How Nebula Works

Given my IT background, nothing in this video really surprised me, but I love the openness and honesty. This sort of customer-relationship should be rewarded.

[@Decton]

rewarded? their reward is people giving them money

@@Decton That is what I meant, rewarded with business.

@@dosmastrify Having a bad day? I am giving my perspective, which is that this great breakdown of how content is distributed and load-balanced may be somewhat mind-blowing to the uninitiated, but what really appealed to me was the candor.

[@Kaede-Sasaki]

Why does API and other architectures even need to be (re)built? Isn't that the equivalent of reinventing the wheel? Shouldn't there be ready-made APIs and architectures you could buy (physical analogy: you COULD build your own office and install the plumbing, or you could rent/buy an office with the plumbing already done).

[@pyqio]

​@@Kaede-Sasaki It might seem like reinventing the wheel, but there are several reasons why APIs and architectures are (re)built rather than universally bought or adopted as-is. - Customization: Every system or application has its unique requirements. - Scalability and Performance: Tailoring APIs and architectures allows developers to optimize for performance and scalability. Generic solutions might not efficiently handle a project's growth or might have unnecessary features that impact performance. - Security and Compliance: Building APIs and architectures in-house allows for tighter control over security measures and ensures compliance with industry standards and regulations. You don't have to depend on other companies and, therefore, others' mistakes. - Innovation: Developing custom APIs or architectures enables companies to innovate and create unique features or services. These are the main ones that come to my mind. I'm sure that there are dozens of others. Just like how some businesses prefer custom-built offices to suit their needs perfectly, many developers and companies opt to create or modify APIs and architectures to precisely fit their requirements rather than relying solely on off-the-shelf solutions. Some companies need one room, and others an entire building.

[@emanuelescarsella3124]

As a software engineer I really liked the key points you choose about this topic, you kept it superficial enough to be understandable for everybody but still very accurate and comprehensive. I also especially liked the transparency you had about AWS bills and active users numbers, many companies tend to keep that information secret to avoid revealing how little of their expenses actually goes to the physical infrastructure but you instead choose to point out how the real cost of such a business is software development, testing and the whole IT team. Good job 🥰👍🏻

[@Predator4737]

You write like AI

[@emanuelescarsella3124]

@@Predator4737 honestly, I don't think that any real human would read a comment about the frustration of not foundation good sources for Cloud expenses and think "oh, it looks like AI to me"... Especially when the """person""" who thinks that has a suspiciously autogenerated meme like "Predator4737" and a comment so generic that is probably being spammed everywhere just to make people react with another comment like this... Yo're SUS bro 🙂‍↔️

[@MascletaTheFirst]

This kind of transparency and customer focused business ventures is always a nice breath of fresh air.

[@jamessimon3433]

For those of us in our 40s, the existence of ubiquitous high quality streaming is nothing short of miraculous

[@Planag7]

I'm not quite in my 40s yet but goodness I remember those horrible days of downloading 20 MB Real player files lol Funny enough I actually found a few on an old hard drive. Quality was terrible

[@kalrandom7387]

Try being over 50, I grew up with 3 channels, streaming is nothing short of magic.

[@lutello3012]

I'm amazed they can host so much at even 240p.

[@toxicity4818]

Shoot I'm 27 and even I remember it evolving so fast in the early 2000's. I got into computers when I was about 5, so 2001, and vividly remember the days of still using late 80's/early 90's tech.

[@patrickjordan2233]

I'm about 60? My senior HS year our school got 2 stations of Apple II's.. Then "MS DOS" prompts, baby! (Egad, I'm old...😂🤣😂🤣)

[@hithere-cz4oc]

Hi! I’m an engineer at Meta and I work on the reverse / forward proxy (and some other supporting infra). Great video! The scale really is mind-boggling, including the physical infrastructure, the gigantic pieces of software orchestrated together, the fault-tolerance (and the speeds at which the global network shifts when things break in certain areas), the number of different clients implemented in different languages, the number of attack vectors we have to defend both proactively and reactively, and honestly just the sheer volume of traffic. If you ever don’t know what to do in engineering, get into network engineering!

[@kb037]

Network Engineering is the best! Standardized protocols and RFCs >>> random software.

