- Following Netflix’s lead, both YouTube and Amazon announced plans to lower video stream quality in Europe to reduce strain on the Internet.
- YouTube videos will now be in SD by default, but users can manually adjust individual videos back to HD if they choose.
- With the coronavirus resulting in a surge of people now spending their days at home, there’s a concern that Internet providers won’t be able to handle what could be an unprecedented surge in traffic.
- Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.
With millions of people now staying at home during the day because of the coronavirus — either because they were laid off or are working from home — there’s been some concern that Internet bandwidth will be pushed to the limit. To this point, a report from Speedtest recently found that mean download speeds in areas that have been particularly impacted by Covid-19 did, in fact, go down.
In light of this, and as part of an effort to keep Internet connectivity robust, Netflix recently obliged with an EU request to degrade the quality of its video streams to reduce the strain on Internet infrastructure. Specifically, the EU asked Netflix to reduce the quality of its streams from HD to standard definition.
Today’s Top Deals
- 10 deals you don’t want to miss on Sunday: DIY face mask supplies, $23 Fire TV Stick, 99¢ Kindle best-sellers, more
- 10 deals you don’t want to miss on Saturday: $23 Fire TV Stick, 4K home theater projector, Bose blowout, more
- Today’s best deals: Huge Bose speaker sale, $23 Fire TV Stick, $25 wireless ANC headphones, $199 Dyson killer, more
Trending Right Now:
- New drug combo wiped out coronavirus in patients
- New study finally reveals how long coronavirus survives on surfaces and in the air
- Best Buy just kicked off a giant 3-day sale – here are the best deals
YouTube and Amazon to downgrade video quality due to coronavirus originally appeared on BGR.com on Sun, 22 Mar 2020 at 14:07:58 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read more here:: Boy Genius Report