My Download Speed Is 110mbps but My Upload Is Only 20

Emma Lunn | Nov 9th, 2021

Broadband speeds required for streaming services

Streaming Television receiver and movies is something that many of us do regularly these days. But in that location are a wide range of speed requirements and levels of quality among the various streaming services. In this guide we'll take a await at how much speed each requires.

Streaming Television receiver and movies in SD, Hard disk drive or 4K UHD

For standard definition (SD) streaming you'll need at to the lowest degree an average speed of 3Mbps, for HD 5-8Mbps and for 4K UHD you'll need 25Mbps minimum, but nosotros recommend a connection of 50Mbps to cover all scenarios (live 4K broadcasts require more speed, for instance). Here are the fine details for each of the Uk's main streaming services. Note that, for at present, during the coronavirus crisis, quality has been lowered on most of the following services, thereby lowering the bandwidth requirements of each temporarily.

• Netflix – For standard definition (SD or 480p) Netflix requires at least 3Mbps, for high definition (HD or 1080p) you'll need 5Mbps and for ultra-high definition (UHD, 4K or 2160p) you'll need a minimum of 25Mbps* download speed. Netflix also offers content in HDR, with the speed required the same as it is for 4K
• Amazon Prime – For standard definition (SD or 480p) Amazon Prime number requires just 1Mbps, for high definition (HD or 1080p) you'll need 5Mbps and for ultra-high definition (UHD, 4K or 2160p) you'll need a minimum of 25Mbps* download speed. Amazon Prime number also offers content in HDR, with the speed required the aforementioned equally it is for 4K. Prime Video will serve the highest quality streaming experience possible based on the bandwidth speed bachelor.
• Now TV – It only streams in standard definition and low-end (720p) high definition. NOW TV only states that you lot need a minimum of 2.5Mbps to apply. This probably applies to the 720p (not true HD) streams it offers. For 3G or 4G devices the minimum speed needed is 450Kbps.
• Disney+ – Disney's exclusive streaming service demands a minimum of 5Mbps* for high definition (HD, 1080p) content, and 25Mbps* for 4K UHD streaming
• Apple TV+ – Apple'due south own streaming service is attainable via the Apple Boob tube app, bachelor on iPhones, Smart TVs and desktop applications for Mac or PC. Apple TV+ features exclusive Apple tree-made TV and movies, and is 1 of the nearly enervating out at that place. It has been praised for its exceptional image quality, but that comes at the price of up to 41Mbps required for 4K UHD content, with 25Mbps* recommended as the minimum. The service scales downwardly depending on the speed you lot have available. Anything 8Mbps or amend and yous will be able to lookout man without problems
• YouTube – For standard definition (SD 360p) YouTube requires at least 0.7Mbps, for higher-quality standard definition (SD 480p) you'll need at least 1.one Mbps. For high definition (HD 720p) you will demand 2.5Mbps, for higher-quality high definition (HD 1080p), you volition need 5Mbps, and for ultra-loftier definition (UHD, 4K or 2160p) you'll need a minimum speed of 20Mbps*.
• Google Play Movies & TV – Google Play Movies & Television set offers online video on-demand, accessible across all your Android devices and Smart TV. The service offers movies and television shows for buy or rental, depending on availability. Google Play offers videos and TV in Hard disk drive, 4K UHD and HDR, and specifies a 15Mbps requirement for 4K UHD, otherwise it will default to HD or SD depending on your bandwidth
• BBC iPlayer – High-quality BBC iPlayer programmes stream at up to 5 Mbps while their standard quality programmes stream at one.5 Mbps. BBC iPlayer's website states that 'y'all'll actually need a niggling more bandwidth than this to watch programmes on BBC iPlayer', so you will need minimum speeds of 5Mbps* to use this service.
• ITV Hub – ITV Hub streams at a generally poor quality (poorer than BBC iPlayer, which itself is a long way behind the likes of Netflix, Amazon and iTunes). ITV states you'll need a 0.8Mbps broadband connexion as a minimum in order to watch it, from which we can infer effectually 3Mbps will probably be necessary for SD (ITV Hub doesn't offer HD at all)
• BT Sport – BT Sport streams via your YouView box over your internet connection while BT Goggle box comes through your aerial. For BT Sport you'll demand at least iii.5Mbps.For HDR you'll need at least 2.5Mbps, simply at least 6Mbps is recommended for smart TVs, gaming consoles and other devices. For the BT Sport Ultra Hd channel (4K) yous'll need a broadband speed of at to the lowest degree 25Mbps*, and to stream in 4K HDR, y'all'll need minimum speeds of 30Mbps*

*For 4K streaming across all these services pay special notice to the word 'minimum'. Depending on what is going on on the screen at any given time the amount of speed you crave will get upward and down – these minimums, then, do not guarantee you lot a 4K UHD stream 100% of the time and will drop in resolution when things get busy. To guarantee a true 4K stream across any service you should take the minimum and add 25% to those requirements.

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Be aware that speed estimates are minimums

Information technology's of import to understand the speeds quoted are the minimum speeds you need for HD/UHD. The verbal speed yous need relies on a few dissimilar factors, including what'south going on on-screen – more than detailed scenes require faster speeds.

