Comcast trying to ban Netflix Streaming

APreciousDragon

APreciousDragon

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I thought this would apply here, abd haven't seen it posted yet.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-green/40000-protest-comcast-att_b_789791.html

That's just one small article, but google'ing it will bring up tons of news on how Comcast is planning to block Netflix streaming (which I always use through my 360 now).

Needless to say, I'll be swapping Internet providers if they get this to go through.

Greedy, greedy company, trying to get people to only buy their movies, etc.
 
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Oh, COMCAST trying to ban Netflix Streaming! I thought it was the worst benefit concert EVER.
 
Comcast is in no way trying to block Netflix streaming. They're trying to get Level 3 to pay them for the traffic. This screams for a lawsuit.
 
Yea. I am usually very anti-cable but in this case I believe it is only fair that Netflix/Level3 help pay for the infrastructure upgrades that cable will not inevitably need for "main"streaming. With that being said, I'm sure Comcast could probably afford the upgrades themselves.

That still doesn't excuse my local cable company sending me 5 pieces of mail each week trying various different approaches to upgrades. Jesus Christ! I already give them $110/Month. One day it is "An Important Notice", another it is "Your Rewards Inside" another it is "Your Free Gift". I hate cable but it is my best choice.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']Fixed that for you, OP.

And it's not that Comcast is trying to ban Netflix, they're trying to get money out of Level 3 to pay for the traffic that will be going to their networks.

A better article about the same topic:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...ecame-a-toll-collecting-hydra-with-a-nuke.ars[/QUOTE]

Yeah, just found your link in the Netflix streaming thread (didn't even know there was one! :eek: ) when I re-searched the forums for it. :) Copy an pasted to quote you, but you beat me to it!

Thanks for the title fix!
 
[quote name='jughead']Yea. I am usually very anti-cable but in this case I believe it is only fair that Netflix/Level3 help pay for the infrastructure upgrades that cable will not inevitably need for "main"streaming. With that being said, I'm sure Comcast could probably afford the upgrades themselves.

That still doesn't excuse my local cable company sending me 5 pieces of mail each week trying various different approaches to upgrades. Jesus Christ! I already give them $110/Month. One day it is "An Important Notice", another it is "Your Rewards Inside" another it is "Your Free Gift". I hate cable but it is my best choice.[/QUOTE]


Yeah, I pay Comcast 110$ + per month ... I pay Netflix around 10$ per month. Heck, my iPhone streams Netflix at around 30$ per month for the data plan (although I know they created the data cap, for this reason).

It just seems like everyone's out to get my hard earned money because I want to relax and catch up on a tv show or movie, at my liesure! :(
 
I wish DSL could squeeze out more than 6mb/s, friend of mine just signed up for that with AT&T after months of trouble w/ Comcast (his modem would just die once very hour after they swapped cables to the house, routers, modems) and is paying something like $29.99 and is just looking to use Netflix and Hulu as well as internet content to get his fix..I pay $155 to Comcast per month for Cable/Net - sucks! but it seems if you want to go purely digital you'd want at least 10mb/s..
 
The fucking cable companies charge way too fucking much anyways, so fuck Comcast! They have the money to buy NBC, they have the money to upgrade their shit service.
 
Although I usually hate cable companies, this makes sense. Netflix is profiting at the expense of Comcast -- why wouldn't Comcast seek reimbursement?
 
[quote name='help1']Although I usually hate cable companies, this makes sense. Netflix is profiting at the expense of Comcast -- why wouldn't Comcast seek reimbursement?[/QUOTE]

On one hand I agree, but I also feel like it sets a bad precedent. What happens if say Engadget's traffic is deemed too high by their bandwidth standards and they start demanding money from them, or any other website that they decide is costing them more than others. Surely Amazon, Hulu, Google, etc.. are possibilities too.
 
Eh, Comcast/other companies can afford all sorts of upgrades, problem is they'd rather pocket the profit and not put it back into the company/consumers. There is a reason America is falling behind on technology, and shit like this is why.
 
[quote name='ssjmichael']On one hand I agree, but I also feel like it sets a bad precedent. What happens if say Engadget's traffic is deemed too high by their bandwidth standards and they start demanding money from them, or any other website that they decide is costing them more than others. Surely Amazon, Hulu, Google, etc.. are possibilities too.[/QUOTE]

I think internet usage in terms of website viewing is a given. I'd be more worried about them banning Hulu, online gaming, and VoIP.
 
