Coronavirus Pandemic ('Work From Home'): Netflix and YouTube Reduce Video Streaming Quality in Europe during Coronavirus Pandemic
Coronavirus pandemic: Netflix and YouTube Reduces Video Streaming Quality in Europe during Coronavirus Pandemic because data is needed for 'Work From Home'
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, As a result of the self-isolation, social distancing and quarantining caused by a coronavirus, huge numbers of people around the world are now working from home, due to this the internet is being pushed to its limits. To help ease the strain on networks,
Video Streaming Giants, Netflix, and YouTube have reportedly reduced the quality at which videos stream in Europe, and it will be switching to default quality settings on Netflix and YouTube in Europe to standard definition rather than HD quality.
This is only a move by default, though, as users will still be able to turn the quality up after the video has started playing if they choose to do so.
As Netflix said in a statement,
Netflix will reduce the bit rate of all its video streams for 30 days. The company estimates that this move "will reduce Netflix traffic on European networks by around 25% while also ensuring a good quality service for our members."Also the company, Netflix estimates that it will lower its network traffic by 25%. EU industry chief Thierry Breton called on major streaming platforms to reduce their load by lowering quality.
As reported by the Reuters, On the other side the biggest streaming giant google is also will be switching default quality settings on YouTube in Europe.
The move came after Breton spoke to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. It said so far it had only seen a few usage peaks but decided to act to minimize stress on the system.‘We are making a commitment to temporarily switch all traffic in the EU to standard definition by default,’ the company said in a statement.Also, the company has confirmed that this is only a temporary measure during the coronavirus outbreak.
Eventually, YouTube will restore previous video quality settings in Europe. For the time being, too, this only affects Europe. Areas such as the United States will see video quality as usual.
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