Semi-informed guess: Even when the rip comes from the same source (and not e.g. Blu-ray), they have a blazing fast internet pipe and/or a custom client that loc

Semi-informed guess: Even when the rip comes from the same source (and not e.g. Blu-ray), they have a blazing fast internet pipe and/or a custom client that locks into the maximum bitrate -- while your residential connection and/or the local PoP's available capacity make your stream use a lower bitrate.