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iPlayer bandwidth?

T

Tom

New Member
Does anyone happen to know the bandwidth required by the Humax portal to stream live, non-HD iPlayer? I'm moving to an area with quoted speeds of 0.5Mbps and would like to know whether my HDR-FOX T2 will still work as I'm used to!
 
Before I switched back to BT from Virgin (copper not fibre) I used to get less than 1Mbps in the peak hours of the evening and it wasn't enough for SD iplayer (that was what caught my attention to start finding out why I got such a low figure and it ended up with me switching back to BT (I know it's the same wires and all but it just seems better and more reliable and better customer service with BT). Now I get 8-10Mbps regularly even in prime time (plus the added benefit of free BTOpenzone access when I stay away for work!!)
 
Just googled it - the BBC website says this :

BBC iPlayer TV programmes streamed to your device use 1500kbps or 800kbps of bandwidth for standard (SD) tv content.

To enjoy high quality, uninterrupted programme playback you'll need an internet connection that delivers at least 2Mbps of sustained bandwidth for SD content, and at least 3Mbps of sustained bandwidth for HD content.
 
I manage well on 2.5Mbps, but I wouldn't want to risk any less.

However, being as the HDR (and - I am informed - the HD-FOX running in HDR Mode) buffers the iPlayer stream to a file, I expect it would be possible to start the programme and then pause it, wait for the buffer to fill up and then either play it "live" or save it off to play another time.
 
Black Hole said:
I manage well on 2.5Mbps, but I wouldn't want to risk any less.

However, being as the HDR (and - I am informed - the HD-FOX running in HDR Mode) buffers the iPlayer stream to a file, I expect it would be possible to start the programme and then pause it, wait for the buffer to fill up and then either play it "live" or save it off to play another time.
Click to expand...

Can anyone verify that? Is there any way of recording programmes from iPlayer to watch later - preferably by pre-programming it to dowload at a particular time? [I'm thinking this would be useful for people who are near their monthly bandwidth limit, but can use an unlimited amount in the middle of the night without it counting.]

Even if you could only do it in real time, it would still be useful so that other family members could watch it later without having to re-stream it.

WT
 
Watt Tyler said:
Can anyone verify that?
Click to expand...

It's definitely the case you can save off the stream buffer - in order to do so you need access to areas of the file system that are only accessible with the Custom Firmware installed, and once you've done that there's no point doing it the old way with FTP, might as well use the Web Interface dedicated control.

The whole programme gets downloaded to the stream buffer, and then it just sits there until another programme overwrites it. However, to do that you need to have the TV Portal open which stops the Humax doing anything else in the mean time. Once the whole programme has been downloaded at network speed you can exit the TV Portal (even if the programme has not played to the end).

The reason I was ever so slightly hesitant is because I don't know what happens if your network bandwidth is slower than real time. In the early versions of the TV Portal I had speed problems, but I could overcome them by pausing playback for a while - which presumably gave the buffer chance to fill ahead.
 
Tom said:
Does anyone happen to know the bandwidth required by the Humax portal to stream live, non-HD iPlayer? I'm moving to an area with quoted speeds of 0.5Mbps and would like to know whether my HDR-FOX T2 will still work as I'm used to!
Click to expand...
oijonesey said:
The web-if has an option to save last streamed content if you're running it - there's some info in the Wiki (Click)
Click to expand...
This looks as if it ONLY works with the custom firmware, and not with the 'out of the box' firmware. Is that correct?
 
Watt Tyler said:
This looks as if it ONLY works with the custom firmware, and not with the 'out of the box' firmware. Is that correct?
Click to expand...
Yes that's correct - the file is presumably always saved on the box even with the std firmware, but the mods allow access to it either directly via Telnet if you know those commands or more conveniently (for people like me especially) via the Web Interface.
 
I use the Humax iplayer and have about 0.8Mbps. In the settings there is a quality option (I think thats what its called). Before I watch something on the iplayer I alter this to normal from high and it works ok - its perfectly watchable on a 42inch screen. If I leave it to default mode it plays but stops and buffers regularly.

On a related note if your new place has telephone extensions you might want to refer to this article (
http://www.dslzoneuk.net/socket.php?type=html) about removing the ring wire - I used to get 0.4Mbps before I followed the advice.
 
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