Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
<https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>

Why?

On 2024-05-16, Andrew <andrew@spam.net> wrote:
> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
> users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
> their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
> <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>
> Why?

Because you aren't sending them through a messaging service that
supports high-quality videos. And you claim to know more about iOS than
anyone else here? You apparently can barely use basic messaging
services. 🤣

--
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

Jolly Roger wrote on 16 May 2024 23:00:03 GMT :

>> Why?
>
> Because you aren't sending them through a messaging service that
> supports high-quality videos. And you claim to know more about iOS than
> anyone else here? You apparently can barely use basic messaging
> services.

I'm not sending any videos, Jolly Roger.

The iPhone user is sending the videos.
I'm simply a recipient - some of whom are on iOS & others on Android.

The question is a simple one.

The fact you resorted to instant insult may mean you're afraid of the
answer since you try to deflect from every iOS flaw in the book.

But I am not saying this is an iOS flaw.
I'm just saying it happens.

And I'm saying I don't know (yet) why it happens.
As I only recently started getting short videos from iPhone owners.

Hence my question...

Q: Why do videos sent by iPhone users show up clearly on recipients'
iPhones but they show up as super blurry on recipients' Android phones?

There must be a reason that happens.

What's the reason for that?
<https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>

On May 16, 2024 at 6:12:25 PM EDT, "Andrew" <andrew@spam.net> wrote:

> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
> users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
> their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
> <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>
> Why?

Because SMS/MMS is used between Android and iOS. They have incompatible
messaging systems, so they fall back to the Lowest Common Denominator. The
quality drops in both directions.

However, if everyone uses WhatsApp or Facebook messenger (or others) then
videos will be sent in full quality. That's one of the (many) reasons these
cross-platform messaging apps exist.

On 2024-05-17, Andrew <andrew@spam.net> wrote:
> Jolly Roger wrote on 16 May 2024 23:00:03 GMT :
>
>>> Why?
>>
>> Because you aren't sending them through a messaging service that
>> supports high-quality videos. And you claim to know more about iOS than
>> anyone else here? You apparently can barely use basic messaging
>> services.
>
> I'm not sending any videos, Jolly Roger.

Who is doing the sending is irrelevant, and you know that.

> The iPhone user is sending the videos.
> I'm simply a recipient - some of whom are on iOS & others on Android.
>
> The question is a simple one.

The question has been answered above.

--
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

On 2024-05-17, Tyrone <none@none.none> wrote:
> On May 16, 2024 at 6:12:25 PM EDT, "Andrew" <andrew@spam.net> wrote:
>
>> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
>> users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
>> their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
>> <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>>
>> Why?
>
> Because SMS/MMS is used between Android and iOS. They have incompatible
> messaging systems, so they fall back to the Lowest Common Denominator. The
> quality drops in both directions.
>
> However, if everyone uses WhatsApp or Facebook messenger (or others) then
> videos will be sent in full quality. That's one of the (many) reasons these
> cross-platform messaging apps exist.

Arlen should know this. In fact he does know this. He's pretending to be
dumb in order to troll. And it's a really, really weak troll.

--
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

On 17.05.24 03:25, Jolly Roger wrote:
> On 2024-05-17, Tyrone <none@none.none> wrote:
>> On May 16, 2024 at 6:12:25 PM EDT, "Andrew" <andrew@spam.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
>>> users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
>>> their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
>>> <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>>>
>>> Why?
>>
>> Because SMS/MMS is used between Android and iOS. They have incompatible
>> messaging systems, so they fall back to the Lowest Common Denominator. The
>> quality drops in both directions.
>>
>> However, if everyone uses WhatsApp or Facebook messenger (or others) then
>> videos will be sent in full quality. That's one of the (many) reasons these
>> cross-platform messaging apps exist.
>
> Arlen should know this. In fact he does know this. He's pretending to be
> dumb in order to troll. And it's a really, really weak troll.