[@RaymondZhu021296]

Hello! I’m also at Meta. Production engineering in core systems. Our global Infra is truly miraculous in how it manages to work at all

[@JonahNelson7]

Please quit Meta to stop contributing to that freaking company

[@hithere-cz4oc]

@@JonahNelson7 lol

[@Kaede-Sasaki]

Maybe I could ask you, iydm: Why does API and other architectures even need to be (re)built? Isn't that the equivalent of reinventing the wheel? Shouldn't there be ready-made APIs and architectures you could buy (physical analogy: you COULD build your own office and install the plumbing, or you could rent/buy an office with the plumbing already done).

[@mahqueen253]

Ayo? Im on my phone on the toilet rn 😭 why u gotta attack me like that not even 30 secs into the vid 😭

[@nursestoyland]

dang

[@Idk-ys7rt]

You saved me, thank you 😂

[@anitahk787]

You are not alone. #toiletbuddies

[@IKKAIWINS]

Ye same here...

[@MELOMOKOTOGULU]

That was required an android to Pluto dwarft planet 😂

[@DomyTheMad420]

if this was released by anyone but my single favorite engineering channel I wouldn't have even clicked on it.

[@zukacs]

wendover has rly good video on nebula too

[@toxicity4818]

Same

[@T.E.S.S.]

you seem to mean that as a compliment but it really isn't

[@JohnnyWednesday]

@Tonysopranoyafinook - Agreed. B1M is the best!

[@nishant54]

​@Tonysopranoyafinook😂😂

[@carpeinferi]

I have got to applaud you (and your team) on explaining this subject in an easily understood manner for the layman while still keeping the technical aspects correct; so often see accuracy suffer for sake of a lowest common denominator explanation.

[@richardjones38]

It's amazing that a bunch of KZbinrs have been able to put all this together. Keep up the good work. I signed up to Nebula via Curiosity Stream, but find I watch far more from Nebula. It's where the good stuff is!

[@RealEngineering]

The bundle is ending at the end of this year FYI. You should switch to direct nebula.tv/unbundle

[@OfficialSamuelC]

Would've though existing bundle subscribers would've got a better deal than everyone else for some loyalty.@@RealEngineering

[@ZetaPyro]

@@RealEngineering Huh! This is the first I'm hearing about that. I've had the CS bundle since April 2021 and didn't feel the need to ever change anything about that. Guess it's time to upgrade to the Lifetime Subscription now.

[@dsofe4879]

​@@RealEngineeringWait, that bundle expires? Why am I first learning about this here, I can't find any info about the bundle ending on my Curiositystream or Nebula account...?

[@AlteryxGaming]

A bunch of other Nebula ads Ive seen have mentioned that the bundle is ending. Curiosity Stream has announced that in 2024 they won’t share/pay the bundle revenue, so Nebula has decided to end the deal so they can get their fair share from subscribers

[@wesleykirkland7150]

Brian, this was very great! I'm a Devops Engineer at a global streaming company and a lot of this was VERY spot on. I'm surprised you we're able to go into this level of detail. I really liked your example of LG WebOs apps as I've had inquiries at work that I was reminded of when you mentioned it.

[@Showman0010]

This is the best engineering channel. You explain anything and everything with pictures and animations. In addition, if someone doesn't know anything about that topic, that person would still understand it. That happened to me all the time. Thanks

[@theAessaya]

"Developer Operations" has caught me off-guard, lol. As someone in the tech space adjacent to Nebula's this is the first time I've heard someone refer to DevOps by the full term in years 😂 Great video, thanks for the explanations :)

[@Blex_040]

Yeah, as someone who has worked as a DevOps Engineer, Site Reliability Engineer and a Cloud Operator (all jobs in the DevOps field that more or less do the same stuff - bridging the gap between software development and cloud operations), I think he did a good job of saying it that way because it's hard to summarize^^ I took part in around 40-50 job interviews on the company side and my absolute favorite question to ask is "What is DevOps?" because it's amazing how wildly different answers you get even from professionals. From a job title to a dedicated team over a position in a team and a mindset to a set of principles, I've heard them all and all of them have some truths to it (though some more than others IMO) because companies use DevOps as a buzz word like they did with agile for the last 20 years

[@Ddub1083]

heh they arent developers... when youre paying outside engineers to build your product for you, they use full words, makes it seem like youre getting more haha

[@barneylaurance1865]

No-one knows what DevOps is. But in one theory it's a cultural movement about software development people and and software operation people working closely together - not a job, not something called developer operations.

