YouTube wants you to know that if you’re experiencing playback issues, blurring video or excessive buffering, it’s probably your Internet service provider’s fault. Taking a cue from Netflix, YouTube has initiated its own Video Quality Report to let users know what type of performance they get from their ISP. YouTube initially rolled out the Video Quality Report at the end of May, along with a video explaining why YouTube-suckage is totally not YouTube’s fault. If your ISP isn’t YouTube HD Verified, it’s possible that you might see a blue banner affixed to a video letting you know why video playback is sub-optimal.
When videos blur, buffer, or won’t play altogether, YouTube is now pinning the blame on your internet service provider. “Experiencing interruptions?” reads the message in a blue bar underneath choppy video, as seen in the above screenshot. Clicking “find out why” brings you toGoogle’s new website, where it displays video playback quality for internet service providers (ISPs) in various countries. It’s like a report card for your delinquent ISP. Google, which owns YouTube, has a strong interest in deflecting blame for poor video quality. The US government is considering new “net neutrality” regulations that could affect how information, particularly data-heavy streaming video, flows through the internet. ISPs would like to see more of the responsibility placed on video services like YouTube and Netflix, which account for a growing portion of internet traffic. YouTube’s new notification is similar to one Netflix recently displayed to customers. “The Verizon network is crowded right now,” it said, for instance, when video playback was slow. Verizon called the message “deliberately misleading” andthreatened legal action. Netflix defended its finger-pointing but stopped doing it last month.