Somewhere I read that 1Gbps is the minimum for 4k streaming but not ideal. If you want 8k streaming then people would need 5Gbps.
Keep your eye on Xfinity/Comcast internet
- Thread starter Cropduster172
- Start date
Google AI tells me this:
We'll try it for awhile...can always buy up.
- Multiple users, streaming 4K, online gaming: 100-500 Mbps or more.
BrendanC
$100 site donor 2024
Xfinity is the bane of my existence. i am constantly talking to a foreign call center to get them to honor the deal i signed. they are always trying to price hike or charge me for them working on THEIR line prior to the custody transfer. ATT was pulling fiber but looks like it has stopped after the election. Xfinity is my only option here other than ATT DSL.
BrendanC
$100 site donor 2024
very incorrect. 4k can be streamed at about 25mbps unless you’re streaming from a remote plex server with higher bitrate files.
400 Mbps will handle a lot more than you have listed. Almost every American household can get along just fine with 400 Mbps. Actually they can get by with far less.
Anything more is a sales pitch by the internet providers. They sell higher priced plans because it is all profit. It's a scam. They know the typical household cannot use all the bandwidth they are sold. Before I get flamed, I am not talking about someone who downloads or uploads massive files as part of their day. I say TYPICAL American family.
Part of the scam for some companies is to give the "clueless" family a garbage router included with their low cost plan. It's the range of of the router, not the bandwidth.
So the family gets upset and thinks 200 to 400 Mbps is too slow. They upgrade to a more costly plan, better router (this I do know in some cases) or possibly pushed through a firmware upgrade (this I do not know) better performance that could have been with the slower service.
Your system can stream with 4 or more TVs in 4K plus all your security cameras, a couple laptops and desktops, a few cell phones, Wifi thermostats, Wifi security systems, Wifi door locks, Wifi doorbell camera and Wifi garage door opener. Pretty much anything a family of 4 can throw into the demand mix.
Even new compression codecs require even less bandwidth so people can freely downgrade their service. *LOL*
I hooked up a lot of Wifi security in customers homes in my pre-retirement career. Some of the Wifi networks are laughable, people clueless, paying for speed they arent getting. a Complete mess. So they "upgrade"
Source - https://www.synopi.com/bandwidth-required-for-hd-fhd-4k-video
I ditched the Xfinity gateway when I cut the cable TV and landline. They have a list of compatible modems on their website. I picked a Motorola that I found on Amazon that was rated to 800+ mbps and a well rated T-P Link wireless router. I bought a backup Asus router too. Their gateway and a single X1 box was costing me $20/ month alone. The modem and router cost $150 so that expense paid off quickly.
I know there controversy regarding T-P Link stuff but it works flawlessly and was easy to setup.... which is More than I can say for the Nest thermostat.
FWIW, we have MetroNet fiber at 150mbps and pay ~$50/month. No way anyone is getting >$300/ month from me. We switch from a local fiber company because they would not price match. They were ~$80/month. We stream all kinds of stuff on 4 tv's, multiple pc's and phones (Netflix, Paramount, Firestick etc) with no issues
Family of 6 here. We can *hammer* our lowly 150mpbs connection with 2 4k streams, 1 1080p stream, 2 chromebooks doing whatever, 2 smartphones doing whatever, and still have headroom.
That’s thanks to QoS on my Asus router, I own my Arris SB8200 (RIP SB6141 from 2015) modem, and that the tvs download the streams in “chunks.” I mean yeah, if you want to download a large file or update while all that’s going on it’s going to be noticeably slower…. Unless you’re on the MacBook which has the highest priority in QoS
BrendanC
$100 site donor 2024
while i still hate xfinity, they have upgraded my plan a few times “free of charge”. first bump was 1gbps down to 1.2gbps down. 40mbps to 120mbps up then 120mbps to roughly 300ish mbps up. i feel much better paying the $77 a month now.
large loads are: 6 gaming computers in the house keeping large steam libraries updated, we consume media 100% through a remote plex server. some of the 4k files are in the 70-100mbps range. plus the wife and i are WFM Wednesday and friday so numerous teams calls, emails and file sharing. normal monthly data usage is in the 1.5-2tb range.