It is even a counterproductive one. Because Android does not have its
own quality messaging service it will always produce inferior quality
video output.

--
"Alea iacta est." (Julius Caesar)

Tyrone wrote on Fri, 17 May 2024 00:48:21 +0000 :

>> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
>> users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
>> their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
>> <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>>
>> Why?
>
> Because SMS/MMS is used between Android and iOS. They have incompatible
> messaging systems, so they fall back to the Lowest Common Denominator. The
> quality drops in both directions.
>
> However, if everyone uses WhatsApp or Facebook messenger (or others) then
> videos will be sent in full quality. That's one of the (many) reasons these
> cross-platform messaging apps exist.

Thanks for explaining it. I haven't received videos until a great
grandchild was born, as it has been a while since the last baby.

This family is all on iPhones & iPads so everything comes from their
messaging app. The pictures come in fine.

It's just the short (ten to fifteen seconds long) videos that are blurry.
Does that make sense from your experience that JPGs are fine but not video?

On 17.05.24 15:15, Andrew wrote:
> Thanks for explaining it. I haven't received videos until a great
> grandchild was born, as it has been a while since the last baby.
>
> This family is all on iPhones & iPads so everything comes from their
> messaging app. The pictures come in fine.

Arlen, this is a sign from heaven: Switch to iOS.
Your grandchildren deserve it.

--
"Alea iacta est." (Julius Caesar)

On 2024-05-17, Andrew <andrew@spam.net> wrote:
> Tyrone wrote on Fri, 17 May 2024 00:48:21 +0000 :
>
>>> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the
>>> iPhone users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up
>>> clear for their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android
>>> recipients. <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>>>
>>> Why?
>>
>> Because SMS/MMS is used between Android and iOS. They have
>> incompatible messaging systems, so they fall back to the Lowest
>> Common Denominator. The quality drops in both directions.
>>
>> However, if everyone uses WhatsApp or Facebook messenger (or others)
>> then videos will be sent in full quality. That's one of the (many)
>> reasons these cross-platform messaging apps exist.
>
> This family is all on iPhones & iPads so everything comes from their
> messaging app.

Other messaging apps exist for iOS, Arlen. That includes WhatsApp,
Signal, Facebook Messenger, and a slew of others - most of which send
videos in high or full quality. And you know that.

--
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

On 2024-05-17 00:12, Andrew wrote:
> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
> users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
> their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
> <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>
> Why?

Probably because you are using MMS and not RCS, so there is a size
limitation, or IOS is doing a conversion at their side (imessages to mms)

Convince your family to switch to WhatsApp, or Telegram, or Signal, or
Threema...

If they refuse, then tell them to resend those videos over mail. O use
some sharing site on the cloud.

Or convince them to switch to Android :-D

--
Cheers, Carlos.

[Disclaimer: In the off chance that this isn't a troll:]

Andrew <andrew@spam.net> wrote:
> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
> users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
> their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
> <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>
> Why?

I'm sure the iPhone users don't send the video "through their text
mechanism", but through their *messaging* app, probably called
'Messages', and using the iMessage messaging platform.

Your screenshot mentions MMS, so on the Android side the video is
received as a MMS message, hence the appalling 'quality'.

You get a MMS message, because Apple hasn't implemented iMessage on
Android, so seeing a non-iMessage recipient, Apple's Messages/iMessage
has no other choice then to convert the video to a crappy MMS message.

That on both platforms - iOS and Android - the app is called
'Messages', doesn't mean they are comparable. On iOS the 'Messages' app
- by default - uses the advanced iMessage IM (Instant Messaging)
platform. On Android, the 'Messages' app uses the stone-age SMS/MMS
mechanism (or possibly RCS for Android to Android).

Bottom line: Join the real world and use some cross-platform IM method
like WhatsApp.

