Part 7 – The Amount of Data and Bandwidth Required for Streaming Video

Now we’re getting to the good stuff.

To understand what eats up your data and bandwidth within your Internet plan, we turn our eyes to streaming video.

Anything you watch through the Internet on your television or monitor is considered “streaming video.” This includes watching movies and TV shows on Netflix or Hulu. It also includes the monitoring of security surveillance that a security camera records.

However, since streaming media uses an Internet connection, it can devour the data and bandwidth of your Internet plan. So that’s why we refer to it as the Internet Hog of your plan.

We’ll discuss how streaming video actually works, but for those wanting to get right to the heart of things, here are some calculations to help with your internet plan selection.

Streaming Video (Movies, TV)

Average movie sizes:

  • A Standard Definition (SD) movie averages 1 GB in file size.
  • A 720p video is an HD movie and averages 2 GB in file size.
  • A 1080p HD 30 frames-per-second (fps) movie averages 3 GB in file size.
  • A 1080p HD 60 (fps) movie averages 6 GB in file size.

To turn those numbers into the up and down speed you need, consider the following scenarios:

  • To watch 8 hours, or 4 movies of standard video a day:
    • 4 GB of data x 30 days = 120 GB of data per month.
    • You would need at least a 2 Mbps download with a 1.5 upload bandwidth.
    • For this amount of streaming, we recommend our GoBrolly Two-User-Internet plan with 105 GB of Limitless data and bandwidth of 7 Mbps x 3.5 Mbps.
  • To watch 8 hours, or 4 movies of 720p HD video a day:
    • You would need 8 GB of data x 30 days = 180 GB of data per month.
    • To enjoy this you would need at least 3 Mbps download with a 1.5 upload bandwidth.
    • GoBrolly Better for Video XD plan with 180 GB of limitless data and bandwidth of 9 Mbps x 4.5 Mbps will run great.
  • To watch really good 1080p HD video, the usage would be 8 hours of video with 4 movies a day:
    • You would need 12 GB x 30 days = 360 GB per month.
    • You will need bandwidth of 4 Mbps download with a 1.5 Mbps upload speed.
    • GoBrolly’s Gaming Online plan with the XD (eXtra Data) upgrade would give you 360 GB of limitless data with bandwidth of 22 Mbps x 11 Mbps. You are lucky, not very many people use this quality of video.
  • 4K video at 30 fps? Sure. It would take 8 hours, or 4 video movies at 9 GB per movie. That is about 36 GB per day
    • You would need 36 GB x 30 days = 1,080 GB per month.
    • You will also need bandwidth of at least 18 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload to run this without buffering.
    • If you truly need this kind of data, please give us a call. We can provide it.
  • Need a full tilt 60 fps (Frames per Second) 4K video 8 hours a day?
    • You would need 72 GB per day for about 2,160 GB per month.
    • You will need a 30 Mbps download x 10 Mbps upload to make it run without buffering.
    • GoBrolly 4K Video XD with 450 GB of Limitless data and bandwidth of 25 Mbps x 12.5 Mbps can get you started. Limitless data at $0.99 a GB, and we have already configured custom data and bandwidth plans that exceed these requirements.

One User Per Month

(Click on graphic below to enlarge)

Amount of Data and Bandwidth Required for Streaming Video - Copyright GoBrolly® Wireless Internet

Streaming Video (Security Surveillance)

Security surveillance is it’s own beast and can become extremely complicated. Upload and download speeds vary depending on a whole host of factors, which include the following:

  • System type (CCTV or HDcctv)
  • Camera type (analog, standard or high resolution)
  • Camera motion type (full motion or freeze frame)
  • Number of cameras
  • Color depth (monochrome, high color or true color)
  • Frames per second (fps)
  • Type of camera access (continuous or occasional streaming)
  • Compression rate

Here is a scenario for a middle-of-the-road surveillance set up:

1 3 Megapixel Camera, Medium Quality Video and 11 fps, start with the GoBrolly Home Office plan with 12 Mbps Down and 6 Mbps Up with 180 GB Free Data.

For a more specific information, here is a website that has a good calculator for surveillance bandwidth. Or just call us.

Understanding Broadcast Standards

4KTechnically, there are 18 different standards for digital TV, all of which are high definition (HD). While television monitors are required to decode all standards, the practical application boils down to just a few.

The most common standards are: 480p, 720p, and 1080p. The number in the name represents the screen’s vertical resolution and the “p” represents a pixel, which is a tiny dot on the screen.

Another resolution that is fast becoming popular is “4K.” However, the name is descriptive of the screen’s horizontal resolution, not the vertical resolution as in previous standards. To run 4K resolution, which roughly equates to 4,000 pixels, you would need a 4K-compatible television.

How Streaming Media Works

When streaming a movie or surveillance footage, you do not receive the whole file at once. Due to capacity restraints of hardware systems, the files are broken up and sent in small pieces, or frames, in consecutive order. The hope is that you receive those frames before the video advances to them.

However, if the video timeline gets to those frames prior to your screen receiving them, then buffering occurs. This means your broadband connection is too slow to stream the video. So the system buffers, or holds, the video data, only to start playback when enough frames are loaded.

While the system buffers and waits for the video data, it displays a spinning buffering symbol recognized by many.

When you become a GoBrolly Customer, that symbol will become a ghost of your Internet past.

GoBrolly recommends starting with the Home Office plan that has 12 Mbps Down and 6 Mbps Up, and 180 GB free data. You can always upgrade, it is that simple.

Home Office