Everyone likes something that's cheap of offered for free….You get what you pay for.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
T-Mobile CEO Responds to 'Binge On’ Controversy, Announces 14 New Partners
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
That doesn't even make any sense whatsoever. So if my TV's resolution is 1920x1080 and my iPhone 6s is 1334x750 the video on the TV is being scaled more than the phone so in fact the exact opposite would be true but a noble attempt.
If you think 480p is blurry on a small screen maybe it's not the screen causing the problems here, I think you're in need of an eye exam.
"Guys, this isn't a net neutrality issue. We're not favoring data in any way, we just have a system where people come to us to ask if their data can use less of your cap."
No, I agree with you. I think if you polled the population you'd find way more people that would rather have 480p unlimited streaming for free than 640p or 1080p at a rate that pushes their data limit and results in crazy bills. I doubt that half the population even knows what we are talking about... they just know they don't want to get a bill overcharge. And keep in mind that T-Mobile is appealing to their customers primarily on price vs. the competition. They don't have the coverage of Verizon and AT&T so they are going after them on price. Binge On is all about getting something for nothing and that appeals to their customer base. Anyone that cares about 480p vs. 1080p will complain and they'll then learn they can opt-out. I see nothing wrong with this and its all good for the consumer.
How about just getting an unlimited data plan. If you have leisure cash to spend on Netflix, Hulu, etc. bump your plan up!
Still doesn't answer the question, what does a company have to do to become a "Binge" partner? From what I've read, companies who are a partner have better compression than those that do not when "Binge" is turned on. That right there, if true, shows preference to "partners." Because of that it is a Net Neutrality issue. That's a tiered system. When we find out what companies have to do to become a "partner," if a single cent has changed hands, this is a Net Neutrality 'violation.'
Lol, wut??
That's as ridiculous as saying:
"this photo is super blurry, until I blow it up really big & zoom in on a small portion... then (defying all logic & every experience you've had to the contrary), it miraculously becomes crystal clear high definition"
Yeah, no....
Sorry that's not how reality works.
This is what you should expect with a third tier carrier like tmobile or sprint. Cheap. Low quality. Crap service.
I personally know EXACTLY what he is talking about. The ONE THING that I am pissed at AT&T about is directly related to this.
I had 3 phones on "unlimited grandfathered plan" for data. They showed how we had not even COME CLOSE to reaching the data numbers of plans that would save us a ton of money. I was very happy with the service and speed (watched SOME video but not a ton) while having 7 email accounts for various things, etc. on my phone and a wife and son who also had unlimited plans.
I wanted to RARELY but occasionally be able to tether my laptop but could not so I switched.
HERE'S THE RUB: They had been throttling my data all along (which I realized AFTER that I was actually fine with). Now, every time there is a device upgrade (which we upgrade often) the new iPhones download faster and the network downloads faster, etc. The video services detect the MAXIMUM SPEED available and send that file. I do not need to see my "cute kitten" videos at 1080p (sarcasm that I watch cute kitten videos). Seriously? GIGABYTES of data flowing through to watch one TV show, for example, if I wanted to catch up on an episode somewhere with no WiFi. Your 20GIG shared DATA plan suddenly became paltry and we were getting hammered with overage charges. (We had NO CHANGE in usage pattern and yet had never exceeded 17 GIG of data in 18 previous months.) NOW, they CANNOT change us back even if it is their own fault for doing this to us. So, we have to monitor data all month and make sure there are no stupid VIDEO FILES that leak through on someone's phone accidentally.
(One agent ACTUALLY said to simply turn my data off in the AT&T App once we are getting close to the limit? Seriously? I can just stop doing business for the last 10 days of the month because my son decided to catch a video on YouTube.)
I applaud T-Mobile (although not enough to switch) for putting some logic back into the data pipeline.
I had 3 phones on "unlimited grandfathered plan" for data. They showed how we had not even COME CLOSE to reaching the data numbers of plans that would save us a ton of money. I was very happy with the service and speed (watched SOME video but not a ton) while having 7 email accounts for various things, etc. on my phone and a wife and son who also had unlimited plans.
I wanted to RARELY but occasionally be able to tether my laptop but could not so I switched.
HERE'S THE RUB: They had been throttling my data all along (which I realized AFTER that I was actually fine with). Now, every time there is a device upgrade (which we upgrade often) the new iPhones download faster and the network downloads faster, etc. The video services detect the MAXIMUM SPEED available and send that file. I do not need to see my "cute kitten" videos at 1080p (sarcasm that I watch cute kitten videos). Seriously? GIGABYTES of data flowing through to watch one TV show, for example, if I wanted to catch up on an episode somewhere with no WiFi. Your 20GIG shared DATA plan suddenly became paltry and we were getting hammered with overage charges. (We had NO CHANGE in usage pattern and yet had never exceeded 17 GIG of data in 18 previous months.) NOW, they CANNOT change us back even if it is their own fault for doing this to us. So, we have to monitor data all month and make sure there are no stupid VIDEO FILES that leak through on someone's phone accidentally.
(One agent ACTUALLY said to simply turn my data off in the AT&T App once we are getting close to the limit? Seriously? I can just stop doing business for the last 10 days of the month because my son decided to catch a video on YouTube.)
I applaud T-Mobile (although not enough to switch) for putting some logic back into the data pipeline.
