Netflix Launches 'Cellular Data Controls' to Adjust Video Quality on Data-Capped Smartphones

[MacRumors]

Streaming company Netflix today introduced a new set of "cellular data controls" that will give its customers control over the quality of video streaming on cellular networks so as to avoid overcharge fees with data-capped plans. The launch follows an admission of throttling video by Netflix earlier in March, when the company also confirmed the data saver feature would debut in May.

According to Netflix, the default control setting will let users stream approximately 3 hours of TV and movies per gigabyte of data, which it determined as the sweet spot setting that "balances good video quality with lower data usage to help avoid exceeding data caps and incurring overage fees." Of course, since the whole point is personal customization, the controls let users on higher data plans up the streaming quality at their will, and vice versa.

Netflix's cellular data controls (left) and new 3D Touch Quick Actions (right)​

The cellular data controls can be found in App Settings, with the various customizable controls available once you toggle off "Set Automatically." From there users can choose Low (4 hours per GB), Medium (2 hours per GB), High (1 hour per GB), or Unlimited options for streaming video in the app. An alternative also exists to shut off cellular data playback completely -- and only use Wi-Fi -- within the menu.

In addition to the cellular controls, the 8.4.0 update to Netflix on the App Store also brings 3D Touch support for Quick Actions right from the Home screen, VoiceOver improvements to navigation, and various bug fixes. Those who have yet to do so can download Netflix from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Netflix Launches 'Cellular Data Controls' to Adjust Video Quality on Data-Capped Smartphones

 

[bruinsrme]

Excellent.
Porn sites have been doing this for years, so I've heard.

 

[KALLT]

Weird that something like this wasn’t there from the beginning. Surely, it must have occurred to someone before that limiting or adjusting mobile data usage of a data-heavy app is something a lot of people care about?

Porn sites have been doing this for years, so I've heard.

You seem to be well-informed.

 

[2457282]

Seem like a smart move. I don't watch Netflix on my cell phone and my iPad is wifi only, so about the only time this will apply is when traveling and not having access to wifi. That happens when Hotels charge extra for wifi, so I am happy to know that this option is there.

 

[bruinsrme]

Weird that something like this wasn’t there from the beginning. Surely, it must have occurred to someone before that limiting or adjusting mobile data usage of a data-heavy app is something a lot of people care about?



You seem to be well-informed.

Just repeating what I have heard.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Cool. T-Mo is already doing this for me (and giving me unlimited streaming for it at that!)

 

[joueboy]

How about offline viewing like Amazon. That saves a lot of data for your customers.

 

[XTheLancerX]

What about PIP? That stil hasn't been enabled...

Apparently the code is all there allowing PIP but they haven't enabled it... There's a jailbreak tweak I think that enables PIP for Netflix just like normal because of this.
[doublepost=1462462415][/doublepost]

How about offline viewing like Amazon. That saves a lot of data for your customers.

YES... I really wish I had this. But having a 16GB device, wouldn't be able to fit much on my phone. Definitely doing 64GB next time around

 

[macduke]

It's pretty ridiculous that it took this many years to get such a simple feature. Yeah, it automatically adjusts based on bandwidth. But on mobile, LTE is sometimes even faster than the WiFi people have at home. So it's always the highest quality. These settings are a great solution, especially as it will automatically kick-in when a user leaves WiFi. Video quality doesn't need to be perfect on mobile—and especially on phones with smaller displays. It just isn't that noticeable. I absolutely never use Netflix on LTE, but now that I know I can dial in the data usage, I'm a much more informed user and wouldn't mind trying it out when needed.

Cool. T-Mo is already doing this for me (and giving me unlimited streaming for it at that!)

Even though it's unlimited, I wonder what the actual data rates are for T-Mobile compared to something like this. It's probably possible to estimate, as I think everything is capped at 480p, but who knows what sort of encoding and streaming voodoo magic is going on over there.

 

[garirry]

Don't use Netflix that much, but this is still a great feature.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Even though it's unlimited, I wonder what the actual data rates are for T-Mobile compared to something like this. It's probably possible to estimate, as I think everything is capped at 480p, but who knows what sort of encoding and streaming voodoo magic is going on over there.

Yeah, I'd be interested in that as well. Although I will state that with the video throttling on T-Mo the video quality is still plenty sufficient for my needs. I haven't really done much Netflix that I can think of but I've used a ton of YouTube when out and about, and it works great. The fact that it doesn't apply against my data cap certainly has allowed me to use it a lot more.

I only switched to T-Mo about 4 months ago, and I'm loving how I'm paying $20/month less and I already have 16GB saved up on data stash. I haven't used wifi-hotspot yet, but that will certainly come in handy. I definitely have noticed a decrease in rural coverage (from AT&T), but so far it's been worth it.

 

[zorinlynx]

It'd be nice if you could do this in general, on all Netflix clients.

I recently tethered my Apple TV through my phone because I wanted to watch Netflix while my Comcast connection was down. I have a plenty big data plan (20GB+rollover) so it wasn't a concern for one or two movies, but if the outage had been a lot longer I would have appreciated a way to keep it from using the maximum bandwidth available.

