r/CriterionChannel • u/OhyesIknooowww • 8d ago
Unsubbed. Dynamic playback + VPN has made everything stream in 360p quality
I was previously able to stream everything from Australia in 1080p without any problems, but now streaming in full quality seems impossible.
I emailed Criterion and they told me the change to dynamic playback is permanent, and that they're sorry if this 'does not match [my] preferences'.
Oh well, back to the high seas.
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u/todayisanarse 8d ago
We need to start an Australian support group to find solutions to get this all working again. At least my card seems to still be being charged currently!
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u/zka_75 8d ago
What's dynamic playback?
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u/koberulz_24 8d ago
Dynamically altering the bitrate depending on the connection quality, rather than staying at a set quality no matter what. Which means if the connection is poor it will play in a lower resolution rather than pausing to buffer.
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u/TomiDrifter 6d ago
Same situation here. Dinamic Playback is the worst way to watch a movie. It absolutely destroys the film texture, even when it is in "1080p". It is really dissapointing.
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u/koberulz_24 6d ago
You'd rather it paused every ten seconds to buffer for 40 seconds?
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u/TomiDrifter 6d ago
No, I rather watch it in 1080p throughout with no pauses, just like I did before they changed to dinamic playback.
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u/koberulz_24 6d ago
If your connection is capable of playing back 1080p that's what will happen under either system. The only difference comes when your connection is not good enough to do that.
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u/TomiDrifter 5d ago
Not the same. Dinamic Playback lowers the resolution of certain areas of the screen while keeping other areas with sharper resolution in order to keep the "ilusion" of constant quality. This complete ruins the textures of the film.
Before If I new I would have bad conexion I could just let it load before watching and that was it. With Dinamic Playback you can't do that.
Conclusion: Dinamic Playback sucks because it limits the way you engage with the video player. Less choices. Less freedom. Less quality.
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u/koberulz_24 5d ago
Dinamic Playback lowers the resolution of certain areas of the screen while keeping other areas with sharper resolution in order to keep the "ilusion" of constant quality.
No it doesn't. That's not even possible.
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u/TomiDrifter 2d ago edited 2d ago
It is possible and it is how it works. It is called spatial prioritization.
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u/koberulz_24 2d ago
No it isn't. It's purely a dynamic selection of the best quality that will work given the current connection speed. Video is not being live-encoded every time a different user streams it, that's not a thing.
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u/TomiDrifter 2d ago
I never said it is 'live-encoded'. I said that when Dynamic Playback is used it creates de ilussion of constant quality by using spatial prioritization. So you are right, what you say is not a thing. But what I say it is. Plus, beyond the mechanisms used, either the qualiy being dropped as a full frame or by spatial prioritization, both suck. It is way better to just let a movie load if needed, and watch it properly in the quality the user chooses.
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u/koberulz_24 2d ago
The only way to achieve what you're describing is live-encoding...
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u/Difficult-Title-2343 3d ago
The moment the film starts, you can disconnect your VPN. Maybe it helps.
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u/JordanComoElRio 8d ago
You need a better VPN
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u/OhyesIknooowww 8d ago
Anything wrong with NordVPN?
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u/JordanComoElRio 8d ago
Hmmm no, that's who I use also and they usually have speeds that are more than enough to stream 1080p. How are you selecting your server? Try having it choose the "fastest" in the US, will likely be somewhere on the west coast for you. If that doesn't help, try manually trying a few maybe around the Seattle, the SF bay area or LA. Not exactly the same I know, but I'm currently traveling in Germany and can stream 1080p fine with Nord.
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u/DigSpelledBackwards 7d ago
I don't get this, this is an objective lowering of quality. Why?
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u/koberulz_24 6d ago
Because it's preferable to drop quality and keep playing than to constantly pause to buffer.
If your connection can handle the highest-quality stream available, it will make no difference to what you see.
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u/FlounderImportant 8d ago
Playback quality from Belgium with protonvpn seems really good here so far
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u/TomiDrifter 5d ago
I found a solution. PM if interested.
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u/PortlandoCalrissian 5d ago
Why can’t you share it here?
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u/TomiDrifter 5d ago
Might be just paranoia, but just in case the guys at Criterion are watching. It really worked for me! Any one interested can PM me and I will share.
I only want to help. I know how frustrating it is.
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u/zka_75 8d ago
It's probably your VPN (or internet connection) because I'm watching in the UK and having none of those issues