Netflix Is Still Degrading HD Video Quality Across Europe, Angering Some Users

Almost two months ago, Netflix said it would reduce video bit rates for 30 days in Europe, aiming to reduce bandwidth consumed by customers by 25% during the COVID-19 crisis. It has now been 55 days since that announcement — and Netflix customers in Europe and the UK say the streamer is still delivering throttled HD and Ultra HD video, in some cases with bit rates at less than 50% usual. They say that has caused noticeable degradation of image quality, including blurring and pixelation, especially on bigger TV screen sizes. The reason some Netflix members are irritated about the situation is that — in addition to only being able to access sub-optimal video quality — the company charges different rates depending on video quality. The entry-level Basic plan offers SD-only streaming; the two-stream Standard tier provides HD quality; and the four-stream Premium plan offers up to Ultra HD for select content.