[quote name='help1']I think internet usage in terms of website viewing is a given. I'd be more worried about them banning Hulu, online gaming, and VoIP.[/QUOTE]

How about this scenario for you, and remember there is no such thing as net nuetrality.
Microsoft buys comcast and bans all internet trafic to/from psn and xbox live gold members get priority queue status for their data packets. Or how about comcast sells you priority status for more money? Someone who can't afford this status is lagging while you shoot them in game.
 
Yeah, I could easily see this as the basis of thwarting Net neutrality, since they would then be able to say how much gaming uses (two people in our house game a lot), etc. It's just a very bad precedent. Plus, Hulu is another that more people are going to start using more often.

On the other hand, I do understand that Comcast (money hungry as they are) knows that streaming Netflix has cut down on the number of people who use their cable service. I, myself, am getting rid of the cable service since it's just so overpriced and I don't watch it much anyways.

Also, if Netflix is 'banned' from Comcast, I think that there will be a huge increase in video piracy for Comcast users.
 
This would just be the start of the tiered internet plans that without Net Neutrality, WILL happen. It's just a matter of time.

It'll be fun paying Time Warner for my "Gaming" internet plan if I want to use Xbox Live, Steam and WoW.
 
[quote name='help1']Although I usually hate cable companies, this makes sense. Netflix is profiting at the expense of Comcast -- why wouldn't Comcast seek reimbursement?[/QUOTE]

That is like saying GE profits at the expense of my power company when I turn on a light bulb in my own home. Comcast is selling a service to end users...if end users use that service to buy/use other services offered by other companies, it really shouldn't be Comcast role to have any opinion on this (assuming said other services are legal). Now if Comcast wants to quibble about how Netflix usage is consuming a ton of bandwidth and that's driving up costs, fine...they should then focus their complaints on network bandwidth consumption levels by end users, not the specific companies providing the services.
 
[quote name='typical guy']http://marketplace.publicradio.org/...ix-streaming-causing-bandwidth-price-dispute/

Here's the sentence of most importance (and the one that blew me away):
A recent study found that 20 percent of all the bandwidth used up on the Internet during after-dinner hours is devoted to streaming Netflix movies.

And it's really just getting started, it's practically still in it's infancy. Wait until more people start using it...[/QUOTE]That's why Level 3 is upgrading their content delivery network capacity to triple what they have now, which just was upgraded a few months ago. They need to be able to keep up with it.

Especially with Netflix moving to higher quality content, 5.1 sound, subtitles and the like, that's more information moving across the pipes.

[quote name='ssjmichael']On one hand I agree, but I also feel like it sets a bad precedent. What happens if say Engadget's traffic is deemed too high by their bandwidth standards and they start demanding money from them, or any other website that they decide is costing them more than others. Surely Amazon, Hulu, Google, etc.. are possibilities too.[/QUOTE]It's a very bad precedent, and one way I'm sure they're looking to shore up their revenue stream from decreasing cable TV subscriber customers.

[quote name='georox']Eh, Comcast/other companies can afford all sorts of upgrades, problem is they'd rather pocket the profit and not put it back into the company/consumers. There is a reason America is falling behind on technology, and shit like this is why.[/QUOTE]The issue is sometimes they go far beyond what they can for financing such upgrades, and they they have to go through bankruptcy to fix it (Charter Communications) or they just fold/get bought by larger companies that take on that debt.

They should be working to upgrade their entire infrastructure, though they DTV switchover doesn't kick them to go completely all digital until 2012, since it's much more work for cable companies to go all-digital than local TV stations. That's taking up a chunk of their money right now.

[quote name='token2k6']I wish DSL could squeeze out more than 6mb/s, friend of mine just signed up for that with AT&T after months of trouble w/ Comcast (his modem would just die once very hour after they swapped cables to the house, routers, modems) and is paying something like $29.99 and is just looking to use Netflix and Hulu as well as internet content to get his fix..I pay $155 to Comcast per month for Cable/Net - sucks! but it seems if you want to go purely digital you'd want at least 10mb/s..[/QUOTE]They do go faster with AT&T, it's just UVerse, which is ADSL2 rather than ADSL which caps out at 6MB. I went from 3MB DSL (couldn't go 6MB due to wiring issues between my house and the DSLAM) to 18MB UVerse and it's night and day difference. I could go faster with Charter, though I have more issues with cable TV on a yearly basis than I ever had with DSL or my phone line.

[quote name='Shan82']Yeah, I could easily see this as the basis of thwarting Net neutrality, since they would then be able to say how much gaming uses (two people in our house game a lot), etc. It's just a very bad precedent. Plus, Hulu is another that more people are going to start using more often.

