Watching a video online is a task for most of us. As soon as we click on a video to play, it starts buffering, then begins, then suddenly stops and starts buffering again and the cycle keeps on going like this. This leaves the viewer highly unsatisfied as the beauty of the clip somewhere dies due to the constant interruptions. But it seems Google has finally taken a note of our video woes and come to the rescue.
Google, the internet giant has now started rating Internet Service Providers’ (ISP) video streaming quality on a new website called - Google Video quality report. This step by Google can be seen as the most recent development in the constant blame game which goes on between content companies and broadband providers over who is responsible for the slow streaming speeds.
A typical YouTube video playback consists of a YouTube client (player) fetching video bytes in a streaming fashion from a YouTube server (CDN), in one or more requests (e.g. HTTP GET). The first step in determining ISP ratings is to measure the sustained speed at which these video bytes are transferred from server to the client.
The ratings represent the video streaming quality you can expect (at least 90% of the time) when you watch YouTube on an Internet Service Provider in a specific area. Google rate you ISPs in three categories as below -
- YouTube HD Verified: Users on YouTube HD Verified networks should expect smooth playback most of the time when watching high-definition YouTube videos (720p and above).
- Standard Definition: Users on networks rated as Standard Definition should expect smooth playback on standard-definition YouTube videos (360p) and may experience occasional interruptions on high-definition YouTube videos (720p and above).
- Lower Definition: Users on networks rated as Lower Definition may experience fuzzy picture quality and frequent interruptions while playing YouTube videos at 360p and above.
A link to the website showing the streaming quality of the ISP would immediately appear, whenever the buffering speed on YouTube would be slow.
According to the website, there are many factors which influence your video streaming quality, including your choice for Internet Service Provider. The website not only helps you learn about how your ISP performs but it also helps you in understanding your further options. The website which was launched in May has recently started gaining popularity.
The website also explains how a video reaches you in a nutshell. Whenever a user clicks play on a video on YouTube, it carries the data through its system to the user’s ISP via the most efficient path possible. Sometimes, they use less direct path during exceptional circumstances. The second step involves the user’s ISP receiving the user’s video from YouTube and then the ISP begins the important job of carrying it across their network to the user’s home. They must ensure that there is enough capacity when they receive the data from YouTube. Otherwise the user’s streaming quality would suffer.
The last step involves the video traveling in the user's house. In addition to the congestion in the user's ISP's network, the user’s video performance can also be affected by the size of the ISP’s connection into the user’s home, the user’s Wi-Fi setup, and other in-home factors such as connected devices.
The internet giant will rate the ISPs based on how quickly billions of hours YouTube videos watched every month load over thirty days and divide those results by provider and location to determine the quality of performance the viewers get 90 % of the time.
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