[@uftv]

Audience matters 😀

[@Andrei5656]

Same here. It's like when your wife calls you by your full name. It's technically correct but... You're in trouble.

[@altertopias]

Someone give the person who wrote this script a raise. Clear, interesting, and enticing. Love to see it.

[@gosnooky]

I'm a software engineer in the video space as well (live HLS streaming), so it was fun to watch how someone else explains how all this works. As a Nebula subscriber in Cambodia, I'm thankful your CDN network grew because when I first signed up, videos were slow and always buffered and dropped down to 480p and I thought about not renewing, but this isn't the case anymore. I'm very satisfied with the service overall.

[@minxythemerciless]

The modems described did not use simple amplitude modulation - that was 1960s technology. the 56K modems used complex phase amplitude modulation to get a very high bit rate through 3 kHz bandwith phone line. Similar techniques are used on cable modems and digital TV broadcasts

[@thebamplayer]

It's a lot crazier that VDSL sends signals with a frequency of a few million hertz over a telephone line, which was designed to only send signals with a few thousand hertz.

[@jamesphillips2285]

@@thebamplayer They actually use frequency division multiplexing. They create a bunch of 64kbps channels. If some have bad quality: it is no big deal.

[@thebamplayer]

@jamesphillips2285 Changes nothing about the fact that VDSL uses a frequency of 17 mhz.

[@michaellinehan710]

Shia LaWoof confirmed to be the real MVP of Nebula

[@Nixontheman]

The success of Nebula is built upon trust, the customers feel the respect and repay it with trust. This is priceless and must be maintained. Thanks guys, great job

[@3ffrige]

As a Professional Services Engineer with Keysight, I work with test equipment that emulates these video streams over a stand alone or non-stand alone 5G core network, and the way HLS/QUIC protocol stack works amazes me. The neatest thing that HLS/QUIC does is adaptive bit rate streaming. When you initially start a stream on whatever streaming platform, you may notice low video quality, then after a while, it improves and goes to high resolution. Or in the middle of a stream, quality with the network degrades, then you see the picture goes from HD to low res, then improve after a while. I can’t get my head wrapped around that. I mean I know how the function works in the sense on configuring the video stream on the Keysight test platform, configure multiple HLS streams in the tool so the streams can upshift and downshift as needed based on network conditions. I also configure a network impairment emulator to simulate degradations in the network to force the streams to downshift and upshift. How in the world. How does it know when to upshift or downshift the stream rate? It’s either f@cking magic or that God moves in mysterious ways.

[@punditgi]

I work for a major high tech firm offering cloud services and I love the explanations in this video. I also like seeing the guy whose voice I've come to know and love. All the best to Nebula! ❤🎉😊

[@Blex_040]

Then you might like Jet Lag: The Game Season 1 (Connect Four Across America) and Seasons 3 (Race To The Most States) because there Brian (aka Real Engineering) forms a team together with Sam (aka Wendover Productions and Half as Interesting) to compete against two of Sam's writers, Ben and Adam, by traveling across the US and completing challenges. It's a great way to see more of the guy behind the voice!

[@MrGtubedude]

Bro works for Amazon

[@dead-claudia]

@@MrGtubedudecould be microsoft, google, ibm, oracle, cloudflare, or one of a number of other companies. it's not all that specific.

[@MedlifeCrisis]

This was about so much more than I thought it was going to be about

[@benmcreynolds8581]

No matter how much i learn: The way we can send AND display video & audio WIRELESSLY.. Will always blow my mind! Just the fact how CRT TV's displayed images, how a dvd can take 0's & 1's and transfer it into a image is amazing. Even tho I'm a total nerd for anything science related, the science behind sending and displaying videos will always be amazing to me

[@sprogg2001]

We've been sending audio and video wirelessly since 1936

[@jpkotta]

Conceptually, you can think of modems as sending 1s and 0s, but the signals are much more complicated than "high for 1, low for 0". They use fancy modulation schemes like QAM, and get very close to the theoretical limit.

