Can someone explain upload speed to me?

[jasonmcroy 316]

Hi guys,

 

I have been searching Google and I can't seem to find an answer to my specific question that explains it well enough for me. I am hoping that some of the developers here or anyone with experience can help me.

 

Here is my situation. I currently have Verizon FIOS internet with download speed of 50 and upload speed of 50. Here in Tampa Verizon matches the download speed and upload speed.

 

I am getting ready to move at the end of this month to a community where the Homeowner's Association has a contract with Brighthouse and so Verizon is not available. On the plus side I will get basic cable included in my rent which is fine because I currently use and antenna and I will still get the same channels in HD via basic cable, so covered there!

 

However, Brighthouse doesn't match their download/upload speeds. Even if I were to splurge for their top download speed (300 mbps) the upload speed with that is 15 mbps. I don't have any need for that download speed. I am looking at their 35 or 75 download options. At 35 download the upload speed is 2 and at 75 the upload speed is 5.

 

So my question is how much will upload speed matter in my 2 different scenarios: Streaming to my Roku from the server computer and streaming to my laptop and tablet outside of my network. Does upload speed come into play in these scenarios? Will I notice any difference with a lower upload speed?

 

I don't have a scenario like some of you do where I have friends or family streaming from my server. It would be just one stream at a time, maybe two if my wife is watching something at the same time as me. My computer set up is an 8 core AMD processor and 8 GB of RAM if that matters.

 

Thanks

 

-Jason

[Macburp 112]

Upload speed should not matter within your own network, so your Roku will be fine. 100baseT or GigE full duplex is more than enough

 

6 months ago i upgraded from ADSL to fibre to the cabinet. With ADSL I got 1-1.5Mbit/s upload speed, and found when I was out and about that I would get frequent stuttering/buffering with the Android client on my phone. With my fibre service I have 5Mbit/s upload, and no longer have stuttering. Not yet tried to stream 2 videos at the same time, I suspect this would choke.

 

My advice, get as much upload speed as you can.

[wraslor 70]

Yea don't expect high quality outside your network. I have 5mbps and have to set quality to a medium low setting to not have buffering.

[Marc_G 95]

I have BrightHouse Networks as my ISP. I have their mid-tier service which in my location gives me ~20 Mbps downloads and a pretty steady 2 Mbps upload. The upload speed cap severely limits streaming outside my network. Only low quality streaming will work without constant buffering. I don't use the streaming outside my network feature much, but I tried it just for kicks. Without a higher upload limit, it's rather weak.

 

Marc

[jasonmcroy 316]

Thanks for the replies everyone. It looks like I will face some challenges then unless I pay more money.

 

Perhaps when I know I am going out of town I will use the new sync features.

 

-Jason