Confinement forces Netflix to reduce video quality in Europe. For 30 days, the streaming service will be throttling the speed of its streams in order to relieve Internet congestion and avoid saturation of networks, overloaded by telecommuting. Nevertheless, the VOD giant will continue to offer Full HD and 4K content. Explanations. 

Confined to their homes, many Europeans are turning to to content from the Netflix catalog to pass the time. Fearful of network saturation, at a time when many workers are forced to teleworkThierry Breton, the European Commissioner, asked Netflix and Amazon to cut the 4K and HD signal during the day.
Netflix quickly responded to Thierry Breton's complaints in a press release. "Given the unprecedented challenges associated with the spread of the coronavirus, Netflix has taken the decision to reduce its throughput on all of its streams in Europe for a period of 30 days." explains a Netflix spokesperson. The American company assures us that the decision was taken "following discussions between Thierry Breton and (CEO) Reed Hastings"..
In detail, the service will continue to offer films and series from its catalog in 4K, HD, Full HD or Ultra HD. On the other hand, Netflix to reduce video bitrate. What is a bitrate? Bitrate is a unit of measurement for the quantity of data transmitted per second by a video or audio stream. The higher the bitrate, the more times per second the sound or image is sampled, the richer and higher-quality it is.
In plain English, videos will be further compressed than usual. Netflix will adapt to the maximum compression level of the chosen resolution. "This will allow us to continue to guarantee a quality service for our members, in line with the service they've paid for (4K, HD, SD etc.) - but with the lowest possible throughput." says Netflix.
See also..: 5 Netflix series to watch during confinement
"We estimate that this will reduce Netflix traffic on European networks by around 25 % while guaranteeing a good quality service for our subscribers." continues the streaming service. According to Arcep estimates, Netflix accounts for up to 23% of Internet traffic in France and even ahead of Google (18%). In France, Netflix boasts over 6 million subscribers.
Thierry Breton is satisfied with the measures taken by Netflix. "I welcome Netflix's action to preserve the smooth operation of the Internet during the Covd-19 crisis while maintaining a good experience for users." assures the European Commissioner, believing that the platform is demonstrating a "great sense of responsibility". 
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