[@altrag]

We have those schemes now (developments like QAM is exactly part of why bandwidths today are so much better than they were 30 years ago). The biggest limitation in those old modems was that they had to run over POTS ("plain old telephone system"). The introduction of DSL changed that as they could then run dedicated digital signals rather than trying to piggyback on analog and get much higher speeds over the same copper - but it came at the cost of having to upgrade all of the neighborhood boxes to handle the digital signals, so it was a pretty slow roll-out all things considered. Cable went through a similar transition albeit a little quicker as they had less regulated guarantees to worry about (ie: your telephone is required to work at essentially all times so telephone companies had to be much more careful that their upgrades wouldn't interrupt normal phone service while cable companies were able to be a bit more ad-hoc about the whole thing - at least until they started selling their own telephone service as a competitor to POTS). The switch to digital systems was the big milestone (so much so that both telephone and cable providers now operate pretty much purely digital networks with analog support only showing up in the last mile to allow the service to still work with older devices). Once we made that leap the speed boosts that had slowly gone from 300bps to 57.6kpbs over the course of like 4 decades was suddenly able to jump to the Mbps range within the span of a couple years in the late 1990s-early 2000s and has been growing almost uninhibited ever since as newer and better encoding schemes come out one after another.

[@calebmnb]

I’m so happy for this content. I’m a software developer who enjoys studying the intricacies complexity of stuff we use everyday, and your video perfectly highlights what goes on in the background that rarely gets shown to people!

[@addas4]

Wherever there is money, there is authority. I am a long time believer & supporter of non VC startups, as if you put yourself under their knees, they decide what you should do with your company. A big example would be if Patreon creator didn't use VC, Patreon would be much better platform (It is good now, but not sure if it will stay the same)

[@CosRacecar]

As an outsider, the whole lifetime subscription thing makes me nervous. Sure, it gives you a bunch of money to burn right now, but in a couple years when half your subscribers aren't providing any new revenue, how will you continue to fund similar quality projects?

[@DM-yj9qf]

i can't believe and am also not surprised that's what real engineering looks like

[@Guywiththetypewriter]

As both an engineering lecturer and someone who is a self taught developer. This video was brilliant ^_^ The one thing i wanna bring up is a potential easy W for adding more retention to the platform. I went to go watch extra credits today on Nebula. But i love specifically their videos on stuff like on theories of game design. But in between i see the podcasts, the behind the scenes etc. I almost instinctively went back to youtube and couldnt figure out why for half a second. Why i was struggling to watch EC as easy as i do on youtube. Then it hit me... Playlists... Having the ability for playlists for each creator would be such a huge help. All the other bells and whistles of Nebula have me staying, but im finding myself fighting my own adhd brain to stay there 😅 Love the work you do, keep on being awesome ❤

[@RaulV22]

I couldn’t be happier to support Nebula. An independent, genuine, high quality company that goes against everything corporate and conglomerate. You guys have my full support for the foreseeable future!

[@JesPulido]

Your content is brilliant, Brian. Keep it up

[@m13253]

2:50 “If the amplitude of the sound was high, it was a binary one; if the amplitude was low, it was a zero.” No, I am pretty sure dial-up modems never used this ASK modulation scheme described above. The first modem used FSK, and later we moved into PSK and QAM.

[@imranidz]

This video and its transparency speaks volumes to the open and honest philosophy I’m sure everyone embodies to at Nebula. Incredibly excited about your growth!

[@rizenfrmtheashes]

This is like one of the best explanations of the HLS protocol I've seen without ever saying HLS.

[@tsunamie1126]

Thank you for showing me this explanation. It helps me focus on a discernible goal while working to become an IT-engineer. It is hard to see what these engineers work on compared to mechanical ones.

[@davidrools]

Came to KZbin because the nebula app doesn't have comments (yet). I'll patiently wait for that feature to roll out. I think a nebula-member exclusive comment section would be a great value add. These videos also really promote the nebula community in a great way. I signed up with the first curiosity stream bundle for a ridiculously low price and I don't know if I've ever renewed...and this is the first I've heard of the lifetime membership that I think I'll soon purchase 😄

[@l3ete1geuse]

Never knew I needed a video explaining how streaming works. But here we are. :)

[@mosquitodaselva7319]

Honestly, I preferred the old video model, without 3D animations, like the way it leaded people to the more 'specialized' side of engineering, but I just am so happy that it came to be this huge science popularizer and lots more accessible to the general public. keep moving on this way!

