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Chanelle Kirksey
The news has been abuzz lately with net neutrality issues and realizations that companies like Verizon and Comcast are secretly, but intentionally throttling services like YouTube and Netflix. So how does the average home user check their Netflix network speeds and potentially speed them up if they are too slow? Here are a few things that I tried. The results were not quite what I expected.
When you start watching, the video will likely be as low as 235 kbps. It seems that Netflix starts every video stream at this low bitrate just to get the video going and then increases the bitrate as the video progresses. This is okay as typically the first 30 seconds of any video is just the opening credits to the TV show or movie and not many people care about this.
If the video rate stops increasing, then we have a baseline. For me, it seemed to stop at 1750 kbps. In the evenings and/or weekends (when everyone is watching Netflix) it sometimes drops back to 750kbps. But by and large, it was pretty consistently at 1750kbps.
This clearly shows that the system is trying to fulfill the minimum requested bitrate and is giving an Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) in seconds. Once the video finished buffering, my observation was that Netflix slowly increased the video bitrate from 2350 to 3000 to 3850 to 4300. It settled in at 4300 for a bit, but eventually went all the way to 5800 kbps and stayed there.
When I initially started performing my tests, the time was 1pm EST on a Saturday which means it was 10am in Seattle. While most people in Seattle are probably awake by 10am on Saturday, not a whole lot of people are watching Netflix yet. But people on the east coast certainly are. In short, the Seattle server that I was connecting to had more than enough resources available to serve me a 5800 kbps stream with ease.
At this point, it would be easy to think that the clever choice is to set your bitrate range from 3850 to 5800 so as to force the Netflix servers to only serve you 1080p HD video. Unfortunately, this strategy can backfire on you.
Thanks for this true GEM of advice! I found I was getting 1750Mbps video, and was able to set it to 3000Mbps instead. Unfortunately, 3000Mbps was the highest available option, and my box menu screens looked different, no server options shown. Still, doubling my bitrate is impressive, I want to do it again though. I only watch a show or two a week, and would watch more if the quality was available. ?
But is an older whisky always a better one? Is there some upper limit, beyond which extra years do nothing to improve the final product? And what does the age mean in terms of the characteristics of that amber liquid in your glass?
One of the factors that should always be taken into account is age. In fact, whiskies like Pappy Van Winkle 23 (which is so rare and sought after that it was even the subject of a grand theft, known as Pappygate, featured in the Netflix documentary, Heist) and a 72-year-old bottle of Macallan have helped make the age of a whisky a key element in determining its value.
The first thing to know about whisky is that for a spirit to be considered whisky, it has to be in contact with wood which creates its flavor profile as the whisky ages in barrels. In Scotland, for example, the whisky must be aged for a minimum of three years and one day.
This length of the ageing process not only helps determine the final price of the bottle, but also shapes the taste of the whisky, because the wood affects ingredients, such as sugar, and this can drastically change the flavor from one whisky to another.
Once the whisky is bottled, the ageing process stops. A whisky aged for three years will still be a three-year-old whisky even if it spends 20 years in a bottle in a cellar. It is the bottle, not what is inside, that will get older (though an old bottle can, by itself, increase the price of a whisky).
The age of a whisky is the time from when it is first put in a cask to when it is poured into a bottle; the number on the label refers to the youngest whisky in the final bottle. With blends, for example, a 12-year-old whisky may be combined with 15- or 16- year-old ones, but, as the youngest whisky is 12 years old, the number on the bottle is 12.
Even though the ageing of the whisky stops once it is bottled, it is important to store whisky correctly (not that it has an expiry date, but it can spoil). Exposure to oxygen, light, or dramatic temperature changes are not good for whisky and can even ruin its flavor.
According to experts, a young whisky can have a good taste and quality, but most are at their best when they reach 12 years old (although some can continue to improve until they reach 30). The more time that passes, the more expensive the bottle will be, because this means that it must spend more time in a cellar, being watched over and protected.
