[TriLUG] OT: Relationship between Internet Speed and Video Latency

[Scott Chilcote via TriLUG]

Hello luggers,

We have an ongoing issue with receiving video over our internet
connection.  It hasn't improved much, despite several changes and
upgrades.  I'm hoping some of the more networking savvy members will
share some insights.

By most yardsticks we have fairly decent cable broadband.  The service
is 25X2. Recent online speed tests show above 40Mbps down, around 8
going up. 

However, it's very rare that we are able to stream video without it
being hitchy and lossy.  It's been that way for years.

I know that there are a beaucoup of contributing factors when it comes
to getting video data from somewhere in the great cloud to a screen in
one's house, but we've done our best to mitigate them. Changes made over
the last couple of years include upgrading the entire path to our
systems that display video to wired gigabit ethernet, including the
firewall router, cat 6 cable, and network switches.  We also got TWCBC
to replace the overheating refurb modem they originally dropped off with
a new Arris DG1670.  I'm not saying that this was zero help, but not as
much as hoped.  15-25% improvement is my guess. 

My biggest peeve is Google Hangouts, which my employer uses frequently
for virtual staff meetings. 

It seriously does not help one's image to be the fellow at the meeting
who stares back blankly after being asked a question, because the video
came to a stop or started stuttering after the first syllable.  Or to
get the first 1/3 of a set of instructions that two other people heard
fine.  I've searched for help online many times, and tried several
potential solutions. 

The only thing that helped so far is to pull the tab showing the video
out of the browser window and to make it very small.  This reduces the
amount of streamed data.  It provides a mild improvement, but not enough.

We also "cut the cord" and use video streaming for our modest TV needs. 
We use amazon prime, and occasionally rent a package from a TV
provider.  This often works better than Google Hangouts.  There have
still been many programs where the streaming was too poor to make it
worth the trouble.

We're not a high demand household.  When I'm working during the day I'm
our only broadband user.  We don't have any devices that perform large
downloads automatically.  I review our usage on the broadband router's
logs, and it's typically very light. From what I've read, 25X5 should be
plenty to support a single video stream - more likely two or three. 

I can't wait until Google Fiber shows up in our neighborhood, but
they're keeping that a secret. 

Anyone have ideas regarding what might help?

Thanks as always,

   Scott C.

-- 
Scott Chilcote
scottchilcote at ncrrbiz.com
Cary, NC USA