On 17.05.24 15:56, Carlos E.R. wrote:
> On 2024-05-17 00:12, Andrew wrote:
>> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
>> users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
>> their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
>> <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>>
>> Why?
>
> Probably because you are using MMS and not RCS, so there is a size
> limitation, or IOS is doing a conversion at their side (imessages to mms)
>
> Convince your family to switch to WhatsApp, or Telegram, or Signal, or
> Threema...
>
> If they refuse, then tell them to resend those videos over mail. O use
> some sharing site on the cloud.
>
> Or convince them to switch to Android :-D

So sweet! :-D

--
"Mille viae ducunt hominem per saecula Romam." (Alanus ab Insulis 1120-1202)

Frank Slootweg wrote on 17 May 2024 14:15:01 GMT :

> Andrew <andrew@spam.net> wrote:
>> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
>> users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
>> their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
>> <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>>
>> Why?
>
> I'm sure the iPhone users don't send the video "through their text
> mechanism", but through their *messaging* app, probably called
> 'Messages', and using the iMessage messaging platform.
>
> Your screenshot mentions MMS, so on the Android side the video is
> received as a MMS message, hence the appalling 'quality'.
>
> You get a MMS message, because Apple hasn't implemented iMessage on
> Android, so seeing a non-iMessage recipient, Apple's Messages/iMessage
> has no other choice then to convert the video to a crappy MMS message.

Thanks to Tyrone, Carlos & Frank (and even to Jolly Roger) for explaining
why the new baby videos from this particular grandchild are so blurry.

I bought my grandaughter her iPhone as I give phones as gifts (and I even
have an old iPhone that I'm going to gift to my great grandchild when he's
old enough to use a phone since the family is all Apple, 100%).

As you noted, they're using their default messaging app just as I'm using
my default messaging app, and I appreciate that you used the proper wording
since the app is called "Messages" but the system is referred to as
"iMessage" and that you explained to my satisfaction what probably is
happening (which I would agree with).

I wasn't aware "where" the conversion of the video to "crappy" happened
though, because the Apple recipients don't see the short video as crappy.

Just the Android recipients.

So thanks for letting me know the conversion probably happens at the Apple
iMessaging server for the senders' Messages app login into Apple servers.

Much appreciated.

Tyrone wrote on Fri, 17 May 2024 00:48:21 +0000 :

>> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
>> users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
>> their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
>> <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>>
>> Why?
>
> Because SMS/MMS is used between Android and iOS. They have incompatible
> messaging systems, so they fall back to the Lowest Common Denominator. The
> quality drops in both directions.
>
> However, if everyone uses WhatsApp or Facebook messenger (or others) then
> videos will be sent in full quality. That's one of the (many) reasons these
> cross-platform messaging apps exist.

Thanks for helping out, as I'm trying to understand the process.
1. iPhone logs into their iMessaging Apple server (automatically)
2. iPhone sends a short video clip to multiple recipients using Messages
3. Presumably that clip _first_ goes to an Apple iMessaging server?????
(is that correct?) (or does the iPhone do the splitting?)

That's the first point of confusion that I'd like to iron out.

Assuming one sender on iOS using the default Messages app sending a short
video clip to two recipients, one on iOS and the other on Android, does the
video sent by Messages still go _first_ to the Apple iMessaging servers?

Where exactly do the clips get split into different outgoing mechanisms?

On 2024-05-17 08:21, Andrew wrote:
> Tyrone wrote on Fri, 17 May 2024 00:48:21 +0000 :
>
>>> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
>>> users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
>>> their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
>>> <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>>>
>>> Why?
>>
>> Because SMS/MMS is used between Android and iOS. They have incompatible
>> messaging systems, so they fall back to the Lowest Common Denominator. The
>> quality drops in both directions.
>>
>> However, if everyone uses WhatsApp or Facebook messenger (or others) then
>> videos will be sent in full quality. That's one of the (many) reasons these
>> cross-platform messaging apps exist.
>
> Thanks for helping out, as I'm trying to understand the process.
> 1. iPhone logs into their iMessaging Apple server (automatically)
> 2. iPhone sends a short video clip to multiple recipients using Messages
> 3. Presumably that clip _first_ goes to an Apple iMessaging server?????
> (is that correct?) (or does the iPhone do the splitting?)
>
> That's the first point of confusion that I'd like to iron out.
>
> Assuming one sender on iOS using the default Messages app sending a short
> video clip to two recipients, one on iOS and the other on Android, does the
> video sent by Messages still go _first_ to the Apple iMessaging servers?
>
> Where exactly do the clips get split into different outgoing mechanisms?

