Netflix is re-encoding its entire library to save data ~ 101feeds

Netflix is the single largest source of broadband data usage in the U.S. Evidently, it's not a superlative the company is proud of.

Currently, it's intelligently re-encoding its entire catalog in an attempt to cut data usage by 20 percent, Variety reports. It began the project in 2011 and has worked with university researchers to automate the process.

When first establishing its streaming video service, Netflix's video algorithms team established a number of encoding levels based on users' internet speeds. This meant that HD copies of My Little Pony and The Avengers were encoded at the same bitrate, something the video algorithms team realized didn't make sense. Read more...

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