Google made its “Google Video Quality Report” public to let the users see whether their ISPs are “HD Verified,” that signifies whether a provider can “consistently deliver HD video, at least 720p resolution, without buffering or interruptions.”
To become “HD Verified,” an ISP has to be able to show HD for more than 90 percent of streams over the last 30 days.
It also displays nifty graphs showing an average day and show when video consumption and quality peak each day.
The report follows the footsteps of the ISP Speed Index by Netflix, which collects data and tracks ISPs across 20 countries.
“Nothing ruins the experience of watching a YouTube video like Magic of Rahat more than seeing the dreaded buffering wheel, which is why we’re always working to make videos play smoothly in the best quality possible,” YouTube product manager Jay Akkad said in a post on Google’s blog. “And when you can’t see what you want, when you want, it’s important you know why.”
After acquiring YouTube, Google began collecting the information of the quality of its users’ broadband Internet connections.
The number of HD Verified providers in major cities is sedating. In Boston, for example, four of seven ISPs received the classification: Verizon FiOS (NYSE: VZ), Norwood Light Broadband, RCN Corp. and USAi.net. Three other ISPs–AT&T (NYSE: T) (which doesn’t offer U-verse in the area), Windstream and most damning, Comcast’s (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Xfinity service–received only a Standard Definition rating. Verizon DSL services and “other” Verizon services also landed squarely in the SD category.
Google has utilized information supplied by cable operators, telcos and other broadband service providers from all over the country, amounting to thousands of ISPs and billions of YouTube streams.
