Broadband internet speed effect on video buffering?
- Thread starter Lolly
- Start date
dasmiller
Just the right amount of cowbell
Unless your computer systerm is ancient, it could easily take advantage of a much faster internet connection.
But having said that - there are a lot of potential bottlenecks further upstream, so there's no guarantee that a faster connection would give you better video. But it certainly might.
Thanks.
It's not ancient (IMO) but not new - pentium 4 1.8GHz, 1Gb memory (it tells me I've got 59% total free memory).
dasmiller
Just the right amount of cowbell
Have you done any speed tests to see what your connection speed actually is? And if you upgrade, do they actually guarantee a higher speed?
Of course, no matter how fast your computer and connection are, if you're getting data streamed from a slow, over-loaded server, then your video will be jerky.
Of course, no matter how fast your computer and connection are, if you're getting data streamed from a slow, over-loaded server, then your video will be jerky.
BenBurch
Gatekeeper of The Left
YouTube, generally, can feed you as fast as you can take it. A lot of bandwidth there.
Edit: Generally they burst the file to start it quick, and then send at the rate you ought to be consuming it.
Edit: Generally they burst the file to start it quick, and then send at the rate you ought to be consuming it.
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Yes, I tested it this morning and it tested at 439kbps for downloads (I can't remember the upload speed)
yes. They say you'll test at about 85% of your speed (which is what the 439 works out at.)
Yes. I don't want to pay more to get a faster connection if it isn't going to make any difference.
I don't know what operating system you have, but if you have Win XP it's possible your receive buffer is the default size for a dialup connection. My XP install defaulted to that size. I changed it using the registry editor and noticed an improvement in download speed. If you are comfortable editing the registry you might try following these instructions.
To change your TCP Receive Window size:
Launch window registry editor by clicking on Start | Run .
Click in the dropdown box and type in regedit.exe then click OK .
Back up your registry by selecting File | Export
Type in a meaningful file name.
In the export range section select All. Then save to an easily remembered location on your hard drive.
To restore your old registry you simply import this file.
Next you need to create a new registry key.
On the left side you need to go to the directory HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
Select Edit | New | DWORD Value . Rename the new registry key to TcpWindowSize.
Modify the registry setting for TcpWindowSize by double clicking on the key.
Change the Base Setting to Decimal.
Enter the value 64240 and click OK, then exit RegEdit.
For these settings to take effect you need to close all your open applications and reboot your system
To change your TCP Receive Window size:
Launch window registry editor by clicking on Start | Run .
Click in the dropdown box and type in regedit.exe then click OK .
Back up your registry by selecting File | Export
Type in a meaningful file name.
In the export range section select All. Then save to an easily remembered location on your hard drive.
To restore your old registry you simply import this file.
Next you need to create a new registry key.
On the left side you need to go to the directory HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
Select Edit | New | DWORD Value . Rename the new registry key to TcpWindowSize.
Modify the registry setting for TcpWindowSize by double clicking on the key.
Change the Base Setting to Decimal.
Enter the value 64240 and click OK, then exit RegEdit.
For these settings to take effect you need to close all your open applications and reboot your system
Thanks for the info, unfortunately I'm not running windows so I can't try it.
Hlafordlaes
Disorder of Kilopi
The single most effective method for improving your broadband connection is to ensure that your MTU setting (maximum IP packet size in bytes) is correct. This is usually 1492, but may differ. Google "set MTU <name of your operating system>" to find out how to adjust it. Too large a number and packets must be broken up and retransmitted, too low and too many packets are sent. An example of manual testing can be found here. The example is from a DOS command line, but there are ways of doing something similar in other, non-Windows OS's.
Once you are sure of correct settings, see if you are then getting a good enough connection for your needs. If not, a speed upgrade would then be your next step.
Once you are sure of correct settings, see if you are then getting a good enough connection for your needs. If not, a speed upgrade would then be your next step.
Thanks. It all seems a bit complicated for me.
I'll do some more googling and see if I can figure it out.BenBurch
Gatekeeper of The Left
Lolly, if you have OSX, and want to change the MTU size, it's easy.
First, go to speedtest.net and run a speed test and note the results. You might want to run it three times so you can average.
1. Open the System Preferences under the Apple menu.
2. Open the "Networking" item from the System Preferences Panel.
3. Assuming your DSL connects to the Ethernet, you should see in the left-hand column, "Ethernet" with "Connected" under it and a green spot left of that. Click it if its not already hilighted.
4. Now at the bottom-right of the panel is a button labeled "Advanced..." Click it.
5. A drop-down panel will appear. Click the "Ethernet" tab.
6. Change the "Configure" item from Automatic to "Manually"
7. Change the MTU item from "Standard (1500)" to "Custom"
8. Enter 1400 in the box below that item.
9. Click OK. The drop down panel should appear.
10. Click "Apply"
Now, you can see if it changed anything by again going to speedtest.net and running the test.
First, go to speedtest.net and run a speed test and note the results. You might want to run it three times so you can average.
1. Open the System Preferences under the Apple menu.
2. Open the "Networking" item from the System Preferences Panel.
3. Assuming your DSL connects to the Ethernet, you should see in the left-hand column, "Ethernet" with "Connected" under it and a green spot left of that. Click it if its not already hilighted.
4. Now at the bottom-right of the panel is a button labeled "Advanced..." Click it.
5. A drop-down panel will appear. Click the "Ethernet" tab.
6. Change the "Configure" item from Automatic to "Manually"
7. Change the MTU item from "Standard (1500)" to "Custom"
8. Enter 1400 in the box below that item.
9. Click OK. The drop down panel should appear.
10. Click "Apply"
Now, you can see if it changed anything by again going to speedtest.net and running the test.
Unfortunately not. I've got debian Lenny. It's MTU is set to 1500, apparently. I did some googling, but can't figure out whether changing it would do any good.