On the other hand, I do understand that Comcast (money hungry as they are) knows that streaming Netflix has cut down on the number of people who use their cable service. I, myself, am getting rid of the cable service since it's just so overpriced and I don't watch it much anyways.

Also, if Netflix is 'banned' from Comcast, I think that there will be a huge increase in video piracy for Comcast users.[/QUOTE]Comcast is claiming that they're suffering under the load of traffic from Level 3 via Netflix, though it's a hidden agenda to cover decreasing cable subscriber and PPV numbers.

As much as I wish I could cut my ties from Charter Communications, I have a heavily vested Tivo investment that works extremely well for my environment, and UVerse won't work with Tivos, unlike Verizon's FIOS. I won't give Charter my ISP money because I don't need the possibility of usage caps, people in my shared loop dragging my bandwidth down or reliability issues.

This whole routine with Netflix streaming costs could start occurring with the broadcast and cable networks as well, since viewing TV from their respective websites is in the same scenario, and I doubt they'll let Comcast or other ISPs start dictating those terms to them.
 
You all are lucky to even have the option of Comcast. We have to have a local company, BCT. Aside from dial up we have to have them. It is almost 80 a month for shit 8mb connection that barely manages to get to 6. I WISH I could have have freakin' comcast!
 
[quote name='typical guy']http://marketplace.publicradio.org/...ix-streaming-causing-bandwidth-price-dispute/

Here's the sentence of most importance (and the one that blew me away):
A recent study found that 20 percent of all the bandwidth used up on the Internet during after-dinner hours is devoted to streaming Netflix movies.

And it's really just getting started, it's practically still in it's infancy. Wait until more people start using it...[/QUOTE]

im waiting for this story...

a recent study showed that 70 percent of all people trying to get into best buy on black friday was overweight, therefore it blocked up their doors forcing the skinny people to wait outside longer.. next year best buy will slap a 20% surcharge on to your packages if your too fat :) LOL
 
Very happy I no longer have Comcrap. Have Direcpath for internet (paid for through condo fees, so no real choice--but fine as it's been very solid) and DirecTV.

Net neutrality is something the government really needs to get moving on. ISPs should be able to do nothing but sell internet access, not limit what content subscribers can access. As much as it would suck for us, the only option that should be legal on this front is having tiered plans as I see no legal issue with charging heavy users more--just like people that go over their cell phone minutes etc.
 
If cable companies want to stop heavy bandwidth users, they should charge by the GB used instead of charging speed tiers. Just like water and electric, pay for what you use.
 
[quote name='BobaFetish']An interesting conversation nonetheless, but perhaps this doesn't belong in the "Deals" thread.[/QUOTE]

eh, with shrike's well written responses to several posts, I think its ok..plus you gotta remember, us folks over here in the movie area (which I venture to guess 85% of CAGs never even click on) are much nicer over here and don't man lending a helping hand or chatting up specific entertainment issues/advice/questions..;)

oh, and DOWN WITH COMCAST! :bomb:
 
[quote name='typical guy']http://marketplace.publicradio.org/...ix-streaming-causing-bandwidth-price-dispute/

Here's the sentence of most importance (and the one that blew me away):
A recent study found that 20 percent of all the bandwidth used up on the Internet during after-dinner hours is devoted to streaming Netflix movies.

And it's really just getting started, it's practically still in it's infancy. Wait until more people start using it...[/QUOTE]

Exactly. "Cord cutters" are are not going to get quality video on devices larger than a cell phone, and traditional delivery methods (cable, satellite, bluray) are safe.
 
[quote name='DigitalFirefly']If cable companies want to stop heavy bandwidth users, they should charge by the GB used instead of charging speed tiers. Just like water and electric, pay for what you use.[/QUOTE]

Put genies back in the bottle much? Throw the abusers off the networks, leave the rest of us alone to use the infrastructure (phones, pads, computers, internet connected devices) we've invested hundreds/thousands in that require uncapped/unmetered internet to be worth having.

"Hey Johnny, lets turn off Windows updates so we don't waste all that bandwidth--never mind we'll have a zombie computer soon enough"
 
[quote name='DigitalFirefly']If cable companies want to stop heavy bandwidth users, they should charge by the GB used instead of charging speed tiers. Just like water and electric, pay for what you use.[/QUOTE]

Time Warner tried that in Texas a year or two ago, and customers didn't like it.

I just wish people would also realize that the US has some of the worst internet speeds in the developed world, with the highest costs of access, and we aren't doing jack shit to improve it right now.
 
