Streaming video over the web has increasingly become the way that we watch television and Google wants all of us to know which ISPs are delivering good video streaming and which are falling on their faces. The Financial Post reports that Google has started rolling out a new tool in Canada that will track and grade ISPs’ performance with playing YouTube videos in either standard-definition or high-definition. ISPs that can deliver videos in resolutions of 720p or higher 90% of the time will get a “YouTube HD Verified” rating while ISPs that can deliver videos between 360p and 720p will get a “YouTube Standard Definition Verified.”
Google isn’t the first company to rate ISPs on their video streaming quality, of course. Netflix puts out regular reports about ISP streaming quality on a regular basis that have traditionally shown Google’s own Google Fiber network and Verizon’s FiOS network deliver the best video streaming of any other ISPs.
The Financial Post says that Canada will be the first country to have access to the Google Video Quality Report but you can bet that Google will start rolling out the service to more countries as soon as it can.
