Pay to Play Smoothly: Netflix, Time Warner reach agreement to raise speeds

By Mike Flacy August 19, 2014

time-warner-cable — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Becoming the last of the big four Internet service providers in the United States to cut a deal with Netflix, Time Warner confirmed today that the company has reached a paid peering agreement with the streaming media company. While the details of the deal were finalized during June, the actual upgrades have started rolling out this month. This means Time Warner Cable customers will soon see a difference in the average streaming speed when watching television shows and movies on Netflix. This change was first noticed by Gigaom when viewing the traceroute of a Netflix data signal. That signal when directly to Time Warner data centers rather than the older, slower route.

While Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is vehemently opposed to these interconnection fees, Netflix has relented over the last several months inking deals with Comcast, Verizon and AT&T. When looking at the Netflix Speed Index, average streaming speeds for Time Warner customers weren’t as awful as Comcast prior to that interconnection deal. However, it appears as if average Netflix streaming speeds for Time Warner customers dropped by about 15 percent as the new deal was being signed in June. Since the Comcast deal, the average streaming speed has nearly doubled since an all time low of 1.51MBS during January 2014.

How-to-test-your-Netflix-speed — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Interestingly, companies like Comcast and Time Warner have been extremely slow to put together this type of deal to the detriment of subscribers. In addition, Verizon has still been having difficulties raising speeds despite the deal in place to directly connect with Netflix servers.

Alternatively, companies like Cox and Cablevision have done nothing but flourish as early partners with Netflix. Average streaming speeds started strong and have only improved over time to averaging more than 3MBS as of late. Of course, Google Fiber continues to dominate all other U.S. companies on the list when it comes to speed. However, the small footprint of Google Fiber within the U.S. hasn’t allowed many Netflix subscribers to take advantage of those fast streaming speeds.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Contributing Editor

By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…

Audio / Video

Tivoli Audio’s Model Two Digital speaker abandons terrestrial radio

The Tivoli Audio Model Two Digital in white.

Tivoli Audio's new tabletop radio isn't a radio at all. The Model Two Digital ($449) works with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and has a sleek new design that can be positioned horizontally or vertically. It eliminates the Model One Digital's oversized dial and screen in favor of a much simpler, single knob that does triple duty as the control for power, source selection, and volume. It also lacks an AM or FM tuner, making it the first Tivoli Audio "Model" series tabletop product to lack a terrestrial radio feature. The Model Two Digital is available for preorder starting September 19 and is expected to ship in November.

Tivoli Audio says the Model Two Digital, which is available in three color combos (walnut/gold, white/silver, and black/black), will appeal to the person that loves streaming and isn’t concerned about a traditional FM/AM radio feature because they can access their favorite terrestrial stations via apps like TuneIn. This effectively makes the Model Two Digital a wireless speaker.

Audio / Video

What is MQA? The controversial digital audio format fully explained

When it comes to discussions of digital audio, you'll quickly run into an alphabet soup of acronyms: MP3, AAC, ALAC, FLAC, WAV, DSD, and so on. It's practically endless.

You'd think that with this many digital audio file types, we wouldn't need yet another. However, there is one more digital audio file you need to know about. It's called MQA.

Audio / Video

AirPods and Samsung Galaxy Buds are both on sale today

samsung galaxy buds 2 pro review 5

Amazon has some great headphone deals going on with discounts on the Apple AirPods (2nd generation) and the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 2. Whichever company you favor, you can save plenty of money by buying today. You'll be enjoying great sound quality while you're on the move in no time. If that sounds appealing, keep reading to see what both earbuds offer.
Apple AirPods (2nd generation) -- $99, was $129

The Apple AirPods (2nd generation) may not be the latest AirPods anymore, but they're still pretty good for the price. They take seconds to set up with your iPhone before offering plenty of useful features. For instance, they have in-ear detection, and you can automatically switch between different Apple devices. It's also possible to easily share audio between two sets of AirPods on your Apple devices, while Siri is a 'Hey Siri' away at all times. Battery life is also pretty good for the price with up to five hours of listening time on one charge and up to 24 hours once you factor in the charging case. These AirPods may not be as stylish as newer models but you still get all the useful benefits you'd expect from an Apple product. The longer build means room for onboard controls too, which is handy if you don't want to purely rely on Siri support.