You're asking a lot of questions for someone who claims to always know
everything...

....and not doing an easy test you could do if you were actually as
bright as you claim you are.

On 2024-05-17 17:21, Andrew wrote:
> Tyrone wrote on Fri, 17 May 2024 00:48:21 +0000 :
>
>>> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
>>> users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
>>> their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
>>> <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>>>
>>> Why?
>>
>> Because SMS/MMS is used between Android and iOS. They have incompatible
>> messaging systems, so they fall back to the Lowest Common Denominator. The
>> quality drops in both directions.
>>
>> However, if everyone uses WhatsApp or Facebook messenger (or others) then
>> videos will be sent in full quality. That's one of the (many) reasons these
>> cross-platform messaging apps exist.
>
> Thanks for helping out, as I'm trying to understand the process.
> 1. iPhone logs into their iMessaging Apple server (automatically)
> 2. iPhone sends a short video clip to multiple recipients using Messages
> 3. Presumably that clip _first_ goes to an Apple iMessaging server?????
> (is that correct?) (or does the iPhone do the splitting?)
>
> That's the first point of confusion that I'd like to iron out.
>
> Assuming one sender on iOS using the default Messages app sending a short
> video clip to two recipients, one on iOS and the other on Android, does the
> video sent by Messages still go _first_ to the Apple iMessaging servers?
>
> Where exactly do the clips get split into different outgoing mechanisms?

I have no idea, but I would start by looking at the video metadata.

Then I would look at the messages/imessages terms and conditions, it is
probably mentioned there.

Doing the conversion on the phone makes sense for privacy, but it is a
heavy load, so maybe it is done at the servers.

Also, somebody has to do the payment to the provider (which could be
zero), but in any case the sending has to be assigned to a phone number,
which means probably everything is done by the sender's phone.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

On 2024-05-17, Andrew <andrew@spam.net> wrote:
> Tyrone wrote on Fri, 17 May 2024 00:48:21 +0000 :
>
>>> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the
>>> iPhone users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up
>>> clear for their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android
>>> recipients. <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>>>
>>> Why?
>>
>> Because SMS/MMS is used between Android and iOS. They have
>> incompatible messaging systems, so they fall back to the Lowest
>> Common Denominator. The quality drops in both directions.
>>
>> However, if everyone uses WhatsApp or Facebook messenger (or others)
>> then videos will be sent in full quality. That's one of the (many)
>> reasons these cross-platform messaging apps exist.
>
> Thanks for helping out, as I'm trying to understand the process. 1.
> iPhone logs into their iMessaging Apple server (automatically)

Wrong. iMessage is optional and opt-in.

> 2. iPhone sends a short video clip to multiple recipients using
> Messages

The user could choose to send the video on another messaging app/service
if they wish.

> 3. Presumably that clip _first_ goes to an Apple iMessaging
> server????? (is that correct?) (or does the iPhone do the splitting?)

Wrong again. The video is sent as an MMS message which goes through the
cellular carriers MMS service. Cellular carriers are notorious for
degrading MMS video quality to reduce data usage on their networks.

> That's the first point of confusion that I'd like to iron out.

The fact that you are this clueless about basic messaging says all we
need to know about your claim to know more about Apple than anyone else
here. I'd feel embarrassed for you, except you sling insults regularly
here so you deserve the ridicule you get.

