Quote:
Originally Posted by spj20016
This is what I don't get, why we don't get any issues with Netflix.
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a) Because Netflix's servers and the bandwidth to them have less congestion.
b) Because it's in Netflix's interests to ensure congestion doesn't happen so they retain your monthly subscription whereas iPlayer has to come out of the licence fee with everything else - and that now includes the hundreds of millions for the BBC overseas services that the Foreign Office used to pay for.
c) Because Netflix's founding team included engineers who knew their stuff and they use a delivery system that dynamically adapts to the available bandwidth so buffering and stuttering is less likely. The current generation iPlayer was built by outside contractors using mostly off-the-shelf components and uses a constant bitrate stream so if there's momentary congestion it has wait until there is sufficient data available again to continue.