[quote name='turls']Exactly. "Cord cutters" are are not going to get quality video on devices larger than a cell phone, and traditional delivery methods (cable, satellite, bluray) are safe.[/QUOTE]

Define quality - I watch netflix and hulu on my 50 inch HDTV and it looks as least good as standard def. When on Netflix, it says that it is HD, but it must just barely make it. On the 360 remote, you can pull up the original size of the video and it only fills about 1/3 of the screen. Also, my over the air signal is better than the compressed signal I used to get through cable. I record it on my computer and save over $70 bucks a month. Trust me, the quality is fine on larger devices when you cut the cord.
 
[quote name='K_G']That is like saying GE profits at the expense of my power company when I turn on a light bulb in my own home. Comcast is selling a service to end users...if end users use that service to buy/use other services offered by other companies, it really shouldn't be Comcast role to have any opinion on this (assuming said other services are legal). Now if Comcast wants to quibble about how Netflix usage is consuming a ton of bandwidth and that's driving up costs, fine...they should then focus their complaints on network bandwidth consumption levels by end users, not the specific companies providing the services.[/QUOTE]

Well, this ties into my following point: I see a lot of people complaining about tiered plans, but for what reason? When I become older, I don't envision myself playing a ton of video games and pissing away hours on the internet streaming videos and frequenting online forums, so why should I be forced to pay more for internet just because you like having unlimited service?

Liken bandwidth to pizza. If I want only a slice of pizza, why should I pay the same amount as some guy who wants 5 slices?
 
[quote name='megma42']Define quality - I watch netflix and hulu on my 50 inch HDTV and it looks as least good as standard def. When on Netflix, it says that it is HD, but it must just barely make it. On the 360 remote, you can pull up the original size of the video and it only fills about 1/3 of the screen. Also, my over the air signal is better than the compressed signal I used to get through cable. I record it on my computer and save over $70 bucks a month. Trust me, the quality is fine on larger devices when you cut the cord.[/QUOTE]

More likely is that your 360 upscales the Netflix video stream to HD. I can't be sure as I don't use Netflix, but that's what it does when I stream from my computer using Windows Media Center.


[quote name='help1']Well, this ties into my following point: I see a lot of people complaining about tiered plans, but for what reason? When I become older, I don't envision myself playing a ton of video games and pissing away hours on the internet streaming videos and frequenting online forums, so why should I be forced to pay more for internet just because you like having unlimited service?

Liken bandwidth to pizza. If I want only a slice of pizza, why should I pay the same amount as some guy who wants 5 slices?[/QUOTE]

We're already overpaying for the internet that we have now, why further the problem with tiered internet?

You claim to be thinking about your future, but the future involves more and more bandwidth being used by every user, streaming video and such being more and more commonplace. Allowing providers to charge for more for higher usage means that only one entity wins: The provider.
 
[quote name='megma42']Define quality - I watch netflix and hulu on my 50 inch HDTV and it looks as least good as standard def. When on Netflix, it says that it is HD, but it must just barely make it. On the 360 remote, you can pull up the original size of the video and it only fills about 1/3 of the screen. Also, my over the air signal is better than the compressed signal I used to get through cable. I record it on my computer and save over $70 bucks a month. Trust me, the quality is fine on larger devices when you cut the cord.[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately, "standard" quality isn't "fine" now days. And why not? Why should consumers spend thousands of dollars on these intricate home theater systems, and then be forced to watch standard definition content on them? That is just plain stupid.
 
I don't really hate Comcast, but I don't like it when companies pull shit like this for the sake of a buck. It's only gonna screw them over. No Netflix on Comcast = no Comcast. People will move to other providers unless they HAVE to use Comcast and that will just end up putting them out of business.

They could and should upgrade their servers to meet with the growing demands of the internet nowadays. It's not like it takes a rocket scientist to realize that when files get bigger (SD -> HD, Xbox -> Xbox 360, etc...), the systems supporting them need to grow too. Comcast is falling behind and that's the only reason they are pulling this shit.
 
[quote name='help1']Well, this ties into my following point: I see a lot of people complaining about tiered plans, but for what reason? When I become older, I don't envision myself playing a ton of video games and pissing away hours on the internet streaming videos and frequenting online forums, so why should I be forced to pay more for internet just because you like having unlimited service?

Liken bandwidth to pizza. If I want only a slice of pizza, why should I pay the same amount as some guy who wants 5 slices?[/QUOTE]

I'd have no problem with a tiered system if I had some way to know that I wasn't getting screwed with a higher rate than is necessary, because I can only assume that previous attempts at it set rates that would come out to more profit than the original system, because that's just how corporations operate.

