AT&T's Optional 'Stream Saver' Feature Will Throttle Streaming Video Starting in 2017

[Tech198]

IT IS YOUR CHOICE.

I like your explanation of this, but AT&T or any teco should not just go into a business assuming users who use their ow network know what they are doing at all times.

People have had high bills all the time for going "over" Putting responsibility to the user is one thing, but perhaps AT&T do this, and T-Mobile because they can see "repeated" high bills issued...... Why else would u do 'Stream Saver' or Binge?

Everything has a valid reason.

By the only difference i see, is if u do do this . the quality settings on Youtube page wn't have any affect going up, since the Steam saver will prevail..

aka.... u switch to HD in youtube, but u'r on Steam saver... it will still stream at 480

 

[JamesPDX]

Yeah government run anything always works real well. /s

So you're saying the government should tell businesses how to operate and force regulations on them that deincentivize them from progress?

Sad mindset. Why don't you start a business and the government can come and take a chunk of your profits and dictate what is to be done with it. You can call it Syria Wireless. Government regulation worked so well for the CLECs and Airlines. Take a business history lesson. Jeez.

I'm here to help, even though I probably shouldn't. Enjoy some government-provided science and stuff:
https://www.fcc.gov/engineering-tec...es-division/general/radio-spectrum-allocation

http://www.nist.org/

https://www.ftc.gov/

And here's the real kicker, Jethro: https://www.fcc.gov/general/open-internet

http://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/us-military-overview.html

 

[garylapointe]

As do I. Surprised to not hear from more people in the same situation.

Nope, more than happy enough to have ditched my Grandfathered Unlimited and be saving money with a Mobile Share plan and I can tether / hotspot with it.

Working out way better for me. Plus, when I don't use up all the data it rolls over into the next month (usually don't touch it, so it's there as a cushion most months).

 

[xaqt93]

I was really close to switching when T-Mobile had the Simple Choice plans. But the new T-Mobile One plan seems like a bad deal.

I use about 3-4GB/month. This is not trying to limit myself, I just don't stream video content away from Wi-Fi unless I am at an airport or something, which is once every few months at most. Email and web and instagram and spotify just don't use that much data. I do use hotspot often to do work though.

If I switch, it would be a single-line plan. So $70 for "unlimited" data, but hotspot is not included. For hotspot, it's an extra $25, bringing the total to $95! That's more expensive than Verizon and AT&T!

On AT&T, 6GB plan would cost $80/mo.
On Verizon, 10GB plan would cost $90/mo.

Thus, unless you use a lot of data, the T-Mobile plan now seems like a really bad deal.

Hot Spot is included! Haha! It works great...unless you try to stream video, but other then that, the Hot spot works just fine. It is slower, but it is nice. I will say for someone like me who uses a lot of Data, T-Mobile was the best choice. I love the One single plan which made it easier...cut my bill in half from ATT

 

[scoobydoo99]

Lucky that pesky FCC wont' be a factor for much longer...

right. Nor will Net Neutrality. It will be a corporate abuse free-for-all for the next four years.

 

[actripxl]

Is there any decent carrier and plan one can switch to today?

Verizon - Way too expensive
AT&T - Lots of hidden fees and shenanigans
Sprint - Poor coverage, low speeds
T-Mobile - Poor coverage, only one plan option that is highly limited unlimited

*Note - I'm talking about plans that one can switch to today. So your special grandfathered plan for 3 years ago is irrelevant.

As someone who has worked for T-mobile, AT&T has no hidden fees currently and no longer charge more for going over your data, your quoted a price and that is what you pay minus tax.

 

[garylapointe]

ATT is just a pile of criminals. The creep got elected and so they figure they can override the net neutrality rules, and any other gov't regulation - its a thing! It's not a feature, its just throttling, and bad service, and trying to screw you out of every dime you have. Most of you are paying $!00-$200 a month or more for cable service plus phone, or whatever. It's a lot of money, especially if you multiply it by 120 million. We used to use rabbit ears, and while I am not suggesting a return to that, 120 million * $150 a month average, well that's plenty. This is just greed, on a mythic scale.

I've got my "rabbit ears" hooked up to my TiVo for free TV. I pay for my internet and no cable. But still for my cellular phone and internet, I'm at about $100 a month.

 

[SeaFox]

Why would I watch 480p instead of 1080p?

1. Because you likely will not notice the difference anyway on a cellphone sized screen.
2. Even if you could notice the difference, if you really cared so much about the presentation:
   1. You wouldn't be using a streaming video provider, you'd encode the file from a higher-quality source and have it stored locally on your device for playback.
   2. You wouldn't be watching on your damn cell phone to start with, you'd be watching on an HDTV at home.

 

[alexgowers]

Now that USA has a fully loaded nazi party in senate, house etc. This is the perfect time to erode net neutrality. I hope you guys have knee pads on the next few years are gonna hurt. Full on internet monopoly has been going on a while but this is the tip now that companies are finally embedded and running the politics that should have been done my politicians. Oh well

 

[chr1s60]

AT&T continuing to show they are a horrible carrier. I am actually shocked Verizon hasn't realized that if they lowered their prices they would gain a huge chunk of AT&T users.
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Now that USA has a fully loaded nazi party in senate, house etc. This is the perfect time to erode net neutrality. I hope you guys have knee pads on the next few years are gonna hurt. Full on internet monopoly has been going on a while but this is the tip now that companies are finally embedded and running the politics that should have been done my politicians. Oh well

Way to turn a completely unrelated article about a carrier feature into a chance to show your displeasure with the election results.