> Assuming one sender on iOS using the default Messages app sending a
> short video clip to two recipients, one on iOS and the other on
> Android, does the video sent by Messages still go _first_ to the Apple
> iMessaging servers?
>
> Where exactly do the clips get split into different outgoing
> mechanisms?

It's very simple: Messages sent to iMessage users are sent with
iMessage. Messages sent to non-iMessage users are sent as SMS/MMS.
You've been told this countless times, and you continue to play dumb in
order to troll. You're playing dumb to bait someone into saying
something you can use as some sort of lame "gotcha" to sling more
insults and weak trolls around, polluting the newsgroup with your
bullshit. You're not fooling anyone.

--
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

On May 17, 2024 at 9:15:35 AM EDT, "Andrew" <andrew@spam.net> wrote:

> Tyrone wrote on Fri, 17 May 2024 00:48:21 +0000 :
>
>>> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
>>> users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
>>> their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
>>> <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>>>
>>> Why?
>>
>> Because SMS/MMS is used between Android and iOS. They have incompatible
>> messaging systems, so they fall back to the Lowest Common Denominator. The
>> quality drops in both directions.
>>
>> However, if everyone uses WhatsApp or Facebook messenger (or others) then
>> videos will be sent in full quality. That's one of the (many) reasons these
>> cross-platform messaging apps exist.
>
> Thanks for explaining it. I haven't received videos until a great
> grandchild was born, as it has been a while since the last baby.
>
> This family is all on iPhones & iPads so everything comes from their
> messaging app. The pictures come in fine.
>
> It's just the short (ten to fifteen seconds long) videos that are blurry.
> Does that make sense from your experience that JPGs are fine but not video?

Yes. For SMS/MMS, pictures don't need to be compressed (unless its a VERY
large, VERY high-res pic). But even a few seconds of video will be compressed.

It sucks, and the only solution is for everyone to be on the same app. Either
all on iPhones (using Messages) or all on Android (using the same messaging
app) OR using a cross-platform app as noted above.

On 2024-05-17, Andrew <andrew@spam.net> wrote:
> Frank Slootweg wrote on 17 May 2024 14:15:01 GMT :
>
>> Andrew <andrew@spam.net> wrote:
>>> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
>>> users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
>>> their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
>>> <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>>>
>>> Why?
>>
>> I'm sure the iPhone users don't send the video "through their text
>> mechanism", but through their *messaging* app, probably called
>> 'Messages', and using the iMessage messaging platform.
>>
>> Your screenshot mentions MMS, so on the Android side the video is
>> received as a MMS message, hence the appalling 'quality'.
>>
>> You get a MMS message, because Apple hasn't implemented iMessage on
>> Android, so seeing a non-iMessage recipient, Apple's Messages/iMessage
>> has no other choice then to convert the video to a crappy MMS message.
>
> Thanks to Tyrone, Carlos & Frank (and even to Jolly Roger) for explaining
> why the new baby videos from this particular grandchild are so blurry.
>
> I bought my grandaughter her iPhone as I give phones as gifts (and I even
> have an old iPhone that I'm going to gift to my great grandchild when he's
> old enough to use a phone since the family is all Apple, 100%).
>
> As you noted, they're using their default messaging app just as I'm using
> my default messaging app, and I appreciate that you used the proper wording
> since the app is called "Messages" but the system is referred to as
> "iMessage" and that you explained to my satisfaction what probably is
> happening (which I would agree with).
>
> I wasn't aware "where" the conversion of the video to "crappy" happened
> though, because the Apple recipients don't see the short video as crappy.
>
> Just the Android recipients.
>
> So thanks for letting me know the conversion probably happens at the Apple
> iMessaging server for the senders' Messages app login into Apple servers.
>
> Much appreciated.

