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

[ac via TriLUG]

On Fri, 28 Apr 2017 16:38:54 -0400
Scott Chilcote via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org> wrote:
> 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.
> 
internet in the US is quite interesting and I still do not fully
understand how all the different players operate, from my own
experiences depends where in the world (and even where in the US) I may
be, I use external servers and custom ports and networks on top of
networks to push or pull my own data/traffic. For example brighthouse
on 300Mbps cable sometimes tanks port 22 - but if I route port 22
traffic through port 80 (or 443) I have much better speeds (less latency)
(or of course if i use expensive mobile data)

do you have broadband or cable?

broadband is not pooled and cable is.

then, your provider (rr?) sets priorities for different streams & ports,
and speed test results depends a lot on what test you are using

for some of my needs 1Mbps ADSL broadband is many times faster than
300Mbps cable (if it even works at all), then again for netflix 300Mbps
cable is many times faster than 1Mbps broadband

you can also shape your own home traffic, for example my 6 year
old's tablet  is capped at x speed and my 11 year old at y speed, (it
takes some tinkering but there are good online guides for shaping
traffic) 

overall, you may also find that 'some' streaming services on one
provider is much slower on a different provider and at different times
of the day...

so, maybe the correct answer is - get a different provider..but with
some of the providers not just supplying network, but also physical
security (home alarm) & other iot, it is becoming increasingly
difficult - if not impossible - to change providers in many
regional areas. - In many areas there are no other operator(s) - to an 
ignorant observer, it may seem that they have agreements to stay out of each
others areas :)

Generally and overall Internet in the USA is also becoming very region
specific, the overall number of players have and are decreasing
(current example: at&t merger)  

so, eroding internet freedom and the one or two? eventual companies
also deciding what everyone uses (or does not use: for example google
hangouts) 

so, to be clear, a provider (as there will soon only be one in your geo)
will decide what you use or do not use :)

Andre

> 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.
>