[@RickZotz]

This may your best video to date, perhaps because you and your colleagues at Nebula have such a great stake in its operation. I'm familiar with the realm and its tech, so I'm glad to see a relatable explanation for those who don't. Great job, guys!

[@roy04]

10:00 love the playful jab at Sam

[@josevenegas9191]

Nebula is a good option for those curious people over the internet. Have you considered translating the subtitles to other languages like Spanish? That would be great

[@chlorophyllphile]

Yeah, they should partner with Curiosity Stream. Oh wait...

[@mikepeterson9362]

I'm not sure what happened here...I just spent 20 minutes watching a commercial and totally enjoyed myself.

[@artoud]

10:05 - The reference to Half as Interesting is soo funny :) Well done lads! I love your (and Sam) channels. Keep it up:)

[@Omnicrola]

Glad I wasn't the only one that caught that 😆

It's the only reason I opened the comments 😂 The bromance lives on!

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

There's also a brief shot of Jet Lag merch at 1:52.

[@nightraven836]

This video both informed me about the issues of being a startup streaming service, and also very much convinced me I should at least try nebula

[@InDaWilderness]

Got to say. Just watched a 20 minute ad, and enjoyed it...

[@johanjvdw]

I'm incredibly happy you explained this. Because I struggle with video lagging sometimes during Chromecast streaming. And now it makes perfect sense why. I'm a proud subscriber and incredibly happy with the service.

[@cidadaoPPT]

Loved this insight into running Nebula! Thank you for the transparency, it's refreshing. Signing up for Nebula!

[@jjohansen86]

The expensive part is the talent. As someone working in a completely unrelated but also very specialized, technical field, this is unsurprising. From where I'm sitting, finding the right people is the hardest and most important part of putting together something like this. With that said, I do have to give you props for finding and hiring such an excellent Chief Morale Officer.

[@sssyt4837]

LGBTQIA’s content great?

[@UnIvErS8uL]

this guy is the epitome of a smiling voice.

[@SuperKirezi]

Ten seconds into this video and I’m like, wait is that you! Happy to finally see your face. I’ve been a fan of your content for a long while now.

[@pranjaydass6240]

I never knew that Nebula was your service . Before seeing this video whenever I heard about Nebula in sponsorship I thought that its just another service by some big corporation but now I am so impressed that you and your team have built such a great service. Thank you.

[@PtrkHrnk]

Maybe not big, but corporation sure it is. And acts like one too. Turns out Nebula isn't the safe space I naively thought it was...

[@vladstr100]

​@@PtrkHrnkwhat do you mean about Nebula not being a safe space??

[@irithylloldman6526]

The lifetime subscription needs to be talked about more !! It's so incredibly rare nowadays, but so much healthier in my eyes. Thanks for all the fantastic work and yes, your animations are incredible

[@AshwinRaju84]

I’m a software engineer in big tech and loved the technical explanation and story telling. I already had a nebula account which I was not using enough, but ended up getting the lifetime membership just to support you guys! Keep up the good work! 🎉🎉 Of course, I’m commenting while on the toilet😂

[@Mr.Mister96]

Use polycentric to connect all platforms

[@haxi52]

tbh, I'm a little surprised at the title... this defiantly warrants a "The Insane Engineering of". Well done. top notch pick on your Chief Moral Officer btw.

[@ndl4201]

I decided to purchase nebula when you mentioned the change in production quality over the last three years. I realized how long I've been watching your videos and you continue to post amazing content without the feeling of being constantly fed ads. Thanks for all that you do and other creators like you. I'm excited to watch the episode you had a screenshot of about how humans started speaking, that one really caught my attention!

[@jjoohhhnn]

I imagine the uncensored geopolitics coverage is probably pretty great, too. Hear sides and events barely covered in regular outlets from REPUTABLE SOURCES not 4chan pit shosters.

