Streaming with contraints

As discussed in the Washington Post, slow Internet speed is usually in the hands of your Internet service provider. Since net neutrality was recently struck down by a major court, Internet service providers technically now have the freedom to throttle Internet traffic as they see fit. In theory, Internet service providers can charge companies such as Pandora, Netflix, Hulu, and other multimedia websites fees to deliver content through their networks. If the companies choose not to pay, the Internet provider can intentionally slow down the traffic.
The FCC tried to speed things up but Verizon challenged them and won. Comcast held Netflix hostage for more money to offer more speed. It is all about the money and other countries have solved the speed problem.

Here is an article that discusses the recent developments about internet speeds. Feel sorry for Verizon and Comcast if you want, but it is all about the money. The last paragraph of this article says it all. Net Neutrality

Pogoil wrote:
We are way to dependent on a service that did not exist not to many years ago.

I know how to fix this perceived problem.
TURN OFF the TV and computer and get outside and enjoy this fine country first hand.

I will never understand why anyone needs so much speed. Remember a few years ago dial up speeds? Nothing else to complain about.

That's all well and good but I myself also would like to enjoy a movie or TV show here and there and especially when the weather outside is nasty. Services like Netfix offer a pretty good variety of on demand commercial free entertainment that Cable and Satellite can't provide. That would be one reason behind the need for high bandwidth that has stymied you.

We are "camping" in RVs, not tents and some people full time.

I don't get it, are you trying to promote discussion or looking for a specific answer?

I used to have an unlimited plan with MetroPCS and it was great but not so great for nationwide travel. Then my wife dumped my $50 a month unlimited 4g plan that I was grandfathered in to save $5 a month, without asking and even after being told by the rep that it would never be available again for that cheap...

Anyway, that is still a sore spot, sorry about the diversion.

There is NOTHING I am aware of in this country that is or will (in the near future) make video streaming a viable replacement for traditional TV in a community environment (Campground or cellular network).

At home, it works out very well and I have found that for what I consider a good viewing experience, I need about 7Mbps/s for 720 TV shows and about 16 Mbps for a full 1080p movie with 5.1 digital surround. No way that is happening at a campground shared internet connection.

Effy wrote:
Frankly I don't care about Japan or any other country as I live here. I simply would like to know if or how or when or why, with the technology available how you access streaming content on a portable device without selling a kidney on the black market. technology is there, content is there, plans are cost inhibitive. This has to change as I forecast this is an area of growth.

Why does it have to change? You and most other customers in the USA will pay whatever the carriers want and accept it. Where is the incentive for any of the carriers to increase the speed and lower the cost?

Pogoil wrote:
We are way to dependent on a service that did not exist not to many years ago.

I know how to fix this perceived problem.
TURN OFF the TV and computer and get outside and enjoy this fine country first hand.

I will never understand why anyone needs so much speed. Remember a few years ago dial up speeds? Nothing else to complain about.

We frequent a park that has a 5 mbps service for 40 sites and guess what it works well for all. Why because the owners give out with the code guide lines for no downloads, streaming of movies and music and to disconnect when they are not using the service. And yes they monitor their router to make sure people follow the rules.

Pogoil.

Thank you for your insight, but I use my conection for work. I also look for cost effective alternatives. Why should I pay for several services when I can use one and cover eveything? Why your suggestion of unplugging has it's merits, it's not practical for some. I enjoy plenty of outside activities. And this thread is not targeted solely at camping. Thanks for your archaic solution to this dilemma but it doesn't work for me.

We are way to dependent on a service that did not exist not to many years ago.

I know how to fix this perceived problem.
TURN OFF the TV and computer and get outside and enjoy this fine country first hand.

I will never understand why anyone needs so much speed. Remember a few years ago dial up speeds? Nothing else to complain about.

We frequent a park that has a 5 mbps service for 40 sites and guess what it works well for all. Why because the owners give out with the code guide lines for no downloads, streaming of movies and music and to disconnect when they are not using the service. And yes they monitor their router to make sure people follow the rules.

Pogoil.

Frankly I don't care about Japan or any other country as I live here. I simply would like to know if or how or when or why, with the technology available how you access streaming content on a portable device without selling a kidney on the black market. technology is there, content is there, plans are cost inhibitive. This has to change as I forecast this is an area of growth.

