FTTP broadband – specifically ConnectFibre

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

I saw a recent presentation that showed average download speeds actually consumed for video streaming of the order of 5Mbit/s.  The video providers (Netflix etc) continuously improve their coding to save bandwidth at their end.  So much for gigabit fibre.  The real justification for FTTP is cost and reliability.

[John Haine]

On John Haine Said:

I saw a recent presentation that showed average download speeds actually consumed for video streaming of the order of 5Mbit/s.  The video providers (Netflix etc) continuously improve their coding to save bandwidth at their end.  So much for gigabit fibre.  The real justification for FTTP is cost and reliability.

That’s frighteningly low, John … especially when you compare it with the data-density in IMAX film presentations.

It seems the pursuit of quality for its own sake is just a fading memory.

Fast Food vs Fine Dining ?

MichaelG.

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Edit: _ I haven’t done the maths, but here’s a reminder of how big real IMAX is:

https://ewh.ieee.org/reg/7/millennium/imax/imax_technical.html

https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/a-projectionists-guide-to-oppenheimer/

 

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Remember that the providers have “infinite” time to code the material to optimise download and the decoders can be updated over the link as needed.  Years ago I worked on broadband local distribution networks with the aim of 100Mbit/s for digital video streams – by the time the technology emerged to do that you only needed 2Mbit/s for the same quality.  material like live sports needs more bandwidth but nowhere near 1Gbit/s.  Though people talk about families all streaming separate video/playing games etc within a household many consumers are in single-person dwellings.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Point taken, John … I was simply observing that the original data density of an IMAX film frame [and arguably therefore its true quality] is orders of magnitude higher than you could stream at the rates you mention …

i.e. we are being  served ‘Fast Food’ … pre-processed

MichaelG.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

The average will be low because so many are watching the video on a phone which has the sense to drop the rate to an appropriate level. This pulls the average down in a household even if one person is watching full UHD. I think the UHD rate is well below 20Mbps though a full stream of I-frame sport takes about 45Mbps. Given that hardly any ISP now wants your business if you won’t cough up for 50Mbps it’s not a problem. (in theory)
BTW the supplier doesn’t have all day to encode it. It has to be done on the fly because the satellite links use different coding and it has to be unpacked and recoded as it is broadcast.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

John makes a valid point, but – as always – much depends on what the network is used for.

Light email and plain browsing can be accommodated on a 24kb/s dial-up line, but downloading software and images is agonisingly slow.  Massive buffering delays if any form of video or sound is attempted, and a full operating system upgrade will take days to download. Yuk!

The bare minimum for video is about 1.5Mb/s, though most recommend at least 2Mb/s.

Medium quality video averages about 5Mb/s, but a busy fast moving image peaks at about 15Mb/s.

HDTV needs about 18Mb/s and 4k about 25Mb/s, and again it’s of value to have bandwidth sufficient to handle peaks.

On connecting to a video streaming service, the host measures how fast the connection is and downgrades what they send to match – image and sound quality are reduced, so slow-mo viewers get less resolution.  Also, because most videos only change slightly frame-by frame, a slower connection often copes almost invisibly; we don’t notice what’s missing unless the picture is compared side-by-side with that delivered on with a faster link.  Then we notice we’ve been short-changed!

Bandwidth is a measure of volume, whilst latency is a measure of response time.   Latency is important when host/client interactions are fast conversational such as trading on the stock market, or anything else where speed is important.  Generally, high-bandwidth technologies like FTTP have lower latency.  It also reduces the chance of bottlenecking due to the neighbours firing up – my 10Mb/s service sagged to about 4Mb/s for about an hour after the village children came home from school.

High-bandwidth is most obviously worth having in a family when mum, dad, and a few teenagers all watch high-definition video or play intensive games.  However, although I wasn’t unhappy with 10Mb/s, upgrading to 60Mb/s was a distinct improvement, especially when installing and upgrading operating systems.  The 60Mb/s service comfortably does all I need, copes when son and daughter visit, and appears immune to the rest of the village consuming bandwidth.

A nephew has 800Mb/s fibre, and the improvement over 60Mb/s is obvious: in comparison his internet has a much crisper feel, probably because the extra capacity eliminates most minor delays.   Bit like the difference between owning a car that does 0-60mph in 20 seconds, and one that does it in 8.   I’m tempted, and the prices keep dropping…

Dave

 

 

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Further to yesterday’s comment …

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/topic/fttp-broadband-specifically-connectfibre/#post-716625

I have just received my price-increase notification from O2, complete with its ludicrous “justification”

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Why is your price increasing?Contractual price rises allow us to keep developing our products and services – and as demand for data continues to rise, we remain committed to investing in our network technology and coverage innovations. In 2023 alone, we added extra 4G capacity to over 465,000 postcodes across the UK, brought 5G to over 50% of the population*, and expanded coverage into 100 of the most remote places across the UK.

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I have NO mobile coverage, on any band, at my home … and NO likelihood of any in the foreseeable future.

MichaelG.

[john halfpennyParticipant @johnhalfpenny52803]

The Boeing plug does fit from the outside, but drops down behind keepers, so the air pressure keeps it in place. The missing bolts were to stop the door lifting, and escaping the keepers. Why did SOD go down this rabbithole?

[Mark RandParticipant @markrand96270]

What???

[Mark Rand]

On Mark Rand Said:

What???

See this post :

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/topic/fttp-broadband-specifically-connectfibre/#post-714695

MichaelG.

[Author]

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