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DSL and Netflix - 7/24/2010 6:26:00 AM
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Strider33
Posts: 768
Joined: 4/24/2008
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I bought a Blu Ray player from Sony about a month ago. I've been using DSL for about five years.
After fixing some things in my DSL connection, I was able to connect the Blu Ray player to Youtube and Netflix on line. There are about two dozen other services listed in the Blu Ray. After trying out Youtube, I expected Netflix to be unusable due to slow line speed. Youtube takes a long time to load, and has to pause to reload in the middle of a long clip.
To my surprise, I was able to watch an entire movie on Netflix with no pauses in the middle. I don't know much of anythnig about the internals of Netflix, but I notice they test the line speed before starting the flick. My guess is that they compromise on the definition of the video in order to stream within the speed limits of the link. I did see the movie tile in one or two places. Disappointing, but nowhere near as irksome as a pause in the middle.
I expect that people whose effective line speed is very variable would see pauses in a movie presentation. I've seen some very angry forums posts to that effect.
I'm wondering if I'm going to eventually sign up for a faster DSL plan or get some other faster internet. I'm living on a retirement income, so I don't spend money when I don't have to. I expect to use Netflix over internet more as time goes on. I also plan on looking into the alternatives to Netflix.
Do you have any experiences with this to add? Do you have any knowledge of how Netflix uses the link? Is there any difference between a Bluray player, a Wii box, and an internet ready TV set?
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RE: DSL and Netflix - 7/28/2010 4:29:38 PM
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tacitus
Posts: 2582
Joined: 5/12/2005
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There are several factors involved in how fast your download speed is:
-- the speed of the server you are downloading from
-- the speed of the connection between the server and your DSL service provider
-- the maximum speed of your DSL connection
-- the contention ratio of your DSL connection (how many others you are sharing bandwidth with).
Obviously you cannot control the first two -- and this is probably why YouTube was slow. I have a 8Mbps connection, but at times it can take an age of YouTube clips to load, and at other times it's not an issue.
The Netflix downloads are essentially no different from downloading anything else -- it's just data being pumped though your connection. But since Netflix is a subscription service, they are probably more sensitive to customer satisfaction, which would drop markedly if movies kept stopping and starting. Thus they have probably invested heavily in bandwidth and servers to make sure they have enough. The quality of viewing a random YouTube clip is probably not as critical to it's success. I don't have Netflix, but it is quite possible that they use a variable streaming rate depending on the overall speed of the connection. A slight drop in quality from time to time is more acceptable to viewers than 30 second buffering pauses in the middle of the climax of the movie, that's for sure. Streaming sites like Comedy Central and CBS, and others use this technique too, so it's commonplace.
I don't think you can beat the Netflix (at 8.95/month) for streaming shows and movies at the moment. Other companies might offer a better selection or more recent movies/shows via streaming, but I doubt that they will be any cheaper. As for going up to a faster tier of DSL service, I would only do that if you need to. If Netflix is already downloading movies fast enough for you, then paying more for a faster speed isn't going to do anything for you at all. Now if you go to HD streaming you might find you need a faster connection, but that's a different matter.
quote:
Is there any difference between a Bluray player, a Wii box, and an internet ready TV set?
No. They all use the same network and communications protocols under the covers. Netflix will probably know what type of box it is sending the data to, but apart from that, everything else is essentially the same. The main differences (of course) are in how the users accesses the movies.
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RE: DSL and Netflix - 7/28/2010 7:54:42 PM
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jhuperetes
Posts: 1948
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Make sure that your other computers are all off when you are watching NetFlix.
They often communicate in the background for various things and they take up bandwidth.
On a minor note, DSL (in this case most likely ADSL) is not impacted by other, external users as much as other broadband solutions, such as cable or fiber.
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RE: DSL and Netflix - 7/28/2010 10:23:15 PM
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IE_2009
Posts: 216
Joined: 7/9/2010
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I've also noticed that the MODEM and ROUTER used can affect internet speeds. When I changed to a newer modem and router, my internet speeds went up significantly. You can call your DSL provider and ask if you're using the most current modem and router technology.
As you have already mentioned, Netlix also determines your connection speed/limits and adjusts accordingly. Youtube tends to start at the lowest video quality too. Honestly, I don't know why some websites work the way they do.
I like using http://speedtest.net/ to determine my internet speed. What's your speed, based on using a few different cities? (Try cities nearest to your home. But, try a few different ones). What's your slowest, fastest, etc?
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