Hi guys
Myself and two friends have created a Twitch channel called PronkTV and we've discovered just how difficult it is to just get it up and running.
First and foremost, internet speeds. With streaming, it's not about how fast you can download; you can have a top of the line 20mbs uncapped line, but that doesn't mean you're going to be able to make a quality stream. Upload speeds are more important and all our ADSL uncapped internet, even the fastest, is limited to less than a 1mbs upload thanks to Telkom. Their switches haven't been upgraded to handle more than 1mbs. How fast does it need to be to stream at 720p you ask? 1.8mbs is the answer. And then you still need some headroom to be allocated to whatever game you're playing if it needs an internet connection, ie. Battlefield 4.
We have found a solution in the new wireless services which have been popping up, but we've also found them to be quite a headache to use. We currently get 8mbs down and 6mbs up which is awesome at face value, but then we have to pay for each GB we use which makes it pretty expensive, especially when streaming averages about 1GB per hour in bandwidth. And then there is the incompetence of the service provider. You firstly need to pay for a dish to be installed which beams the signal from a tower near your house. I can't tell you how many times we've had connection problems and very low speeds for days and weeks at a time. Their service departments are incredibly frustrating to deal with and often they blame you for the problems you're having. We've also been spammed through the towers with LinkBucks adware which is almost impossible to get off your PC and smartphone once it's there.
With Telkom just announcing that their fibre optic internet is launching soon, we got excited for a moment and then very disappointed. 100mbs line but only in certain rich areas and at a cost of R7000pm, who in their right minds would pay that?!
Anyways, the point of this post is to find out if anyone else is also streaming and if they've found a better solution? We haven't been able to find any other South Africans on Twitch, so we may be the first. Would also be great to hear your thoughts on the matter. Hopefully South Africa catches up to the rest of the world, as doubtful as that looks right now.
Myself and two friends have created a Twitch channel called PronkTV and we've discovered just how difficult it is to just get it up and running.
First and foremost, internet speeds. With streaming, it's not about how fast you can download; you can have a top of the line 20mbs uncapped line, but that doesn't mean you're going to be able to make a quality stream. Upload speeds are more important and all our ADSL uncapped internet, even the fastest, is limited to less than a 1mbs upload thanks to Telkom. Their switches haven't been upgraded to handle more than 1mbs. How fast does it need to be to stream at 720p you ask? 1.8mbs is the answer. And then you still need some headroom to be allocated to whatever game you're playing if it needs an internet connection, ie. Battlefield 4.
We have found a solution in the new wireless services which have been popping up, but we've also found them to be quite a headache to use. We currently get 8mbs down and 6mbs up which is awesome at face value, but then we have to pay for each GB we use which makes it pretty expensive, especially when streaming averages about 1GB per hour in bandwidth. And then there is the incompetence of the service provider. You firstly need to pay for a dish to be installed which beams the signal from a tower near your house. I can't tell you how many times we've had connection problems and very low speeds for days and weeks at a time. Their service departments are incredibly frustrating to deal with and often they blame you for the problems you're having. We've also been spammed through the towers with LinkBucks adware which is almost impossible to get off your PC and smartphone once it's there.
With Telkom just announcing that their fibre optic internet is launching soon, we got excited for a moment and then very disappointed. 100mbs line but only in certain rich areas and at a cost of R7000pm, who in their right minds would pay that?!
Anyways, the point of this post is to find out if anyone else is also streaming and if they've found a better solution? We haven't been able to find any other South Africans on Twitch, so we may be the first. Would also be great to hear your thoughts on the matter. Hopefully South Africa catches up to the rest of the world, as doubtful as that looks right now.
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