[@BartoszLeper]

I used to work on adaptive streaming in Google Play Movies for Chromecast. This video brought some cool memories. Thanks! And huge props for calling the "pain in the ass" out loud there.

[@Sugar3Glider]

If I pay $300 will you give me a download link for all Nebula content in the event of; 1) The company is no longer 51%+ creator owned (i.e. buyout option) 2) The company goes under (link lasts for 3 months or something)

[@sssyt4837]

Good question

[@carazy123_]

This video is awesome. I’ve always found the fact that we can stream videos to be pure magic even though I know what’s going on in the background. It’s insane that it works. When I saw you announce the creation of Nebula, I knew it would be something special. I am glad to see it taking off because giving creators fair cuts and allowing for creative liberties is an awesome thing. Great job on this.

[@renatoctti]

You and Mustard have been making some of the best videos i've ever seen. The quality of the content and video itself are just breathtaking!! You guys have more than earned my subscription.

[@grubby51]

The fact your viewer retention is second only to netflix is insane, everyone should be proud

[@timipopov3105]

What a way to promote Nebula and teach a very good lesson. I think Real Engineering is hand on heart the best YT channel out there. Keep it up!!!

[@fiddley]

So getting high def video streaming from servers across the world, traversing many disparate links and different media without stuttering to even mobile devices is really tricky. Congrats. You've done the hard part, now is there any chance of a comments section any time soon? I'm here (KZbin) for the comments mainly and Nebula has much less value due to the lack of comments and community. Oh and pausing when you click the video would be a welcome addition too.

[@Toasterdemon]

Nebula team have made a great product. I remember emailing them about poor audio quality and they had it improved very soon after. Great work.

[@ryanariprasetyo9233]

Love from Indonesia, I was worndering why the videos were buffering so much. Thanks for the explanation, hope Nebula continue to grow.

[@Chrisey96.]

It is amazing how quickly the technology has moved on. I remember being Furious at my mum whenever she go on the phone because it meant my connection to MW2 would drop out. That sounds unimaginable today.

[@helmernilsen]

As someone who’s studying electrical engineering and planning to study computer engineering next year, this video is really interesting and perfect for me

[@tracyhardyjohnson1315]

I'm old enough to remember "Alien Song," the first 3D animated video short that I was aware of, in 1999. Really more of a sample that a short. Somebody had to email it to you because there wasn't a way to download anything then. That person was our IT guy at work, who showed us office workers after he got a copy in his email. Otherwise, those of us in rural America would not have known. Even then, your email service had to allow large enough file attachments. But it was astonishing at the time, and was a big milestone marker for me of the potential where technology was headed. Also realizing what a great outlet the internet could be for creative folks. You can still find copies of it on YT. It doesn't look like anything special these days, but try to imagine a time before Pixar. It's also really funny. We've come a long way from 256 color games. Edited for clarification.

[@h.d.h]

I work in one of the largest CDNs. This video is pretty spot on. The amount of storage and data transfer capacity we have at any given lcoation is mind boggling. One server can have as many as 256 terabytes of NVMe drives (32x16tb) and uses two 100 gigabit QSFP fiber or DAC connections. The sheer amount of engineering that goes into any part of a data center is not to be scoffed at. There are entire teams ensuring that all connections remain live, 24/7. Any downtime is unacceptable.

[@kathrynjaneway750]

Engineering from the guys who actually made it...absolutely rad! It's like Leah Brahms explaining warp drive!

[@dadamj]

I used to work in a role designing high capacity DWDM systems and remember 1G being complex and needing lots of work (dont even get me started on the cost) to systems with multi 100G being BAU and costing less than 1G did at the time. Technology really does fly at times.

[@Dogo.R]

"The 2000 TB we distribute per month." So on average 676 people are watching at any given time on nebula assuming an average bitrate used of 9Mb/s. Interesting.

[@samuxan]

I love this kind of insight into how those systems work. The bandwidth and cache side is quite relevant. I guess that's why netflix or youtube value way more the views on the first day than the rest

[@Adramach]

No idea where did you get that information, but dial up modems never used amplitude modulation for carrying signal. It would be too suceptible to interference. All dial up coding systems used frequency modulation.