 

[KiwiAdventure]

What I've noticed screens are becoming over the top with trying to be to bright and not a true colour.

 

[chr1s60]

What I've noticed screens are becoming over the top with trying to be to bright and not a true colour.

I have noticed this with Samsung screens for a few years now. Their greens and yellows always seem ridiculously bright and unrealistic. Apple hadn't really been doing it but the latest screen seems like it is headed that way.

 

[boccabella]

Serious question: How is this not considered illegal hacking? They are taking someone's content and modifying it, at least according to this article without any apprent permission.

 

[uncle.zed]

AND this is a 'MAC RUMOR' how????
its not apple related, not mac related, not technology hardware related.

bleeeah

 

[MacBH928]

isn't this against net neutrality ?
I also believe many apps allows you to choose the resolution settings
and will always opt for the lower resolution on cellular ?

 

[bbeagle]

Serious question: How is this not considered illegal hacking? They are taking someone's content and modifying it, at least according to this article without any apprent permission.

The whole internet would be illegal then.

Sending a file across the internet entails splitting the file into small chunks called packets. There could be thousands and thousands of packets per file. Each packet is numbered, and other metadata is added to each packet. It's all reassembled when the user receives the file. And it doesn't have to be reassembled exactly the same way (i.e. depending on operating system, file system, color gamut on the user's system, etc)

What about displaying a stream on a non-1080p phone like the iPhone - isn't the stream slightly different in 750x1334 vs 1080x1920?

 

[mwd25]

No - it's free either way, just an option you can choose.

The benefit of choosing lower quality data, is that you pay less for it because you're using less data.

But, go ahead, stream the same things in a higher quality and pay more for your monthly data. It's YOUR choice.

Except T Mobile doesnt charge at all, zero, nothing, when you choose to stream at a lower quality. So it really isnt that compelling. Make it not count against my data, you know, like your competitor is doing, and now you have my attention.
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How is this turned on and off? Is it in the AT&T app, or somewhere in Settings, or do I have to go to their website? How quickly does flipping the switch change the video quality?

Also, it'd be nice if there was some way to find out how quickly you're burning data in real time...

There are several apps that track your data use in real time. DataMan, My Data Manager are a couple.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

You need to understand that most intelligent people have already left this forum. More will leave. Only the haters and bashers will remain in a forum that they crave and that the owners allow and want to thrive. Remember ad revenue is based upon the number of posts, not the quality of the posts. A forum with integrity and self respect would never allow the crap that exists here to continue. But money speaks.

Of course, I'll be kicked off the board very soon for my recent comments. I just can't help trying to stifle stupidity when I see it, and lord knows this board is full of it.

I am beginning to see the light. I'll keep that in mind going forward.

 

[mikef07]

Haven't read through every post but this is great for someone like me. Currently I have to log in to MYAT&T through my phone and turn my kids (2 of my kids) data off about 7-10 days in. It is very easy to do and the reason I have to do so is because they stream youtube all the time. If I can turn this on by logging in and toggling a switch I can do it from day one and hopefully this will allow them to keep data for longer into the billing cycle.

Also logging into MYAT&T from your phone gives you almost real data usage (might be behind a few minutes) on the fly and allows you to toggle data on and off for specific phones very easily. Toggling data works within seconds so I imagine this will be the same.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

This seems like a violation of net neutrality laws. Giving you a "binge" option that allows you to pay less for throttling certain types of data is no different than charging you more for your normal, everyday data. That's the definition of net neutrality.

 

[SactoGuy18]

Before everyone says this is a terrible idea, remember unless you have a big phablet phone like the iPhone 6 Plus/6S Plus/7 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S6/S7 Edge or Samsung Galaxy Note, going above 480p resolution video is overkill. On my iPhone 6, 480p looks very good anyway.

 

[Snide]

So glad I've dumped AT&T entirely from my life.

So glad I haven't.

 

[pincud]

AT&T today announced a new "Stream Saver" feature, which it says is a "free and convenient" data-saving option that allows customers to watch more video by downgrading video quality.

Stream Saver mimics T-Mobile's Binge On option, automatically streaming video at "about 480p," or standard definition quality instead of high definition quality.

AT&T is making Stream Saver an optional feature, with customers able to turn it on and off at will using myAT&T or Premier for business customers. According to AT&T, Stream Saver can be toggled off at any time with no charge to AT&T customers. While it is available for most streaming video, AT&T says Stream Saver is not able to detect and optimize all video due to the way some content owners deliver video streams.

As an optional feature that isn't limited to specific content partners, Stream Saver does not seem to raise the same questions about net neutrality that have caused T-Mobile's Binge On feature to be scrutinized by the FCC.

Through Binge On, T-Mobile offers free video streaming at 480p when customers watch content from select partners. T-Mobile has dozens of audio and video partners, including YouTube, Amazon Video, Netflix, Sling TV, VUDU, HBO NOW, Showtime, Hulu, and more.

AT&T plans to make Stream Saver available to customers starting in early 2017.

Article Link: AT&T's Optional 'Stream Saver' Feature Will Throttle Streaming Video Starting in 2017

well... here in romania, i pay 5 dollars for unlimited minutes and messages everywhere, and 30gb of data at 4g speeds...

 

[jujufreeze]

AT&T keeps digging its grave

 

[bbeagle]

Except T Mobile doesnt charge at all, zero, nothing, when you choose to stream at a lower quality. So it really isnt that compelling. Make it not count against my data, you know, like your competitor is doing, and now you have my attention.

T-Mobile isn't an option where I live, the coverage is horrible.