I know that Japan is smaller than the USA. I also know that SOME major areas of the USA are totally covered with fiber optics AND cell towers.
What I also know is that none of those areas that are covered with fiber optics offer the speed and the lower cost internet that is available in other countries. Basically the customers in those areas have been paying to upgrade the infrastructure and now that it is there, the carriers are not offering them the best service they can at a lower cost.
You are right, it is all about the cost. Right now the major carriers are only interested in charging their customers the higher prices for sub-standard internet service and even when the infrastructure is in place, they have not lowered their service price or significantly increased the internet speeds.
But heck, if the customers accept it, why would they be interested in changing their business practices.

rgatijnet1 wrote:

paulcardoza wrote:
Apples to Oranges unfortunately. Those 15 countries combined, would fit into one quadrant of the USA. Infrastructure to provide adequate bandwidth to Japan is a lot different than over the entire USA.

rgatijnet1 wrote:
The thing that people need to keep in mind is that the USA IS NOT at the forefront of internet speeds/cost/bandwidth. In fact the USA average cost is MUCH higher than other countries that offer internet speeds MUCH faster. The average download speed in the USA is 4.8mbps at an average cost of $3.33/MB. In Japan, the average download speed is 61mbps at an average cost of $.27/MB. Japan's internet service is 12 times faster and cost 1/12 as much as the USA. Still feel sorry for the carriers in this country????
Basically the broadband suppliers in the USA are charging us a huge amount for the slowest service. In fact there are 15 countries that offer faster and cheaper internet service than the USA, including Korea.
I guess as long as the customers continue to accept the pitiful service that we are offered, none of the companies will even consider any upgrades to bring the USA into the 21st Century.
If and when the USA carriers decide to offer much faster internet service, satellite TV will still be the best choice for most homes and RV's. We may be headed towards streaming TV service but it doesn't look like it will happen anytime soon. Internet speeds and costs

Wrong. Japan is doing it with fiber optic cables, which have already been run in much of the USA. The Verizon FIOS fiber optic cables are available in much of the USA and Verizon does not offer any internet service that compares with the other countries as far as speed or cost. Verizon and the other carriers give us the minimum speeds that they can get away with for the maximum cost.

While Verizon has lots of fibre cable. I think it would be a stretch to say they have the entire country covered.
Keep in mind the infrastructure exist in the metro areas however it is the remote areas that lack infrastructure.
As RV'ers we hang out in the remote areas. In the end it all comes down to cost.
The service providers are not willing to invest in the remote areas because there is very little return. Why wire a huge mountain when there are very few residents there to pay for the service?
As technology improves and demand slowly increase I can imagine a day when affordable wireless streaming is available, however that day is still far far away.
Nevertheless there are currently cheaper options than streaming, including satellite,Red Box and the expanded availability of OTA channels

I use a general thumb rule if 1 GIG per hour.. for NTSC and MP2 this is fairly accurate for MP4 I have seen HD go as high as a gig and a half to two gigs and SD as low as 1/3 to 1/2 Gig per hour. but at the lower end you loose a lot of detail in the video. And gain many compression artifacts. (It is a talk show I watch so video quality, not so important).

Your plans: Sat internet: there are basically two companies that are common providers, and at least 2 more that can do it with better something.

Hughes and Excide. Exide has the bandwidth on at least some plans. I can demonstrate to you in fact. http://twit.tv/hn and watch any episode.. This show is studioed all over the country, and Bob Heil of Heil Sound is skyping his contribution into the central Studio (in California) via Exide. He is also watching multiple feeds on his studio monitor.

Hughes has just come out with a new service (Gen-4) and I will now tell you everything I know about it.... (There, that's done).

Line of site to a satellite that is about 1/8 light second high (What is that 2300 miles give or take a bit) is rarley a problem, You use a ground mount (Tripod) and an Align-a-site and you can see the bird no problem. (Or a sat finder cell phone app).

Your next choice is cellular: Verizon has the best data coverage, or so they claim, (I'm not sure about one other company so won't even name it) But they also love to sock it to you with overage charges.. BIG time, they do have the bandwidth but unlimited plans (if they still offer) can be costly.

T-Mobile still has a genuine unlimited plan, in fact the only one I know of, but a much smaller coverage map for high speed and only the first 6.5 gigs (On my plan) are high speed. after that they throttle me.. And they have been unable to tell me what is and is not high speed..

They say 6.5 Giggs of high speed (I hit 6.6 once) but when I ask she said "The first 6.5 Gigs".. note that some of those were on G or E (1g or 3g) not high speed 4G.. I'm also not sure what they throttle you to. E (Edge, roughly 3G) will JUST support a low-res video link.

Please do not use park Wi-Fi, most parks have limited bandwidth and if you get a couple folks streaming video... There is no joy for anyone.