Does your Netflix stream instantly start at 1080p or does it stagger to 1080p?

[avg123]

The moment I start a Netflix episode, it starts at 480p for a few seconds then goes to 720p for a few seconds and finally settles into 1080p. After that it stays at 1080p for the whole show, even if I skip to different parts. 

 

My speed is 20mbps, well beyond what is required for 1080p, so why does the stream start at 480p? Youtube always starts at 1080p.

 

Does anyone else have this problem?

[Spotty]

Starts out at a lower resolution during the first few seconds then moves on to higher resolution. It allows time for it to buffer ahead while still maintaining an instant feel when you click the play button. Honestly it doesn't matter cause it's only while it's showing the Netflix or other studio logo. By the time the actual movie starts it's at 1080p.
I'm on 50mbps.

[DrMacintosh]

Depends on what I'm watching on. 

 

Mobile? Might struggle for a second or two depending on my connection. 

 

MacBook and PC streaming is always at 1080p right off the bat though. 

[Froody129]

On the Chromecast it takes a minute or two but the Apple TV is a few seconds. I have a 100 down connection 

[avg123]

3 minutes ago, Froody129 said:

On the Chromecast it takes a minute or two but the Apple TV is a few seconds. I have a 100 down connection 

I actually asked Netflix support, and they said when starting a video, Netflix completely disregards any concern for quality. Its only priority is starting the video instantly, and not stopping the video to buffer at any moment. So Netflix is very aggressive in lowering video quality if it senses the stream will stop to buffer. The problem is Netflix also takes a long time to increase the resolution once it realizes enough data has been buffered to play smoothly. Hence it takes some time to get to full resolution.

[Mr.Meerkat]

Sounds like amazon video, for the first couple of seconds, it streams at 240p then jumps upto 720/1080p after a couple of seconds. 

[garyhogan1991]

Sometimes mine can stagger up for a good few minutes. The first 30 seconds can be horrible.

[avg123]

22 minutes ago, garyhogan1991 said:

Sometimes mine can stagger up for a good few minutes. The first 30 seconds can be horrible.

What is your internet speed? I have 20mbps connection and it takes 40-60 seconds to get to 1080p. It is stuck at 720p most of the time.

 

A little trick I have figured out is that after a 10-20 secs if you skip ahead to the middle of the episode and then immediately drag it back to where you were, it will start playing at 1080p

[garyhogan1991]

Mines 350mbps, its pretty quick.

 

I sometimes just pause it and let it off then and it ends up fine.