using their combo gateway in bridge mode linked at 2.5gbps to my Ubiquiti dream machine SE.
large loads are: 6 gaming computers in the house keeping large steam libraries updated, we consume media 100% through a remote plex server. some of the 4k files are in the 70-100mbps range. plus the wife and i are WFM Wednesday and friday so numerous teams calls, emails and file sharing. normal monthly data usage is in the 1.5-2tb range.
using their combo gateway in bridge mode linked at 2.5gbps to my Ubiquiti dream machine SE.
No monthly data cap in your area or are you paying the extra fee for unlimited?
The fastest they had in my area was 1.2 gbps down/35 mbps up…which is a joke for anyone that needs to upload video often.
Most people just care about big download numbers and don’t care about the upload, which is fine.
BrendanC
$100 site donor 2024
they threw it in for free for 24 months. only stipulation is i have to use their gateway. $77 a month all in for my plan. as someone who is proficient in computers/networking i definitely like a solid upload speed but i care more about latency. as soon as ATT can get fiber rolled out i will be going to their 300/300 plan as its plenty fast for my needs while also allowing for virtually zero latency. only reason i have the top tier xfinity plan is that it was actually cheaper than slower plans with the incentives.
Yeah, solid fiber service is wonderful for low latency. Something magical about hitting servers on the coasts with >10 ms pings and >5 ms jitter.
My Xfinity internet-only service was $95/month IIRC for the 1.2gb down/35mb up service. Quantum fiber is now 1gig up/down for $75/month price for life. No BS with “fee creep” that Xfinity seemed to thrive on.
You read wrong.
I am working on going back to higher speed broadband for the summer at the church camp. We have a minimum for winter when no one is there and bump it up for the summer. In the peak we might have 150 devices using WIFI that is connected to Comcast broadband. Here is the pricing for higher speed. This is a Comcast business account so they charge more.
Users will have watches, phones, laptops and TVs.
I think 500 Mbs is the sweet spot.
300mbps / 35mbps = $149.94
500mbps / 35mbps = $174.94
800mbps / 35mbps = $219.94
1.25Gig / 35mbps = $279.94
Users will have watches, phones, laptops and TVs.
I think 500 Mbs is the sweet spot.
300mbps / 35mbps = $149.94
500mbps / 35mbps = $174.94
800mbps / 35mbps = $219.94
1.25Gig / 35mbps = $279.94
They can't offer more than 35 uplink due to cable technology. The key with a large number of users is effective SQM, especially on the uplink. Buy the 500 plan, but it is likely the actual speed through a spread out network will be less than 300.
JHZR2
Staff member
We only have fios 300/300(iirc) with a landline. It has gone from $69 to $76 over the last ten years. I boycott cable. Never will I pay to watch commercials.
If you must be entertained with garbage tv, you pay the price in more ways than one…
There is a trick, when your promo plan expires... you call and tell them you want to cancel. They will transfer you to someone to try and keep you from doing that. Explain the cost is too high now. Most times they will offer you the new latest and greatest deal that new customers get. Did this for 10+ years until I switched to fiber.
Yeah, that trick only works if there is any form of competition. In many areas there is not.,Although 5G availability is starting to change that but it's not always available in such areas.
It's a church summer camp not the Ritz. No live streaming. A few things are recorded and uploaded. We can limit what anyone one device can do. And what any subnet can do and prioritize the little voice traffic there is over the 2 VOIP phones.
The issue I see with Comcast is sporadic packet loss and modem disconnects. They seem mostly to be at late night so maybe Comcast is doing some work on their network.
The biggest issue at the church summer camp would be a large branch falling and damaging some of the outdoor CAT6 cable. Which happens. Luckily no branches have fallen on our outdoor fiber backhaul that runs 400 feet between buildings.
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Well ok. A few sites said minimum of 25 Mbps but apparently
"you get the best experience without any buffering or transcoding on such devices, you need to make sure you have a bandwidth that exceeds at least 150 Mbps …"