LTE is pretty amazing when it works; I watched a few TV epsiodes and a movie and it was no different in quality to my cable connection.

 

[rigormortis]

Weird that something like this wasn’t there from the beginning. Surely, it must have occurred to someone before that limiting or adjusting mobile data usage of a data-heavy app is something a lot of people care about?



You seem to be well-informed.

There was a setting. It was available for years. But it was a setting for the entire account and not individual devices.

 

[rfahey79]

What about PIP? That stil hasn't been enabled...

Apparently the code is all there allowing PIP but they haven't enabled it... There's a jailbreak tweak I think that enables PIP for Netflix just like normal because of this.
[doublepost=1462462415][/doublepost]
YES... I really wish I had this. But having a 16GB device, wouldn't be able to fit much on my phone. Definitely doing 64GB next time around

Well how much offline content do you need that you wouldn't be able to manage it when you had wifi available? I have a 16gb iPad and was able to sync 4 movies of standard def (which is still pretty crisp on the iPad) for an upcoming trip. When i get to my destination I'll bel able to sync a different set of movies for the ride home.

 

[rigormortis]

I believe Netflix and companies like slimg do not want to enable picture in picture because it will make you binge watch even more.

 

[Jimmy James]

What I really want is offline viewing.

 

[Vashetti]

So do the quality settings relate to Wi-Fi at all?

Or as long as you're connected to Wi-Fi, and 'HD' is set, you're getting the best you can? (iPad)

 

[joueboy]

What about PIP? That stil hasn't been enabled...

Apparently the code is all there allowing PIP but they haven't enabled it... There's a jailbreak tweak I think that enables PIP for Netflix just like normal because of this.
[doublepost=1462462415][/doublepost]
YES... I really wish I had this. But having a 16GB device, wouldn't be able to fit much on my phone. Definitely doing 64GB next time around

I still don't understand why the PIP it's hard for them to implement. That was the main reason I sold my iPad Air 2. It takes forever for them integrate such feature not only Netflix. I was excited for awhile then it wears out, because I don't see any advantage over my iPhone+ except for a much bigger display. Amazon has an option of quality of download. A movie or 2 shouldn't hurt and erase it as soon as you finished. That saves you a lot of data and if you have a crappy carrier, that saves you a lot of frustration over buffering too.

 

[rfahey79]

So do the quality settings relate to Wi-Fi at all?

Or as long as you're connected to Wi-Fi, and 'HD' is set, you're getting the best you can? (iPad)

this is not a matter of getting "the best you can", though to answer your question that's what being hooked up to wifi means. What this setting will allow you to do is hard-set the quality, because as it is now LTE and 3g are all capable of "wifi" speeds, and thus able to give you the very best quality; so long as the buffer can keep up. But do you really "want" to watch a 1080p movie on a device where 480 still looks fine when that means you are only going to be able to watch 1/2 a movie or show because you ran up against your data limit?
[doublepost=1462465690][/doublepost]

[sic] That saves you a lot of data and if you have a crappy carrier, that saves you a lot of frustration over buffering too.

1000k THIS. It's so frustrating to have a carrier [verizon] who touts the best and fastest connections, only to be sitting at 5 bars of LTE and still have a video (netflix, hulu, youtube) sit at "buffering" every 3 seconds.

The latest verizon commercials crack me up, Rickey Gervais telling us that Verizon works just fine outsize of Kansas but I can tell you there's a whole quadrant of Northern CA where it doesn't.

 

[Vashetti]

this is not a matter of getting "the best you can", though to answer your question that's what being hooked up to wifi means. What this setting will allow you to do is hard-set the quality, because as it is now LTE and 3g are all capable of "wifi" speeds, and thus able to give you the very best quality; so long as the buffer can keep up. But do you really "want" to watch a 1080p movie on a device where 480 still looks fine when that means you are only going to be able to watch 1/2 a movie or show because you ran up against your data limit?

Thanks for the explanation

 

[alphaod]

This great news. I always like options.

 

[macfacts]

I still don't understand why the PIP it's hard for them to implement. That was the main reason I sold my iPad Air 2. It takes forever for them integrate such feature not only Netflix. I was excited for awhile then it wears out, because I don't see any advantage over my iPhone+ except for a much bigger display. Amazon has an option of quality of download. A movie or 2 shouldn't hurt and erase it as soon as you finished. That saves you a lot of data and if you have a crappy carrier, that saves you a lot of frustration over buffering too.

Why not ask why Apple didn't make PIP standard, not requiring extra code. Make part of the OS. Developers don't need to add extra code for "PIP" on Mac OS x or Windows. Real OSes.

 

[Smith288]

Im over here on my TMobile just chilling.

 

[QCassidy352]

So do the quality settings relate to Wi-Fi at all?

Or as long as you're connected to Wi-Fi, and 'HD' is set, you're getting the best you can? (iPad)

I'd like to be able to adjust on wifi, also. I'm often on wifi networks that are horribly slow, so it's not an issue of data caps but of the connection choking with the usual resolution at which Netflix streams.

 

[CPx]

Took them long enough.