This article addresses how the quality (speed) of a viewer’s Internet connection relates to their QoE (Quality of Experience) when it comes to watching live streaming video.
The Internet speed needed for streaming video smoothly is generally much higher than you might expect & depends on a number of factors.
We recommend that to watch even moderately high-definition video a viewer needs a bitrate of anywhere from 1.5 to 5 mbps to take advantage of the high quality.
That said, Live Webcasters like us could broadcast using a lower speed (often under 1 Mbps) to make sure the videos are accessible to most viewers (Standard-definition or SD video can use a lower bitrate — 0.6 to 1.0 mbps) but that would mean that other viewers who have much faster connections would be deprived of the benefit of watching in high definition at full-screen resolutions.
If you are experiencing issues that look like they are caused by a slow internet connection (e.g. frequent buffering or even freezing) here are some steps we can recommend to fix the problem.
Recommended Internet Speeds:
According to Netflix, a viewer’s internet speed should be significantly faster than the video’s bitrate. Netflix recommends speeds of:
- 0.5 Mbps as an absolute required minimum to use their service at all, with 1.5 Mbps recommended
- 3 Mbps for SD video streaming
- 5-10 Mbps for HD video streaming
- 25 Mbps for ultra HD video streaming
Note that these speeds are roughly twice the recommended upload bitrates for the different qualities of video, and that’s a fair rule of thumb. So to explain, if we were to broadcast 720p HD video at the lowest possible bitrate of 1.5 Mbps (megabits per second), you would need an Internet connection that allows at least 3 Mbps or more.
The FCC recommends a 25 Mbps broadband speed for households that stream video. While many high-speed broadband internet connections do meet these requirements on paper, not all homes or offices have this available. Rural areas or crowded areas for example may not be able to match this speed.
Practically speaking, the problem is that a number of factors can reduce the actual internet connection speed.
If you are having trouble seeing live streaming videos and your basic internet connection is high enough, one or more of problems could be affecting actual speed.
Here are some reasons for Internet Slowdowns:
Your “on-paper” internet connection speed is just a theoretical maximum number and not a reliable practical speed to go by. It is impacted by a number of factors, some under your control and others beyond your control.
Here are a few steps we can recommend to improve performance:
- Start with a Speed Test to reveal how close your actual performance comes to the ideal standards claimed by your ISP (Internet Service Provider). Go to a site like speedtest.net and run the test. If the test reveals an Internet connection speed that’s slower than expected and slow enough to cause buffering and other problems with your streaming video, here are some other things you can look into…
…Read the full article at Mediastreams.ca
For any questions on how to improve your Live Stream performance, call us at 604.970.5055 or visit Mediastreams Communications