You're both wrong. There is no "conversion", and MMS messages aren't
sent through the iMessage service. It's amazing this has to be explained
like you're a five year old, but so be it: The iPhone is a cellular device as
well as an internet device. As such, it has the capability to check with
Apple's iMessage service to see if a recipient is a user that is logged
into the iMessage service. If so, the message is sent through iMessage.
If not, the message is sent through the cellular service as an SMS/MMS.
Cellular providers require MMS messages to be reduced in quality as a
way to reduce cellular data use, which is why videos are degraded when
sent over the cellular service. That's it - no "conversion" takes place,
and the iMessage service is not involved in cellular messaging.

--
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

Tyrone wrote on Fri, 17 May 2024 16:24:11 +0000 :

>> It's just the short (ten to fifteen seconds long) videos that are blurry.
>> Does that make sense from your experience that JPGs are fine but not video?
>
> Yes. For SMS/MMS, pictures don't need to be compressed (unless its a VERY
> large, VERY high-res pic). But even a few seconds of video will be compressed.
>

Thanks for that kind advice.

The main question that needs to be answered is where exactly is the short
video clip split up (and, the second question is where is it downsized).

1. Is the video split up on the iPhone, Apple servers or carrier servers?
2. Is the video downsized on the iPhone, Apple servers or carrier servers?

> It sucks, and the only solution is for everyone to be on the same app. Either
> all on iPhones (using Messages) or all on Android (using the same messaging
> app) OR using a cross-platform app as noted above.

I'm a solutions oriented guy, having worked in high tech for decades in the
Silicon Valley - so all I want right now is to understand how it works.

Carlos already mentioned a possible solution would be for me to use RCS.

But before I look at possible solutions, I need to better understand the
transit of the short video clip from the iPhone to the Android recipient.

The two questions which need to be known to begin to understand the process
well enough to solve it are those which trace the path of the video clip.

1. Is the video split up on the iPhone, Apple servers or carrier servers?
2. Is the video downsized on the iPhone, Apple servers or carrier servers?

On May 17, 2024 at 11:21:34 AM EDT, "Andrew" <andrew@spam.net> wrote:

> Tyrone wrote on Fri, 17 May 2024 00:48:21 +0000 :
>
>>> Half my family is on Android, the other half iOS, so whenever the iPhone
>>> users send a video through their text mechanism, it shows up clear for
>>> their iPhone recipients but super blurry for their Android recipients.
>>> <https://i.postimg.cc/cLBNKJb7/fuzzy.jpg>
>>>
>>> Why?
>>
>> Because SMS/MMS is used between Android and iOS. They have incompatible
>> messaging systems, so they fall back to the Lowest Common Denominator. The
>> quality drops in both directions.
>>
>> However, if everyone uses WhatsApp or Facebook messenger (or others) then
>> videos will be sent in full quality. That's one of the (many) reasons these
>> cross-platform messaging apps exist.
>
> Thanks for helping out, as I'm trying to understand the process.
> 1. iPhone logs into their iMessaging Apple server (automatically)
> 2. iPhone sends a short video clip to multiple recipients using Messages
> 3. Presumably that clip _first_ goes to an Apple iMessaging server?????
> (is that correct?) (or does the iPhone do the splitting?)
>
> That's the first point of confusion that I'd like to iron out.
>
> Assuming one sender on iOS using the default Messages app sending a short
> video clip to two recipients, one on iOS and the other on Android, does the
> video sent by Messages still go _first_ to the Apple iMessaging servers?
>
> Where exactly do the clips get split into different outgoing mechanisms?

Not really sure how it all works. Assuming a "group chat" of mixed Apple and
Android phones (I have several of those) I would ASSUME that it first goes to
Apple servers. But not necessarily. There are settings on iPhones to use
SMS/MMS "When iMessage is unavailable" but that could mean "When iMessage is
down".

The bottom line is you need the same app on both ends. If someone sends a
video from any phone with WhatsApp to any phone without WhatsApp (is that even
possible?) then it would probably also be bad quality. Proprietary
formats/protocols and such are likely involved.

