Coronavirus: Facebook Reduces Video Quality To Tackle High Demand
Facebook has announced that it will lower bitrates for video in India and other countries
advertisement
Facebook, on Tuesday, 24 March, announced that it will be reducing bitrates for videos on its platform as internet usage has surged “to levels never seen before” amid the coronavirus crisis. This decision comes in the wake of people around the world practicing social distancing, quarantine and millions working from home.
As the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced people across the world to stay indoors, the usage of internet, especially video consumption on streaming platforms as well as social media hubs like Facebook and YouTube, has seen an intense surge.
Describing the load on internet infrastructure as “unprecedented”, the Menlo Park-based company said it is reducing bitrates for videos on Facebook and Instagram in India, Europe and Latin America during this period of peak demand. This is being done in an effort to conserve the bandwidth.
Bitrate means number of bits per second and it determines the size and quality of video and audio files. In general, a higher bitrate will accommodate higher image quality in the video output. Therefore, a lower bitrate will essentially mean lower quality of streamed videos and images.
Facebook said the step is being taken to help users and community handle bandwidth constraints and keep people in touch.
“We are committed to working with our partners to manage any bandwidth constraints during this period of heavy demand, while also ensuring people are able to remain connected using Facebook apps and services during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Facebook spokesperson added.
Popular streaming giants like Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video have also confirmed they will be reducing streaming quality for their users in India.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)