A client of mine cannot get cable internet at their new location. They can get DSL, but are worried about speed. I need to measure the bitrate of a streaming HD video they are receiving from ESPN360. Any tool to do this?
Depending how the videos are encoded checking the bitrate of a few samples may not give you the actual maximum for their streams. If the original source is not very detailed then the encoded video you are viewing may be well below the maximum they have set.
My understanding is that Youtube HD videos should max out around 2.2mbps. I have read, but not from any authoritative source, that ESPN360 HD videos are 2mbps.
Based on that you would want a connection with at least 2.5mbps. I would even say 3mbps for good measure.
Like most providers, they make it as difficult as possible to download the material, tough I could clear the browser cache, play one clip and then check the largest file.
He’s being pushed on a T1, but he does not need the upload speed. I have no idea why a T1 even came up. He called me this morning, and he started talking about T1s, and I thought “are we suddenly back in the 1980s?”
Remember that bandwidth measures the ultimate capability of a communication system, not the effective rate.
Yeah, this. I have DSL through AT&T (my landlord’s choice). I can watch streaming hi-def video and get pretty decent download speeds… late at night*.* Not during primetime, though (buffering… buffering… plays for 10 seconds… buffering). It’s going to depend on too many factors, like how many people he’s sharing the pipes with in his area.
I had a T1 internet connection in college, split among my entire dorm. It was awesome, but probably out of an individual’s price range. Can he get fiber optic? Is satellite an option? There’s higher latency with satellite internet, but that doesn’t matter much unless he’s a gamer.
OK. What I’m trying to measure then, is what bitrate is this HD stream from ESPN360 that I am getting via cable? It’s easy for me to get he bitrate on a DVD player or a DVB satellite.
You’re getting it from your landlord? Then you are not getting the full DSL feed.
His new location is in a recently developed area. The cable company doesn’t serve the area yet, and being the sweethearts they are, want $7000 to hook him up.
My first choice would be AT&T’s U-Verse, their VDSL service. The problem with that is you don’t know if it can be installed until the truck roll - as this customer found out at his home. He had been assured that he was within range, and only found out that he was 100 wire feet too far from the installer on the day.
I understand the benefits of a guaranteed 1.5 Mb/sec, but it just seems like very old technology compared to *DSL. I think 50% of 8 Mb/sec is better than 100% of 1.5.
I rent a room in the house of a homeowner (we’re like roommates, except it’s not an equal relationship). We share access to the wireless router. She works second shift and isn’t home in the afternoons and turns her computer off during the day. So yes, I am using the full DSL “feed” for a single residential home.
Assuming Windows (you didn’t specify?) the Task Manager has a networking tab. (Note: OS X might also have this, I really don’t know much about Macs.)
- Start streaming the video
- Find the percentage utilization in the Task Manager networking tab
- Multiply by the speed of the link (listed in the table underneath the graph)
Presto.
Bitmeter can tell them how much bandwidth a video takes. You’d probably want to test on a fast connection first to see the maximum bandwidth. Servers can degrade video quality to accommodate slow connections.