To be on the safe side, you lot'll need your minimum broadband speed to be safely above these speeds. This is especially the case if you have a busy household with lots of internet-connected devices. If you lot're trying to lookout a Netflix testify in UHD and your flatmates are gaming, information technology will deadening down the speed you get. If your connection is as well slow for your on-screen activeness, you'll experience the dreaded buffering – where your video stops to wait for your broadband to catch upwardly.

Estimates vary, just if you want to be absolutely safe from buffering, you lot should aim to become double the speed you demand, particularly if y'all have other people in your household who also like to use the internet.

The good news is that this is pretty like shooting fish in a barrel to do. Most fibre broadband connections should be able to handle HD and UHD streaming without too many problems. Providers generally offer fibre speeds averaging 36Mbps and 67Mbps, which should be plenty. BT Superfast Fibre (previously BT Infinity ane) has speeds averaging 67Mbps while Virgin Media offers crazily fast connections up to and beyond 500Mbps.

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Live-streaming video across the internet (Twitch, YouTube etc.)

For the uninitiated, live-streaming is basically broadcasting your own video across the cyberspace. Various services offer this, including Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook Live and Twitch. When you're watching a video, the download speed is of import, but when yous're live-streaming (i.e. the star of the video), upload speed is the crucial thing.

This is where things become tricky. When broadband providers annunciate broadband speeds, they're talking about download speeds, not upload speeds. Virtually upload speeds are a fraction of the advertised download speeds. This means live-streamers demand a meridian-end broadband packet to get the faster speeds they need.

Every bit with watching video, the speed you need depends on the definition of your live-streaming. As a rule, live-streaming services such as Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Live and Vimeo require an upload speed of at least i.6Mbps to live-stream in SD. When it comes to 'low Hd', you lot ordinarily need a speed of at least three-3.5Mbps.

'True HD' generally requires an upload speed of iii.5Mbps or in a higher place, although YouTube recommends 6Mbps. Twitch recommends an upload speed of 6 Mbps for loftier-quality, boring-motion 1080p, and a recommended upload speed between 9-13 Mbps for faster live-stream content.

You demand unlimited fibre broadband with a good upload speed

Standard broadband deals normally offer download speeds averaging 25Mbps, but these will mostly take sluggish upload speeds of about 3Mb (if yous're lucky). That's barely enough for any of the popular live-streaming services, even at depression-res, and so you'll need a fibre broadband connection and one with a decent upload speed at that. Our guide on which broadband deals offer the all-time upload speed in the Britain has more information on this subject.

A single thirty-minute broadcast (at 1080p Hard disk drive) volition consume anywhere from 1GB-3GB of data so if y'all practise a lot of live streaming, yous'll apply a lot of data. For that reason y'all should look for an unlimited broadband deal – but that's nearly of them these days anyway.

Look for a minimum upload speed of 5Mb

Your required upload speed will vary depending on your capture quality (eg: 720p Hd), your streaming platform (eg: YouTube, Twitch) and whether you lot're outputting a single stream direct to the web or multiple streams at variable bit rates via a video encoder. In any case, your streaming service of selection volition likely have its ain recommended upload speed, but as a general rule, 5Mb or above is considered optimal for HD video.

Don't worry about traffic management policies (unless you're with Virgin Media)

Some unlimited broadband packages have traffic management policies hidden abroad in the small impress. However, these generally simply touch on activities such as peer-to-peer file sharing and downloading a lot of data. During this time information technology puts a temporary speed restriction on the heaviest users uploading data. Virgin Media used to apply a traffic management policy to what is described equally 'a pocket-sized minority of customers' from 6pm to 11pm each day, just they've updated their policy to apply traffic management practices merely in case of astringent misuse or corruption, where a customer's connection is beingness used for purposes that are illegal, unlawful or inconveniencing other Internet users.

What speed do I need to employ VoIP services like Skype and Facetime?

Voice over Net Protocol (VoIP) services such as Skype and Facetime demand both a decent upload speed (for when yous talk) and download speed (for when the other person talks). Most VoIP providers don't recommend download and upload speeds, but Skype is the exception with articulate guidelines about what yous demand.

If you lot're just having a 1-on-i chat on Skype, it recommends download and upload speeds of only 100kbps and a minimum of just 30kbps. That's like shooting fish in a barrel to achieve – but you lot'll need faster speeds for group chats and group video calls. The recommended download speed for a vii-mode video chat is 8Mbps and upload speed 512kbps.

What speed do I demand for cloud computing applications such equally Dropbox and iCloud?

When you ship documents and files to the deject or Dropbox, you lot need a skilful upload speed (and a good download speed to retrieve them). The bigger the files, the longer they will take to upload.

Upload speeds vary between broadband providers but, peradventure surprisingly, Virgin Media tends to offer slower upload speeds than nigh of its competitors, despite its speedy download speeds. You'll only get close to a 36Mbps upload speed on Virgin'south 350Mbps bargain, while top-end fibre deals with the likes of BT, Plusnet and Sky usually offer upload speeds up to 110Mbps.

What speed practice I need for online gaming?

Multiplayer games online on Xbox, PlayStation or PC don't merely need fast speeds, but stable connections as well. Bad stability manifests itself in the form of things called latency and packet loss, which manifest every bit tiresome response times during gameplay.

Gamers should caput over to our guide on broadband for gaming for the lowdown on what to look for in a broadband connection if you want to go the edge in gaming.

Check speeds in your area

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Source: https://www.cable.co.uk/broadband/guides/broadband-streaming/

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