Comcast has always been shady as hell, never trusted them since they moved MSNBC off of their basic cable. I'd like to think there's no way they could pull this off, but anything's possible, and next on the block would be Google and Facebook I'd assume.
 
[quote name='help1']Although I usually hate cable companies, this makes sense. Netflix is profiting at the expense of Comcast -- why wouldn't Comcast seek reimbursement?[/QUOTE]

No. This is the service that Comcast's customers are already paying them for.
 
They denied this "rumor", personally i hate comcast and if i could i would cancel my service but i am one of those unfortunate suckers that can ONLY get comcast, no other broadband or DSL is available on my street which is hilarious seeing as across the street about 6 houses down a friend of mine has ATT DSL.

i have been a paying customer of comcast for damn near 10 years and i have had nothing but horrible problems ranging between price gouging, throttling and capping my speeds at less then half of what i pay for but what i can do? nothing.

when ATT, verizon or even kolodgy becomes available in my area i am going to switch and write CC a nasty email, it's bullshit what they do to their customers and they know it.. they have a monolopy on MANY people, i think its bullshit that they can cap my 12mbps at 3-4mbps and i cant do SHIT about it.
 
[quote name='help1']Although I usually hate cable companies, this makes sense. Netflix is profiting at the expense of Comcast -- why wouldn't Comcast seek reimbursement?[/QUOTE]
I believe Comcast receives that "reimbursement" in the form of an outrageous $60/month from myself and many other customers.
 
[quote name='megma42']Trust me, the quality is fine on larger devices when you cut the cord.[/QUOTE]

You missed my point. If everybody cut the cord, and everybody used Hulu and Netflix (not literally everybody, but there is a lot of room for growth), quality will go to hell because ISPs won't give you the bandwidth you need for a quality stream. The duopolies will be trying to get blood out of a turnip with increased fees, but won't actually invest in infrastructure to support this new volume of traffic.
 
[quote name='help1']Well, this ties into my following point: I see a lot of people complaining about tiered plans, but for what reason? When I become older, I don't envision myself playing a ton of video games and pissing away hours on the internet streaming videos and frequenting online forums, so why should I be forced to pay more for internet just because you like having unlimited service?

Liken bandwidth to pizza. If I want only a slice of pizza, why should I pay the same amount as some guy who wants 5 slices?[/QUOTE]
So you are fine with paying for throttled capped broadband? if you dont care for unlimited BW drop to economy plan internet, almost every single broadband/dsl offers them, i dont and most people dont care to pay 40,50,60 dollars a month for high speed internet but we expect UNLIMITED banwidth, we expect to be able to stream movies without it buffering every 3 seconds and having your ISP throttle your fucking internet.

pray at night that comcast goes bankrupt because their whole practice is shady, they thrive on screwing over their customers, i worked tech support for comcast for 5 years and i cant begin to tell you how many people have been screwed by capping and throttling and how we monitor what you do.

i had to deal with thousands of people a month just because the company decided they will charge for services the consumer DIDNT have.

comcast is shitty, tiered plans are fine and work when its ran by a company who gives 1/100th of a shit about their customers and maybe if they do ban netflix it will cause millions to drop off the service, maybe this is something that does need to happen and maybe it will kick comcast in the face and make them realize their practice is shitty and it needs to change.
 
I never hear good things about comcast.

I thought I was paying a bit much but seems like it's not too bad comparing it to some others. I'm with cablevision at 50/month.
 
[quote name='styl3s']They denied this "rumor", personally i hate comcast and if i could i would cancel my service but i am one of those unfortunate suckers that can ONLY get comcast, no other broadband or DSL is available on my street which is hilarious seeing as across the street about 6 houses down a friend of mine has ATT DSL.

i have been a paying customer of comcast for damn near 10 years and i have had nothing but horrible problems ranging between price gouging, throttling and capping my speeds at less then half of what i pay for but what i can do? nothing.

when ATT, verizon or even kolodgy becomes available in my area i am going to switch and write CC a nasty email, it's bullshit what they do to their customers and they know it.. they have a monolopy on MANY people, i think its bullshit that they can cap my 12mbps at 3-4mbps and i cant do SHIT about it.[/QUOTE]

Be thankful you get 3-4MB capped. I pay Metrocast $55 a month for 7MB download and used to get it, now I'm lucky at night to get 1MB down. It's usually .40MB down. It's AWFUL.
 
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