Jolly Roger wrote on 17 May 2024 16:29:02 GMT :

>> Thanks for helping out, as I'm trying to understand the process. 1.
>> iPhone logs into their iMessaging Apple server (automatically)
>
> Wrong. iMessage is optional and opt-in.

Please see this image from one of my own iPads, Jolly Roger.
<https://i.postimg.cc/hhFNJ5mq/appleid010.jpg>

I'm fully aware that my iPads are NOT logged into the iMessaging
tracking mainframe servers (since my Apple iPads complain every day all day
multiple times a day about me refusing to log into those tracking servers).

What you don't seem to comprehend is most US iPhone owners do log into the
Apple iMessaging servers every moment of every day of their entire lives.
<https://i.postimg.cc/8k3GQyj4/appleid09.jpg>

In fact, there are numerous Apple mainframe tracking servers that Apple
will complain about to you every single day multiple times a day if you do
not log into them for the rest of your natural life, Jolly Roger.
<https://i.postimg.cc/ZR5mZ287/appleid07.jpg>

Ask me how I know this (which you don't appear to know, Jolly Roger).
<https://i.postimg.cc/nrFHSvby/appleid11.jpg>

Most likely the reason you are unaware that Apple nags you dozens of times
a day, every day, to log into their many tracking servers, is you log in.

I don't.

That's why I know that iOS is a dumb terminal incapable of doing all the
things you love about it, Jolly Roger, if you don't log into the mainframe.
>> 2. iPhone sends a short video clip to multiple recipients using
>> Messages
>
> The user could choose to send the video on another messaging app/service
> if they wish.

You do not understand that people on US iPhones prefer to communicate using
their default messaging app, just as people on US Androids prefer the same.

It's actually no longer shocking you have no clue what people do on their
devices, since your comments are contrary to what people in the USA do.

>> 3. Presumably that clip _first_ goes to an Apple iMessaging
>> server????? (is that correct?) (or does the iPhone do the splitting?)
>
> Wrong again. The video is sent as an MMS message which goes through the
> cellular carriers MMS service. Cellular carriers are notorious for
> degrading MMS video quality to reduce data usage on their networks.

You do not show that you understand the process, Jolly Roger, as we all
know that it's _received_ as an MMS message on Android - but that's no
longer the question that needs to be answered.

The question that needs to be answered is the following:

1. Is the video split up (between platform recipients) on the iPhone,
or on the Apple mainframe servers or on carrier mainframe servers?
2. Is the video downsized on that same server?

>> That's the first point of confusion that I'd like to iron out.
>
> The fact that you are this clueless about basic messaging says all we
> need to know about your claim to know more about Apple than anyone else
> here. I'd feel embarrassed for you, except you sling insults regularly
> here so you deserve the ridicule you get.

And yet you also don't appear to know the answer to the basic question of
where is the action of splitting up the video to two different outgoing
mechanisms performed - nor where the downsizing is performed, Jolly Roger.

>> Where exactly do the clips get split into different outgoing
>> mechanisms?
>
> It's very simple: Messages sent to iMessage users are sent with
> iMessage. Messages sent to non-iMessage users are sent as SMS/MMS.
> You've been told this countless times, and you continue to play dumb in
> order to troll. You're playing dumb to bait someone into saying
> something you can use as some sort of lame "gotcha" to sling more
> insults and weak trolls around, polluting the newsgroup with your
> bullshit. You're not fooling anyone.

My goal is to solve the problem.
In doing so, I need to understand exactly where the problem occurs.

Can you confirm that what you're apparently saying above is that the action
of splitting the outgoing messages into two channels is done on the iPhone?
a. Channel 1 is to send it to other iOS users
b. Channel 2 is to send it to non-Apple users

And can you confirm that the action of downsizing the video is also done on
the iPhone?

