Netflix to lower European streaming quality

It’s a temporary measure, but Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube will be reducing their streaming resolutions across Europe due to a surge in web traffic.

Who would have thought COVID-19 would affect our ability to watch internet content in HD?

Starting from today Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube will be capping their picture quality on all platforms. This means that most, if not all, of the videos you’ll be viewing in the next month will be in standard definition rather than the expected HD if you live in Europe.

The move aims to significantly reduce data consumption across Europe, lowering overall download sizes by 25%. It will also result in cheaper bills, improved internet speeds, and less chance that your Wi-Fi hub goes down, which is all more important than being able to see your eighth successive episode of Friends in crystal clear 4K.

These drastic measures have become necessary as more of us turn to internet content to keep ourselves entertained. We’re all stuck indoors (the Thred team included) for the foreseeable future, so it’s hardly surprising that we’re all binge watching shows and tuning into our favourite YouTubers. We’ve got to do something with our time, after all.

Netflix has stated that it will be lowering HD capabilities for a minimum of 30 days and there’s currently no end date, so nobody’s quite sure how long these measures will be in place.

No word yet from other big streaming providers – Amazon, Apple, and Spotify, amongst others – on whether they’ll be doing something similar, but it’s certainly not out of the question.

For now we’ll have to watch all of our shows like it’s 2009. Which is upsetting. At least we still have Blu-Ray discs, right?

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