OT: Verizon Wireless to watch streaming video.

I am considering subscribing to Verizon Wireless' Broadband Access service. (No other broadband is available at my rural home).

In reviewing their service agreement, I find that they limit the amount of data that I can download to 5gb per month.

Since one of the most data-intensive things that I'd like to do with this service is watch CU hockey on the internet, I am curious if anyone here on ELF has any feel for whether how this might work out for me. Does anyone have any estimate of the amount of data received in viewing a typical hockey game via streaming video? Obviously, the monthly totals will vary depending on the number of games that I view per monthly billing period.

My instinct is that, if I watch very much streaming video, I will be up against the 5gb limit pretty quickly. But, I have no data on which to base this.

Thanks, in advance, for any info provided. I'm getting very tired of NOT having broadband. But, I don't want to commit to a two-year agreement with VZW and find that it has a major (data) limitation that detracts from my use of their service.

I think the Cornell Redcast stream is 473 kilobits per second, or around 58 kilobytes a second. So 120 minutes of streaming audio and video would be around 400 - 450 mbs. Assuming you don't do anything else on the Internet, that would give you at least ten streaming events a month.

Have you looked into satellite access?

metaezra
I think the Cornell Redcast stream is 473 kilobits per second, or around 58 kilobytes a second. So 120 minutes of streaming audio and video would be around 400 - 450 mbs. Assuming you don't do anything else on the Internet, that would give you at least ten streaming events a month.

Have you looked into satellite access?

Tnx. Yes, I've looked into satellite access a while ago. As I recall, they have data limitations as well. Since satellite access is more expensive (the last I checked it) and lest portable than Verizon Wireless Broadband Access, VWBA wins, hands down. Jan & Feb are the months where I would do the most streaming video (hockey). So, those are the only months that I would have to "manage" the usage a bit. For the other 10 months, I would have no problems.

Any other opinions on this?

redice
Any other opinions on this?

Move.

From my experience, don't even consider satellite broadband. I couldn't even listen to games without constantly dropping out.

redice

metaezra
I think the Cornell Redcast stream is 473 kilobits per second, or around 58 kilobytes a second. So 120 minutes of streaming audio and video would be around 400 - 450 mbs. Assuming you don't do anything else on the Internet, that would give you at least ten streaming events a month.

Have you looked into satellite access?

Tnx. Yes, I've looked into satellite access a while ago. As I recall, they have data limitations as well. Since satellite access is more expensive (the last I checked it) and lest portable than Verizon Wireless Broadband Access, VWBA wins, hands down. Jan & Feb are the months where I would do the most streaming video (hockey). So, those are the only months that I would have to "manage" the usage a bit. For the other 10 months, I would have no problems.

Any other opinions on this?

The other catch to satellite internet is that the upload is via a phone line, I believe at modem speeds. And the latency could be an issue if you do a lot of things interactively online (e.g., secure shell into other machines).

I'm surprised Verizon is cracking down on total downloads rather than total uploads. The data limits seem designed to get at torrenters, and limit uploads is a good way to separate torrenting from streaming.

BTW, I've seen lots of broadband contracts that basically put vague limitations of "not too much" to keep people from making quasi-industrial use of their connections, but it seems strange to see a limit on downloads that would seem to catch the casual-to-active streamer.

jtwcornell91

The other catch to satellite internet is that the upload is via a phone line, I believe at modem speeds.

In my conversations with HughesNet, I'm being told that they no longer offer new customers the phone-up/sat-down combination. It is now completely two-way through the satellite.

I'm surprised Verizon is cracking down on total downloads rather than total uploads. The data limits seem designed to get at torrenters, and limit uploads is a good way to separate torrenting from streaming.

BTW, I've seen lots of broadband contracts that basically put vague limitations of "not too much" to keep people from making quasi-industrial use of their connections, but it seems strange to see a limit on downloads that would seem to catch the casual-to-active streamer.

Frankly, I too am surprised that they crack down on this. But, if I can believe the people at the Verizon Wireless kiosks, they are truly doing it.

I have tried doing a live chat with their customer service reps....That's a real experience! I asked them 2-3 very specific questions. They answered with information that had nothing to do with my questions. We went round & round with that concept until we both agreed that I should call their 800#. I haven't done that yet because I expect I will get more of the same non-answers there.

I suspect they prefer to stay in realm of vaguery in hopes that I'll subscribe to their service- even if it doesn't fit my needs. While understandable (from their perspective), I prefer to establish the "ground rules" and make informed decisions in advance. That seems so much simpler than subscribing to their service and canceling because it doesn't fit my needs.

Yeah, they haven't done phone-up/sat-down for a few years, but the upstream satellite is just as slow as a phone line. Latency is horrendous and I would expect streamed video to work very poorly over satellite. The numbers posted by metaezra are pretty spot-on for any good quality stream.

Do you know what your VWB reception is like at your home? I'd be concerned about being able to maintain a 300-500mbit/s video stream over any wireless broadband. If you do go that route, make sure you don't get into anything binding and long-term without an out-clause.

CowbellGuy
Yeah, they haven't done phone-up/sat-down for a few years, but the upstream satellite is just as slow as a phone line. Latency is horrendous and I would expect streamed video to work very poorly over satellite. The numbers posted by metaezra are pretty spot-on for any good quality stream.

Do you know what your VWB reception is like at your home? I'd be concerned about being able to maintain a 300-500mbit/s video stream over any wireless broadband. If you do go that route, make sure you don't get into anything binding and long-term without an out-clause.

I've been told by others, who have used satellite internet to stay away from it because it is not as good as advertised (what is?).

My VW phone signal is very strong at my home. In fact, my employer once provided a VW card for use with the company laptop. It worked reasonably well for everything BUT streaming video. But, I was using that back in the day when VW only offered their (slower) National Access service in this area. They have now upgraded to (the faster) Broadband Access service in this area. That upgrade has given me new hope.

As for the long-term commitment, I will have to commit to a two-year contract. But, as with any VW contract, I can opt out in the first 30 days without penalty. Oh BTW, if I did exceed the data download limitations in the contract, they reserve the right to terminate the contract AND assess me the early termination fee. Ya gotta love that!!!

Thanks Age

verizon is very vague about using their feed.. but I know while they have a 5 gig limit they also do not you streaming full time.. I have talked with people who have lost their account because of streaming and never went over the limit.

I stream all the time thru my phone but I use Orb so that lowers the bandwith from 4-500K down to 40-50K and I never use more than 100 meg a month..

are you sure DSL is not available? you are going to pay $50 a month to get the 5 gig data feed from verizon.. for a little bit more they will install business IDSN to almost anyone which will make it much more usable. do you plan on hooking your phone up full time to do this?

If you want to find out about:
1) real life speeds/experience with streaming video over that kind've connection
and
2) if they really enforce that data clause

you can't do much better than asking the question on the relevant forum on on HowardForums.com . The broadbandreports.com forums may be good too.

Good suggestion about HowardForums. I checked into this issue awhile ago, and if you suspect you'll surpass the 5gb limit, you can purchase a separate broadband service from them that doesn't have this limitation. Verizon does enforce this limit by terminating your service, probably as a way to push you into buying the additional broadband service. I don't recall whether you can purchase this month-to-month or whether you're locked in for a longer period.