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    How much of an impact does streaming have on internet usage?

    Discussion in 'Networking and Wireless' started by Jam In Ben, Jun 18, 2009.

  1. Jam In Ben

    Jam In Ben Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'm back at my parents house for the summer and while I was at uni they downgraded the broadband to a stupidly low cap, if we exceed our usage for the month we will be charged for it.

    What I was wondering is how much of an effect things like iPlayer (BBC's online catch up service) will have on our usage as I tend to use it a lot, its not downloading but streaming very high quality video, sometimes for hours depending on the show I am watching.

    Cheers. :)
     
    Jam In Ben, Jun 18, 2009
    #1
  2. gerryf19

    gerryf19 I am the walrus

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    gerryf19, Jun 18, 2009
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  3. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    streaming *is* downloading..............
     
    newsposter, Jun 19, 2009
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  4. Shyster1

    Shyster1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Ha-ha, wiseguy. :D Granted, you're correct, but my guess is the OP meant to distinguish a discrete download that has a definite start and end, and that leaves you with a complete package of some sort.

    At any rate, the bitrate for the HD video service from the BBC iPlayer can be found here. According to that page, the BBC "use h.264 with a bitrate of 3.2Mbps and 192kbps audio" which, if math still serves, adds to about 3.392Mbps (mega-bits per second).

    Taking the standard for converting bits to bytes as 8 bits equals 1 byte, that would translate to a rate of about 424,000 bytes per second (i.e., 424KBps - note the use of the uppercase "B").

    At that rate, you would have received 25,440,000 bytes in one minute, or about 25.44 MB. 40 minutes would rack up just over 1GB. Now, if you've got a monthly cap of 20GB, that would be used up in about 786 minutes, or just a little more than 13 hours.

    I don't know what cap you're working under, but I'd switch from the HD programmes to the lower bandwidth versions, or else be prepared to pony up to pay for the monthly overages.
     
    Shyster1, Jun 19, 2009
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  5. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    Methinks that given the usual costs of exceeding bandwidth caps it would be far cheaper to buy a sat dish and watch 'real' TV.
     
    newsposter, Jun 20, 2009
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  6. Shyster1

    Shyster1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Probably the easiest solution! :)
     
    Shyster1, Jun 21, 2009
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  7. paper_wastage

    paper_wastage Beat this 7x7x7 Cube

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    or get a USB TV Tuner and watch over-the-air tv for free (well, you still need to check if you close enough to the local broadcast tower... for USA, look at http://antennaweb.org)
     
    paper_wastage, Jun 22, 2009
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