Bearing in mind anyone can put their SIM card into either an iPhone or an
Android phone at any time...

....If both the splitting & downsizing occur on the iPhone, how does the
iPhone know who is an Android user without first communicating with the
Apple mainframe tracking servers to derive that information, Jolly Roger?

Tyrone wrote on Fri, 17 May 2024 16:36:39 +0000 :

>> Where exactly do the clips get split into different outgoing mechanisms?
>
> Not really sure how it all works. Assuming a "group chat" of mixed Apple and
> Android phones (I have several of those) I would ASSUME that it first goes to
> Apple servers. But not necessarily. There are settings on iPhones to use
> SMS/MMS "When iMessage is unavailable" but that could mean "When iMessage is
> down".

Thank you for appreciating what the question is, which is where exactly is
the decision to modify the video in two different ways being made.
1. The decision to split the video into iOS & Android recipients, and,
2. The decision to downsize that video when it's sent to Android users.

Since anyone can put their SIM card into any phone, that decision I would
think must be made at the moment the video is being sent - does that make
sense?

If so, then I would agree that some intelligent server needs to know who is
an Apple recipient versus who is not an Apple recipient and that
information has to be conveyed to the machine that does the downsizing.

> The bottom line is you need the same app on both ends.

You just gave me an idea. I have an old iPhone in my phone drawer, which I
hope uses the same SIM card size as my Android and I will try an experiment
(but I will have to charge the iPhone as it's likely dead at the moment).

A. I will pop the SIM card into the charged iPhone (if it fits).
B. I will ask the iPhone sender to send me a video.
C. Then I will pop the SIM back into my iphone & ask for the video again.

That might give me evidence for WHERE the decision is being made that the
user is an iPhone user who is logged into Apple mainframe servers, or not.

Note: Do you suggest a different test given I have an old iPhone
(registered to someone who passed away) which might fit my SIM card?

> video from any phone with WhatsApp to any phone without WhatsApp (is that even
> possible?) then it would probably also be bad quality. Proprietary
> formats/protocols and such are likely involved.

WhatsApp works on desktops I believe, but I'm in the USA where we don't use
WhatsApp all that much unless we are communicating with people outside the
US.

But even Android messaging works on the desktop. All you need is, as you
said, for everyone to log into the same messaging servers. I'm using Pulse.
<https://home.pulsesms.app/overview/>

Andrew <andrew@spam.net> wrote:
[...]

> The two questions which need to be known to begin to understand the process
> well enough to solve it are those which trace the path of the video clip.

You can't "solve" it, without the *sender* using a *different* method
to get the video to you, i.e. as has been mentioned, using some 'cloud'
or other file transfer service.

> 1. Is the video split up on the iPhone, Apple servers or carrier servers?

With "split up", you mean the communication path is split, the video
isn't split.

Answer: (As Carlos indicated,) On the iPhone. Your mobile number is in
the sender's (i.e. iPhone) contacts. The Messages app on the iPhone sees
it's a mobile phone number, so it decides to send a MMS message. As
Carlos mentioned, the decision must be taken on the iPhone, because the
cost of the MMS message (even if it comes out of a bundle) must be
charged to the iPhone user's mobile provider.

> 2. Is the video downsized on the iPhone, Apple servers or carrier servers?

As we don't use MMS in the real world, I don't know where the
(resolution) shrinking of the video is done, but I assume it's done on
the iPhone. Doing it on other servers would mean a huge waste of -
possibly very costly - mobile data.

For comparison:

When we do stuff like this from WhatsApp-to-WhatsApp - never mind who
is on which OS platform - a full resolution video will be shrunk by
WhatsApp to a reasonable resolution and sent. (If we want to send the
full resolution video, at the possible expense of costly mobile data, we
can of course do so as well.)

For example the last video I got was 478x850 at 30FPS, which is of
course way less than the camera (I think a Pixel 7) can do. (The 25s
video was 5.75MB.)