Video streaming has risen enormously in recent years either in entertainment, education, brand building, customer engagement, and customer support. Today there are so many video streaming platforms which have made consumption of video streaming so widespread, that we easily take it for granted. However, there are some factors that can slow down video streaming when you least expect it, resulting in a negative user experience.
What are the key factors that can slow down video streaming? Let’s find out!
Bandwidth limitations
Watching videos with higher resolutions is one of the most bandwidth-intensive and frequent activities we do online. In today’s households, the kids are streaming their favourite films on their iPads while the parents are watching Game of Thrones or live sports. Consequently, bandwidth limitations can have a significant impact on the quality and performance of the video content that consumers watch.
Slow WiFi, a 3G mobile Internet connection, a slow wired Internet connection and a large number of users – these are all factors to consider if you have a negative video streaming experience.
As a rule of thumb – streaming video requires at least 4 Mbps of effective bandwidth.
Device compatibility and performance
Device compatibility is another challenge for video streaming. There are many devices on the market for which video streaming services must build streams in an adaptable way because it is quite difficult for service providers to capture one set of audiences devoted to a single screen.
If your device is older, slowed down by other apps, or has too many processes running at once, you can expect poor video performance. Basically, if your device takes too long to receive data from the streaming server you can encounter video lags when streaming your favourite online content.
Network latency issues
Due to the rising consumption of HD and Ultra HD content, a high amount of data is being delivered through the network which may lead to frequent latency and reliability issues. Therefore, consumers can face video lags or video dropouts while watching their favourite content online.
In addition, the location of clients and servers on the network may also cause latency. The greater the distance between the client and the server, the longer the data must travel.
Geo-restricted video content
Consumers of video streaming content should be mindful of geo-blocking and how they bypass it. Geo-blocking is commonly seen on streaming sites with copyrighted content such as Amazon Prime or Netflix. If you wish to access content on these types of streaming sites, you’ll have to get past their high-end VPN exposure software and the only way to do this is through using one of the best VPN providers.
How can you improve your streaming experience?
There’s no doubt that you need a fast-enough internet connection to stream properly and a provider that understands your specific needs. We can deliver high speeds, offer good customer service and keep our pricing below inflation rates.
If you’re still unsure what’s the best package for you, get in touch with us and we’ll let you know what’s best for you.