All the people bashing on this program don't seem to have a grip on the realities of using cellular data?
If you don't do with T-Mobile, what's the alternative for you? You get to watch things streaming at the fastest rate they'll go, burning through a very limited pool of data you were given for the month (typically at a price that's higher than T-Mobile charges for extra gigs).
All this "binge on" amounts to is an OPTION you can toggle so your video is always compressed down when you're using cellular data. In return for using that mode, T-Mobile is letting you use it as often and as long as you like at no charge or hit to your remaining data.
If you don't use it, fine. It works the same way every other carrier does things.
If you don't do with T-Mobile, what's the alternative for you? You get to watch things streaming at the fastest rate they'll go, burning through a very limited pool of data you were given for the month (typically at a price that's higher than T-Mobile charges for extra gigs).
All this "binge on" amounts to is an OPTION you can toggle so your video is always compressed down when you're using cellular data. In return for using that mode, T-Mobile is letting you use it as often and as long as you like at no charge or hit to your remaining data.
If you don't use it, fine. It works the same way every other carrier does things.
BS post of the day goes toooooooooo....
1080p and 720p do not look this much different let alone the exaggerated 480.
1080p and 720p do not look this much different let alone the exaggerated 480.
Yeah, no....
![Video-Resolution-SD-480p-vs-HD-720p-vs-HD-1080p.jpg]()
'Binge On' reduces the bandwidth requirements for videos by degrading video quality (and thereby the bandwidth required to stream video of that quality). That, in and of itself, isn't a problem. The problem is in the implementation.
If it *only* did so for 'Binge On' *partner* sites, the people complaining would have absolutely *zero* leg to stand on, because the reduced video quality is the trade-off for the bandwidth not being counted against your limits.
The problem, and what people are *actually* complaining about is this:
'Binge On' degrades the quality of *all* videos (streamed, or not) from *all* sites (partnered, or not), but still counts bandwidth from non-partnered sites against the users' bandwidth limits.
Both the users *and* the non-partner sites whose videos are effected by 'Binge On' have a justifiable reason to complain about this service as it currently works.
If it *only* did so for 'Binge On' *partner* sites, the people complaining would have absolutely *zero* leg to stand on, because the reduced video quality is the trade-off for the bandwidth not being counted against your limits.
The problem, and what people are *actually* complaining about is this:
'Binge On' degrades the quality of *all* videos (streamed, or not) from *all* sites (partnered, or not), but still counts bandwidth from non-partnered sites against the users' bandwidth limits.
Both the users *and* the non-partner sites whose videos are effected by 'Binge On' have a justifiable reason to complain about this service as it currently works.
I don't understand why people complain so much about this. I think it's a great service and even considering getting a small tablet with T-Mobile service to take on road trips etc. 480p even on a 7-8" tablet is good enough for me and my kids. Much better than nothing because I sure as hell wouldn't let them stream even 240p video using my regular data plan for an hour or more.
With this implementation might as well not have partner sites at all. Then the trade-off becomes free "optimized" / downgraded 480p videos anywhere VS metered 720p/1080p/etc. video, or more simply: unlimited mid res VS limited high res video content. Then the choice is up to the user.
At least that would be more in line with net neutrality.
Clearly this is an attempt by T-Mobile to significantly reduce the bandwidth on its network while marketing it as a free (opt-in) upgrade for the customer.
Last edited:
Nobody is "giving away" unlimited streaming. Somebody is paying. You are paying a monthly bill. If you are not using all of your bandwidth, then you are subsidizing others who are. If you are watching ads, then the advertisers are paying. T-mobile doesn't have end-to-end control of the data pipeline. They, or their partners, have to pay for the back haul of that data across the regional providers and they are not doing that out of the goodness of their hearts, somebody is paying. If I were a T-Mobile subscriber and not using binge, then I'd be looking for a lowered bill so to not be underwriting those who are. Unless all of this video is ad driven, of course. Then that seems like a fair trade off for those who partake.
But it does.
Since when?
They've upped the price and throttled ALL video when you use the service though. Can you whitelist sites? Can I leave youtube unthrottled, while using one of the partner sites for free? Or is it all or nothing?
Wrong! BingeOn is data maximizing option that manages data badnwidth of BOTH free content providers and non partner providers. If you want to only use this feature for free content, then turn the option off when you want to use YouTube.
You are probably right about "the idiots". However, legally, you want the customer to choose the downgrade on the videos and not the carrier. Having the carrier chose or default to a degraded video (whether through throttling or compression) gives some level of perception that they are not being net neutral. And when you get to the politicians and regulators that are clueless, this just creates fodder for hot air.
Average consumer: "Man, Vimeo videos always look good, but Youtube looks terrible on my phone."
"Man, Vimeo videos always play straight through, but every time I try to use Youtube it stutters"
The customer has no idea that T-mobile is making it more difficult to use a function of his phone until the video provider comes to them so that they can have T-mobile stop throttling them.
Sounds good. Except tmobile and road trip don't exactly mix well together. Sorry kids, no signal here.. Such is life with a third tier, dvd quality at best video crap carrier and only if you don't travel 10ft. Maybe they'll have another uncarrier event where they announce unlimited music but you have to wear a tmobile bluelight special headset to hear. Those of you with third world tmobile service would probably love it though.