Why Netflix use TCP instead of UDP?

[ankitohc]

What we have learned when it comes to live online-steaming. It should be UDP not TCP but how netflix use TCP.

Can anyone example? 

[MHM Cisco World]

TCP more reliable than UDP.

[Flavio Miranda]

Hi @ankitohc 

"Netflix uses TCP because TCP is much time-sensitive and does not require port forwarding. It helps to enable the full bandwidth of the network. We can compress more data at once in TCP and also reloaded data packets do not pose a problem. It also ensures higher video quality and fewer network congestion problems. TCP reduces buffering and Real-time streaming problems using an end-to-end connection. Online streaming services like Netflix focus on pre-fetching and buffering even before viewers watch it. TCP’s online congestion control tries to divert traffic by creating different links at the same time. It also ensures error recovery and problem identification in case of malware or failure by retransmission of data packets. The most important reason for using TCP is that it is very easy to monitor the bandwidth between the source and receiver and adapt the video quality of the streaming shows according to that."

[Joseph W. Doherty]

Where did you learn that?

Much depends on whether such on-line steaming is real-time (e.g. video conferencing) or not (e.g. Netflix).

For buffered streaming (e.g. Netflix), i.e. not real time, using TCP, or another steaming protocol (e.g. RTSP), which in turn uses TCP, TCP is likely a better choice.

Possibly helpful: https://www.speedguide.net/faq/tcp-or-udp-for-streaming-501