Get the most out of Netflix with these tools -- while you still can

   

We've heard your complaint: you can't find anything to watch on Netflix. Despite all the A/B testing, app updates and data Netflix is measuring behind the scenes, the way it presents the library makes it nearly impossible to see everything that's available to watch, and sometimes you want to do the choosing instead of letting an algorithm or hired gun do the work. The good news is there are a ton of different ways to sort through the pile -- or ditch sorting for the bliss of random selection -- but the bad news is that some of them will be going away soon (more on that in a minute). If you're not already taking advantage of third party tools like InstantWatcher to dive deep into the catalog, we're here to explain why you should be.

Verizon caught throttling Netflix traffic even after its pays for more bandwidth

   

Netflix has recently begun paying both Comcast and Verizon to improve network performance and carry its video streams at higher bandwidths, but so far only Comcast has reciprocated with better service. Not only has Verizon’s performance become dramatically worse, the company has continued to try and foist the blame for the problem on Netflix, claiming that the online streaming giant is deliberately degrading performance by attempting to stuff data down specific congested Verizon pipes.

Unfortunately, a growing body of evidence suggests this isn’t true. Verizon claims that Netflix “chose to attempt to deliver that traffic to Verizon through a few third-party transit providers with limited capacity over connections specifically to be used only for balanced traffic flows.” Yesterday, backbone provider Level 3 posted a response to Verizon’s claims, noting that in Los Angeles, the peering between Verizon and Level 3 is literally accomplished by connecting four 10 GigE ports between a pair of routers. What does that connection look like?

Level 3′s discussion of the problem. See an issue?

Why, it looks like that. Note that there are four 10 GigE ports sitting unused on the Verizon side.

But the Verizon diagram, shown below, shows more than just plenty of unused capacity on Verizon’s network — it also shows that the bandwidth providers Netflix doesn’t use have plenty of extra bandwidth. Verizon tries to claim this is because Netflix has chosen not to spread the load, but given that the company built its own CDN (content delivery network), that doesn’t wash. What Level 3′s response makes clear is that Verizon is preferentially refusing to enable the links that would allow for better service quality, despite being paid to do so.

The world according to Verizon. Note the red bar.

Frustrated FiOS customer installs VPN, sees performance surge

One Verizon customer paying for 75Mbps FiOS became frustrated and switched to a VPNprovider to test whether or not the problem was on Verizon’s end. The result? A colossal surge in overall performance delivered courtesy of adding further network overhead.

As the author notes, his initial performance using FiOS to stream Netflix without the VPN was 375Kbps. When he switched to a VPN, his performance jumped from 375Kbps to 3000Kbps — the maximum Netflix allows.

It’s important to note that there are two possible explanations for this behavior. The first is that Level 3 and Netflix are right, and that Verizon is refusing to install the equipment that would allow for better streaming performance. The second is that Verizon is right and by using a VPN, its own FiOS customer is routing traffic through ports and connections that aren’t reserved for Netflix. Since those services have much more available bandwidth, the VPN’s performance speeds up.

There are two major problems with this explanation that make it more likely that Level 3 and Netflix are telling the truth. First, there’s the fact that Verizon has a major conflict of interest — it sells its own video-on-demand and pay-per-view channels, whereas Netflix doesn’t. Arguing that Netflix hurts its own performance to make Verizon look bad when Netflix customers will cancel in retaliation is stupid; Netflix has no way to turn unhappy subscribers into premium-tier customers that pay it for better service.

Second is the law of parsimony. Verizon is trying to argue that Netflix’s preferential use of inadequate third parties produces problems. Level 3, which carries a great deal of Netflix’s traffic, straightforwardly notes that the reason Verizon’s links are all saturated at 100% is because Verizon literally won’t hook up the router. The simplest explanation isn’t always the correct one, but consider the source. One company — it rhymes with “Horizon” — has been acting in profound bad faith in multiple contexts. It failed to build out promised networks in New York and New Jersey, tore out copper wiring, fired the employees capable of maintaining that wiring, and waged a war against net neutrality already that culminated in killing the FCC’s original plan.

The other company sells access to movies and video online and depends on bandwidth and high performance networks for its business model. You decide.

Netflix already stopped mailing DVDs on Saturdays, but you probably didn't notice

   

The USPS may not have gone forward with its plans to kill Saturday mail delivery, but Netflix isn't waiting. A few customers have noticed it's no longer processing shipments on Saturdays, opting for a five day schedule instead. Company spokesman Joris Evers tells Engadget that it's been transitioning in that direction over the past year and ended Saturday processing (usually a low volume day) entirely in early June. Longtime subscribers may remember that originally Netflix was a five day operation, and it only shipped or received DVDs and Blu-ray discs on the weekend over the past five years. These days, most of us are streaming so with all those options there's less pressure to get an item in the mail, but of course not everyone is happy. When weekend mail delivery came close to ending last year (various government committees have opted to keep it going), an AParticle noted that it could actually save Netflix money by reducing the number of deliveries for heavy users -- because of its flat rate, they're actually less profitable. Now that competitors like Blockbuster are out of the way, there aren't many other options which is probably also a factor. Of course, we can't blame Saturday deliveries (or the lack thereof) for this Hot Rod DVD that's been sitting on the coffee table for as long as we can remember.

Netflix is testing a private mode that keeps your watching habits under wraps

   

If you've ever wanted to keep those embarrassing Netflix choices from family members or your social-networking pals, you might soon be in luck. According to the folks over at Gigaom, the streaming subscription service is currently testing a "Privacy Mode." This means that viewed titles won't appear in that Recently Viewed section on the main screen and they also won't factor into future recommendations. Select users across all of the company's locales are privy to the feature as part of the trial. Of course, there's a chance that it may never become a staple in the settings menu -- that's dependent on the results of the experiment.