and they would rather delay your stream a small amount instead of licensing another disc out. I'm sure there are some algorithms in place to deal with usage spikes. If it helps keep their costs low then I am ok with slight delays.
mishmash 15y ago
Same here. Our turn-around is usually two days. We routinely get the "we've received" emails but our next ones won't ship for 1-3 days after that. It's annoying considering the "unlimited" plan claim.

metaguri 15y ago

Netflix has algorithms that decide how quickly your next dvd is sent. More accurately, it uses a score to rank the group of people who have the same DVD at the top of their queue in order of who should be allocated the next available copies. This score is based on a number of factors, with the objective being to maximize subscriber happiness (one example question is whether is it more valuable to have quick turnaround for a frequent subscriber who is already happy with the service, versus an infrequent user who might be on the fence--it is not obvious who would be more sensitive to and negatively impacted by a delay in receiving the next DVD). (Source: I work with people who previously worked at Netflix. This is not confirmed fact but a loose understanding based on casual conversations.)

Klinky 15y ago

Netflix has never stopped "throttling", perhaps it has gotten better over the years as they opened more distribution centers & expanded their library, but it's never gone away. They are rather vague about how it works & don't want to explain it to customers which is why they tuck it deep in their DVD Terms and Conditions. DVD Terms and Conditions As a result of your viewing habits and our operational practices, the actual number of DVDs you rent in any month may vary, and you may experience differentiated service during the course of your membership. Also, such service may be different from the service we provide to other members on the same membership plan. The type of differentiated service you may experience includes, (i) the shipment of your next available DVD occurring at least one business day following return of your previously viewed DVD, (ii) delivery taking longer, as the shipments may not be sent from your local distribution center and (iii) the DVDs you receive coming from lower in your Queue more often than our other members. http://www.netflix.com/TermsOfUse?id=7686 http://www.netflix.com/TermsOfUse?id=7686