[@Draykshaper]

Getting doggo to co-present at the end was a very good choice

[@swimmerboy172]

Seems like the lifetime subscription is mortgaging the future for the present cash flows. What happens when that initial $300 fund is used and the user is still incurring expenses for you? Sure you thought of this but just wondering. I know $300 today is worth more than $300 5 years from now but am interested in how that will work.

[@666lumberjack]

They're never going to sell Lifetime memberships to more than a small fraction of users, in reality, so they're just betting that the content they can make with that money will bring in enough new customers over the next 5-10 years to more than cover the cost of serving content to that handful of lifetime users. Seems to be a pretty safe bet, judging by their current trajectory.

[@SplittingField]

In Nebula's ToS: If you sign up for a Lifetime subscription, your Lifetime subscription will provide you access with the types of Content (e.g., Nebula Classes, Nebula Podcasts, Nebula Originals) available at the time of the purchase only. New types of Content may be subject to new subscription fees. For example, if Nebula introduces Nebula Short Stories (just a thought!), your Lifetime subscription may not cover access to this new type of Content. Purchases for Lifetime subscription plans will be clearly indicated as such on the sign up page and in the order confirmation. So, technically they can make other content types to entice lifetime members to want pay again.

[@MarcosThompson]

Hey! I’ve been a Nebula subscriber for a while now and I didn’t know about the lifetime membership. I’ll be honest to say that I watch some of the videos on KZbin, but you are absolutely right about the retention: I’d rather keep paying for Nebula even if I wasn’t watching too many videos just to support this incredible project. Keep up the amazing work!

[@Equix586]

I was a bit on the fence wether to go for the lifetime subscription, but this video convinced med. They even gave me my current plan as a discount as I had just renewed it 😎

[@richardlehoux]

One of a few time I enjoyed and learned watching a 20 minutes ad. ;)

[@mr.groober3730]

Thank you for yet another amazing video:) Also, in light of recent "developments" with KZbin and moves by other streaming services to include adds in their paid content I'm more than happy to support you guys. Just paid for lifetime subscription:) Thank you again.

[@dominicmillerca]

I think you've just perfectly summarized my job environment here in Montreal. Obviously, I'm specialized on certain aspects of that kind of infrastructure but if anyone ask me what's my job and what I do for a living, I'll share your video! Most people have no idea about the level of complexity behind a project like Nebula. Thanks for sharing! 👏👏

[@Idk-ys7rt]

Interested about how it works after seeing Wendover's video a while back.

[@Acefisch]

This video is a better motivation to get nebula than all the „ad spot“ talking about it imo

[@JisMortal]

Thanks for the transparency and insight. There is a handful of channels that make content I enjoy on Nebula, that I found from when you guys had your Curiosity stream promo's way back. Ive been a sub to both since. I wonder how Floatplane from LMG stacks up. How I've heard Linus describe Nebula, on the WAN show, is you guys are hoping for a big VC firm to come in, so the creators can cash out. That does'nt seem to be the case though. I'm glad

[@peejicasas]

TBH i wouldn't trust Linus' opinion on anything anymore.

[@philipegoulet448]

These guys have stated ( and showed through their business strategy ) multiple times that they are doing everything in their power to NOT use VC for funding.

[@Davethreshold]

The first time I logged on to KZbin: I had about a 20-inch CRT monitor. I kept hearing about YT, and a year or so later I tried it! On that 21" monitor, the biggest you could get it was in about a 7-inch by 7-inch box within the monitor! It was all just silly stuff like TikTok started out to be. I am FLABBERGASTED to look at it now!! I am on this 1-3 hours per day, because there is so much great content on here, for any hobby! Real Engineering and Insane Biology are things that I LOVE.

[@flyingmicrotonalbanana-k2i]

I am a toilet watcher.

[@AlekseyShevchuk]

I can completely relate to all the topics discussed, and I must say you did an excellent job addressing and describing them, particularly the challenges associated with proprietary stores.

[@mohamedalmuhairi324]

3:17 it starts with 14.4k the max speed was 64k ISDN Upgrade from 64k to 128K not 56k

[@jasonsmall5602]

The lowest reasonable speed was 1200, though 110 was the actual lowest. ISDN required a dedicated line, and did not operate on a regular phone line. It required special equipment in the telephone exchange. The fasted you could get between two regular phones was 56k. 64k was possible in some hybrid cases.