It should also be taken into account that if a whisky is left too long in the cask, it can evaporate, lose its structure or even, because of all the different processes involved, cease to be a whisky and lose its value completely.
What really matters is that you focus on the taste, not the number on the bottle, which will often lead you to better, underappreciated values. A 1 million Rand whisky won't necessarily taste better than a R100 whisky.
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The Netflix Freemium Teaser ?: Netflix recently announced free access to select originals for non-subscribers. This Faux Free strategy allows them to get premium content in front of prospective subscribers without cannibalizing their core subscription or devaluing the Netflix brand.
The other approach to Perpetual Free would be including full access to low-quality content. Amazon does this with the Kindle Unlimited offering. This works for Amazon because one of their biggest selling points is value. Netflix positions its content as premium fare, and giving away low-quality content could muddy the perception of Netflix across the broader consumer mindshare.
Alternatively, a Free Trial would be dangerous because it could cannibalize their current product. If they were to give away access to their entire catalog for 7 days, it would give viewers enough time to binge one of their original series without having to subscribe.
After some success with the affiliate program, GQ formally launched their own curation product with a quarterly subscription box, packaging their favorite products each season. While it may seem like the moment for subscription boxes has passed, the GQ Best Stuff Box is thriving - up 165% in revenue in 2019, and regularly selling out.
With the success of the box, GQ has taken the next step, designing and launching their own merchandise in a dedicated store called The GQ Shop. Jacob Donnelly from A Media Operator has a great write-up of the entire evolution.
GQ is definitely in the infancy with this, but considering their recently reported circulation of 950k subscribers, they have a huge opportunity to drive subscribers deeper into their ecosystem and boost expansionary revenue beyond the magazine.
The Tweeter refers to this as a nice solution from Apple, which makes sense through the lens of the consumer. However, for App in the Air, the subject of this notification, the message does a serious disservice.
Apple has already been under scrutiny for two high-profile challenges to its app store policies this year. This is another factor to consider when determining how much to leverage their distribution channel. While enabling auto-renewals provides a lot of value for their marketplace, is it worth the indirect relationship with end-customers?
We\u2019re back to a digest this week, dissecting packaging developments across Netflix, GQ, and Apple. If you\u2019re enjoying the newsletter, I\u2019ve been posting more field notes on packaging strategy on Twitter. Click the button below to follow along!
The Netflix Freemium Teaser \uD83C\uDF9E: Netflix recently announced free access to select originals for non-subscribers. This Faux Free strategy allows them to get premium content in front of prospective subscribers without cannibalizing their core subscription or devaluing the Netflix brand.
Repackaging GQ, Beyond the Magazine \uD83D\uDC54: GQ is moving into owned commerce, but they\u2019ve done so methodically over the last few years with a series of moves. While their multi-product strategy is currently siloed, they\u2019re setting the foundation for bundle opportunities down the road that could significantly boost expansionary revenue and subscriber LTV (Lifetime Value).
Apple: The Price Change Messenger \uD83D\uDCE2: One of the most common questions we get at ProfitWell is how to message price increases. The answer really depends on the product and customer relationship, but one constant is that the news should come directly from the company making the price change. Apple\u2019s automated price-change notifications highlight the pitfalls of relying on a third-party for price change messaging, and reinforce why it\u2019s so critical to own the message yourself.
Netflix recently announced free access to select originals for non-subscribers. While this isn\u2019t the first time they\u2019ve dabbled with freemium strategies, it\u2019s the most access they\u2019ve allowed to originals for free. Of the catalog available, they\u2019re allowing viewers to watch entire original films and the pilot episode of select original series.
First, one of the keys to Freemium is figuring out how to provide value for free without alienating paying customers. In this case, there\u2019s no reason for paying subscribers to be upset. Non-subscribers only have access to the pilot of included original series, and while they do have access to entire original films, the available titles are far past their release date.
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