The State of HD Video Viewing in America

You might have seen the broadband deployment map released by the FCC:

We like this map and think it has good information to offer, but it’s all based on speeds reported by providers — speeds that are pretty much hypothetical, not delving into the reality of what users actually experience while trying to stream video content. We were curious to see how these broadband speeds compared to the values we record when viewers access Wistia-hosted videos. So, we compiled a comprehensive report on how download speeds actually play out across the U.S. from our data.. We’re happy to offer a download of the full .PDF report here. A few highlights:

• Download speed isn’t a fixed value determined by your connection; other factors like shared connections, usage, and throttling come into play
• 20% of viewers in the U.S. are not capable of seamlessly streaming HD content.
• When someone’s connection is incapable of streaming HD, the video buffers — and when the video buffers, 80% of people stop watching.
• It’s not just people in remote or rural locations who might have issues streaming HD content. People in business, in government, and at large organizations have trouble, too.

Download the Full Report

Wistia Has Your Back

For those intimidated by all of this or if it seems like a lot to deal with, that’s why we’re around - we think about these things so you don’t have to! To see how we’ve handled this problem, learn more about how Wistia Auto HD works.