[@DuskHorizon]

In the US, a single ISDN channel maxed out at ~56k due to robbed bits (for signalling). And if you use both ISDN channels for data you could no longer receive phone calls, which for families was a prime upgrade motivation. So 56K in some markets isn't an oversimplification, it was the real world limit. 64K elsewhere, until cable modems became a thing. V32bis, for 14K4, disrupted the market but there were significantly slower models before it.

[@halfsourlizard9319]

*Starts* with 14.4k!? Wat!? Teletypes were doing like 45baud in the 1950s.

[@coleneville2397]

Nebula user here. I love the app and the quality of videos but I wish it had a continue watching and/or an accurate "suggested" video tab, like KZbin. Really anything that pushed specific content creators videos on the home screen would make it a 10/10 service.

[@avishjha4030]

I subscribed to Nebula for a year, but the buffering was a long term problem here in India, even on fiber with 300mbit symmetrical. Didn't end up renewing, since any Jet Lag episode had to be downloaded via YT-DLP before I could watch it, buffering was pretty bad and ruined experience throughout.

[@HSA-]

Just began to watch this while I'm on the toilet😂

[@llama_wehraboo7274]

Can we get one for the F-22? :]

[@antoinechatelain550]

The title should have been « The insane engineering of Nebula »

[@alicew349]

Loved seeing your face on the channel for the first time! I know you've spoken about faceless channels on Twitter before, and you did the piece to camera great! Also excellent, detailed and clear video as always!

[@chlorophyllphile]

Pretty sure he showed his face before one time

[@nabhan1999]

Once I get a job, nebula will definitely be my first streaming subscription. I've loved the videos made by this channel and it's sister channel, real science, and I want to support it. Fingers crossed that I'll be able to do so soon

[@amcluesent]

As always it was the pr0n industry that drove the technology

[@pirateluffy01]

😊

[@FrostyDog9186]

Fantastic video! I’ve been a Nebula subscriber for a number of years, first through the CuriosityStream bundle and now directly (I think I technically have two subscriptions atm) but I really don’t watch much on the service. Most of my online video consumption is during the day while I’m at work. I just start KZbin in the morning and let it go. If nebula had autoplay, I’d use it for this purpose a lot more.

[@BodyMusicification]

This is pretty useful for those "How does the Internet work?" interview questions

[@surewhynot6259]

I've never heard or read that interview question, probably because it's WAY too broad. This explains how CDNs work at a high level, but that hardly scratches the surface of how the internet works.

[@BodyMusicification]

@surewhynot6259 Yes this only covers a very small portion of how the Internet works. It's a common interview question for web developers precisely because it provides the opportunity for very expansive answers from the candidate. In this way the interviewer can assess exactly how deep the candidate's knowledge and ability to explain the topic can go and compare this with other candidates' answers

[@user-rm2qj2jh4l]

You have the cutest CMO ever! I love you, Shia LaWoof! ❤🐶 This video gave me a new appreciation for how truly incredible content streaming really is!

[@mwam1985]

The retention is high because people forget that they have a Nebula subscription, lol.

[@FensouNMiles]

You ARE the best engineering studio on the internet.

[@velkoto1]

I had a subscription to Nebula and Curiosity Stream but for some reason I had few very interesting videos marked "Not available in your country", which is kinda idiotic. I'm from Bulgaria which is in the EU and I have NEVER seen this in any other streaming platform ever, especially in a paid one. Trust me it's not a law issue or any kind of national or religious matter. For some reason someone didn't want me to watch a video I really wanted to even though I paid for it. So I had to unsubscribe and refund and never use Nebula and Curiosity Stream ever again.

[@RealEngineering]

Can't speak for CS, it was likely a local licensing issue, but they just shouldn't be showing you a video that you can't watch then. The bundle is ending in 4 days time either way. Nebula does not do anything like that.

[@rolandmdill]

2:34 I remember connecting to the internet by pulling a very long cable over the staircase of my parents house every time I wanted to go online. My father refused to install a cable permanently because he thought the internet was neither necessary nor something important in the future. It is so cool to have witnessed these early days of private households connecting to the internet!