Streaming video services such as Netflix and Youtube, or playback services such as the RTE Player, or 3 Player are becoming more and more popular. With mobile devices and the increasing popularity of SMART TV’s in peoples home, this is set become an ever more prevalent feature in peoples homes and will impact on how they use internet services.
While this is a welcome addition to most peoples lives, there are some things that all users and customers of BBNet should be aware of :
Video and Data Usage :
Video Streaming requires the download of data to your device via your internet connection. The more video you watch, the more information you will download.
While you do not get to keep a copy of this information, it will use any data allowances or fair usage amounts that may be specified on your internet package. This may in turn affect the performance of your internet connection.
Netflix, for example estimate 0.7 Gb usage for every hour of standard definition viewing.
For High Definition viewing this is estimated at 3GB per hour.
More information is available at the following links :
Netflix : https://help.netflix.com/en/node/87
Youtube : This varies dependning on the quality of the video.
Sky on Demand : http://help.sky.com/articles/speed-up-your-sky-tv-on-demand-downloads?country=ie
- Sports (in SD) 50 minutes – approx 0.5 GB
- Movie (in SD) 90 minutes – approx 1Gb
- Movie (in HD) 90 minutes – approx 3GB
Apple TV :
To stream content, Apple recommend a broadband Internet connection and these connection speeds:
- 8 Mbit/s or faster for 1080p high-definition content
- 6 Mbit/s or faster for 720p content
- 2.5 Mbit/s or faster for standard-definition content
Video and Broadband Speeds :
All online video services have a minimum required speed so they can work without buffering, or stopping and starting playback.
Most online video providers will also have a minimum recommended speed, that they suggest is the best broadband speed to operate their product.
It should be noted, that the your broadband package is generally listed with the maximum speed available to you. At peak usage times this may be reduced.
It should also be noted that the bandwidth available on your internet connection is the maximum bandwidth coming in to the house. This does not mean this level of speed is available to each device.
The more devices connected in your home, the less bandwidth that will be available to each device.
Links to some common providers recommendations are below.
Netflix : https://help.netflix.com/en/node/306
(In current advertising Netflix are recommending 2 Mbps and above for standard viewing. For HD the requirement is 5 Mbps and above.)
Youtube : https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/78358?hl=en
( Streaming HD (High Definition) videos will use a higher speed that standard definition videos. More information on video quality and settings is available at https://support.google.com/youtube/topic/3014328?hl=en&ref_topic=4355266)
RTE Player : http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/help/faq/
RTE Player uses HTTP Adaptive Streaming which allows the video stream to change in quality depending on the speed of your broadband connection.RTE currently offer streams at up to 1Mbps. Select programming on RTÉ Two live streams at HD quality. If you wish to manually adjust the quality of the video you can do so via the menu which is located at the bottom right of the video player window.
3Player : http://www.tv3.ie/3player ( Click on help section at the bottom of the screen)
You need a computer with an internet connection of at least 1Mbps download speed and a web browser that has the latest Flash plug-in. 3player has limited compatibility with Apple iPhone and iPad devices.
Sky on Demand : http://help.sky.com/articles/speed-up-your-sky-tv-on-demand-downloads?country=ie
Sky On demand works best with a broadband line speed of more than 2Mbps. The faster your broadband, the faster your downloads.
