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Youtube also lies regularly about the current quality. I often see 1080p (Auto) or 720p (Auto) which it selects by default. But when I reselect it manually, bec

by wruza 3y ago

Youtube also lies regularly about the current quality. I often see 1080p (Auto) or 720p (Auto) which it selects by default. But when I reselect it manually, because it’s clear that it’s not, it suddenly starts rebuffering. Happens all the time.

chii 3y ago
It's not exactly lying per se, but i suspect what's happening is that the player is trying to buffer the higher resolution version of the video stream, while playing the lower resolution (so as not to interrupt the video). However, the higher res stream is taking a while to download, and if that happens, the current video position has surpassed the buffered high-res video length, and so the process starts again (and the end result is that the user end up downloading chunks of the high-res video, but never watching any of it). This is why i prefer to force high-res in the first place, and have it buffer enough to play the entire video without stopping. Unfortunately, google considers this wasted bandwidth, or something...this option is not available unless you use browser mods to do it.
- bagels 3y ago
  They're optimizing for not buffering. It's one of the key metrics they track for service health.
- wruza 3y ago
  while playing the lower resolution (so as not to interrupt the video) That is another thing, which I don’t mind (if I understand it right). Sometimes internet becomes worse temporarily and that approach is okay. But in the described case it plays a whole video in this hypothetical “mode”, never trying to go up. My internet is not greatest, but when I switch from “720p (Auto)” to “720p” it takes only a couple of seconds to then play it without any further interruptions. It doesn’t add up. I believe they are simply saving traffic on those who look at the quality setting and either think “well, maybe it’s just shitty bitrate 720/1080p” or have no clue at all.
  - dns_snek 3y ago
    Rock solid 300/100 Mbps here, I've noticed the same behavior. It's either intentional or buggy and given how long it's been going on now, I don't think it's buggy. Don't let people convince you it's your internet connection.
rbinv 3y ago
They have also started rolling out "Premium HD (1080p)" as an additional quality level for paying users. I can't tell a difference to regular 1080p (for now), though.

by wruza 3y ago

chii 3y ago

It's not exactly lying per se, but i suspect what's happening is that the player is trying to buffer the higher resolution version of the video stream, while playing the lower resolution (so as not to interrupt the video). However, the higher res stream is taking a while to download, and if that happens, the current video position has surpassed the buffered high-res video length, and so the process starts again (and the end result is that the user end up downloading chunks of the high-res video, but never watching any of it). This is why i prefer to force high-res in the first place, and have it buffer enough to play the entire video without stopping. Unfortunately, google considers this wasted bandwidth, or something...this option is not available unless you use browser mods to do it.

bagels 3y ago
They're optimizing for not buffering. It's one of the key metrics they track for service health.
wruza 3y ago
while playing the lower resolution (so as not to interrupt the video) That is another thing, which I don’t mind (if I understand it right). Sometimes internet becomes worse temporarily and that approach is okay. But in the described case it plays a whole video in this hypothetical “mode”, never trying to go up. My internet is not greatest, but when I switch from “720p (Auto)” to “720p” it takes only a couple of seconds to then play it without any further interruptions. It doesn’t add up. I believe they are simply saving traffic on those who look at the quality setting and either think “well, maybe it’s just shitty bitrate 720/1080p” or have no clue at all.
- dns_snek 3y ago
  Rock solid 300/100 Mbps here, I've noticed the same behavior. It's either intentional or buggy and given how long it's been going on now, I don't think it's buggy. Don't let people convince you it's your internet connection.

rbinv 3y ago

They have also started rolling out "Premium HD (1080p)" as an additional quality level for paying users. I can't tell a difference to regular 1080p (for now), though.