But the advancement in satellite internet for the rural areas has been achieved in the recent past. We love to have satellite internet in our homes because of the faster speeds and shorter delays, so the product is now available to households. But once the users get engaged in streaming videos and other activities that require a large amount of bandwidth, satellite is not that powerful. In this article, we’ll explain what satellite internet is, how streaming services function, and examine if satellite internet can reliably deliver streaming video to your devices.
What is Satellite Internet?
Satellite internet is a way of providing internet through satellite signals received and transmitted through a small dish installed at home. At home, the satellite dish is linked to a modem/router to broadcast the signal within the home. Some key things to know about satellite internet:
- Availability: Satellite internet is also suitable to be installed in the regions where cable and fiber internet connection is unavailable. Regardless of the terrain type and geographical location, if one can see the southern sky, then it is possible to get satellite internet.
- Speeds: Satellite internet has also received a boost in the recent past, with most providers offering internet plans with a download speed of 25Mbps and above. Downloading speeds continue to be still lower than cable/fiber with a usual range of 3-15Mbps.
- Latency: Hence the time which it takes a signal to get to space and then back is longer which leads to higher latencies. Satellite internet latency is usually 600ms and above, this is because satellite Internet connection has a long distance to cover before the signal gets to the intended destination.
The following is an account of the steps that are taken by video streaming services.
When in the process of streaming video online, the device makes use of a server belonging to the streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and YouTube amongst others. Instead, these servers deliver small parts of the video and send them to your device. Some key aspects of video streaming:
- Buffering: In some cases, especially with video streaming, the services load some of the content in advance to accommodate for network lag. His observation helps in playback later on.
- Bitrates: There are two primary methods by which video files are encoded: at different bit rates or speeds. Streaming services adapt to available bandwidth through varying the bit rates used in the service provided.
- Resolution: It also affects video resolution where the quality is adjusted depending on the situation. This is because at low speeds, the resulting video may not be very clear as compared to the video that is captured when you are moving at a faster speed. That is; in the range of 25Mbps and above, it is possible to stream 4k videos.
The ideal internet connection is one with a bandwidth of at least 25 Mbps, and a low latency is also desirable for streaming. Lower speed and higher latency can lead to poor quality, low resolution and even inaccessibility of stream.
The following piece of work asks whether satellite internet can reliably stream videos.
The short answer is yes, satellite internet plans can support streaming but typically it’s slower and not very reliable than cable or fiber internet.
The high latency inherent to satellite internet can cause some problems:
- Buffering Issues: High latency increases the amount of buffering that needs to take place at the start, and consequently, makes streaming less fluid. This could lead to the situation where streams start sluggishly instead of streaming smoothly.
- Stream Interruptions: Video buffer disrupted more often, which may lead to breaks for rebuffering in the middle of a stream.
- Sync Issues: Latency can also interfere with audio synchronization, that is, with the streaming services for videos.
However, as technological advances have improved satellite capabilities, streaming has become possible in almost all circumstances. Ensuring that the ability to download from the internet is good enough is important. Here are some satellite streaming performance guidelines based on internet plan speeds:
Starter Plans (12-15Mbps):
- SD video streaming is possible when there is some interruption.
- SD will be enjoyable, HD will be irritating
- Maximum on one device at a given time
Standard Plans (20-25Mbps):
- Smooth SD streaming
- It can stream movies in HD, but the video can lag at time and require frequent buffer time.
- Up to two or three devices streaming at a given time.
Higher-Speed Plans (30Mbps+):
- High quality of streaming with fewer disruptions in the form of pauses.
- 4K streaming can be efficient but sometimes can stop and wait for streaming too often.
- Streaming at the same time 3-4 devices
Several things that can be done to enhance satellite streaming include the following.
If you experience frequent buffering, low video quality or other stream interruptions, try these tips for improving streaming:
- That might be because your data limit is up for the month. Most satellite subscription packages offer a limited amount of data, therefore using it for streaming can lead to unreasonable extra charges.
- Restrict those gadgets which can access the internet while streaming – focus on internet connection.
- Move dish to get better signal to improve speed when downloading.
- For streaming videos, make the quality less and choose 480p or 720p.
- Prefer using cables from the router as opposed to a Wi-Fi connection for better efficiency.
Satellite internet has gotten better, but it must have inherent issues, which are even amplified when it comes to applications that require low latency, for instance, video streaming and playing games. That is, variability in usage means more frequently using satellite works better for some families than others while using video streaming. It will help to set the right expectations on your part knowing your satellite plan speeds and data limits.
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