How much bandwidth for streaming HD video?

nails666 · 7 Oct 2012 at 21:40

Hi, I'm currently planning my HTPC build to go in my living room and I've got a couple of options for network connectivity.
Currently I have a cheap TP-Link powerline network adaptor in the room but it's only connecting at about 30Mbps with a bit of fluctuation. I also have a wifi network but that is even slower and more variable due to an ancient Belkin router.
Will 30Mbps be enough to reliably stream ripped blu-rays or am I going to need to upgrade one of the networks?

Many Thanks,

Ross

Speedy Pete · 7 Oct 2012 at 21:55

i think a full quality bluray rip will be over 30mbps.

Shad · 7 Oct 2012 at 21:59

I think 30Mbps is going to be pushing it, but it will depend on the quality of your rips and the length of the movies. A lot of 90 minute movies can be happily watched at 720p with a modest bitrate. Here's a comparison between two of mine:

Candyman - 720p, 4.37Gb file, 100 minutes, H264 @ 4,793Kbps, 1 audio stream @ 1510Kbps, approx. 0.75MB/s

vs

Return of the Jedi - 1080p, 21Gb file, 135 minutes, H264 @ 20Mbps, 3 audio stream @ 1958Kbps, approx. 2.6MB/s

Your 30Mbps connection is going to be good for maybe 2MB/s on a good day, taking into account overhead, typical poor SMB performance and any interference etc. on your wiring. Obviously if you don't bother to encode any of your Bluray rips and leave them native, then you're definitely going to need a bigger boat. But that would be a bit crazy unless you have a vast amount of storage at your disposal

nails666 · 7 Oct 2012 at 22:35

Thanks for the replies guys. I haven't actually got a blu-ray drive yet so don't have any files ripped yet to check. I was hoping to keep quality as high as possible at 1080p but storage space obviously will be limited so I may have to scale them back a bit

Hmm, so now the choice, get some better powerline gear or get a better router and a wifi adaptor for the HTPC?

Ross

Speedy Pete · 7 Oct 2012 at 23:00

gigabit router with wires !

nails666 · 8 Oct 2012 at 11:42

Hehe, yeah I'd love to just get a proper wired ethernet connection down there but due to current wiring and layout of the house it's not really an easy option at the moment

ci_newman · 8 Oct 2012 at 13:16

nails666 said:
Hehe, yeah I'd love to just get a proper wired ethernet connection down there but due to current wiring and layout of the house it's not really an easy option at the moment

It's always an option

It just depends on how brave you are lifting carpets, drilling into walls etc.

nails666 · 8 Oct 2012 at 13:33

ci_newman said:
It's always an option It just depends on how brave you are lifting carpets, drilling into walls etc.

Yeah I must admit there is a certain amount of cowardice on my behalf but that is also combined with trying to explain to my wife why I need to start running yet more cables around the house to support my gadgets