DSL for Smart TV?


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Old 11-18-15, 06:48 AM
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DSL for Smart TV?

I'm putting together plans to buy a Smart TV, and am concerned if DSL internet will be able to keep up.

Currently, I have DSL plugged directly into my old XP desktop, with wifi for 2 laptops and three smartphones. Obviously, not everything will be sucking up the wifi at one time. But what are the odds that I won't be overloading the system with the added TV?
 
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Old 11-18-15, 06:59 AM
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It depends on what the other users are doing with your DSL connection and the speed you have.

I had DSL (6mb/s) on my smart TV and was able to stream movies from Amazon, usually without any problems, but that was the only thing being done at the time.

If anyone is trying to play a game or is downloading while you are using the connection expect problems.
 
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Old 11-18-15, 11:41 AM
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Thanks.

I'm looking at my phone bill to see what mbps I'm getting. Nothing, of course. "Broadband Lite" is all it says. Is there a way I can log in somewhere to find out?

Also, there are no "gamers" in the house - if someone is watching Netflix on a laptop, can another person successfully watch something on the Smart TV at the same time with buffering issues?
 
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Old 11-18-15, 11:43 AM
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Google "Ookla speed test". It'll tell you your upload and download rates.
 
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Old 11-18-15, 12:10 PM
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Try streaming video on two or three computers at the same time. That might give you an idea of how much your DSL can handle at one time. I don't think a smart TV pulls any more bandwidth than a computer, it might if running at a higher resolution but I don't know for sure.
 
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Old 11-18-15, 03:52 PM
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I have FiOS (fiber optic) Internet service to my house and I was sorely disappointed when I attempted to watch any kind of TV programming via a direct connection to my Samsung "smart" TV. I had very poor response, as if I had a buffer problem, causing the picture (and audio) to run a couple of seconds, stop, run another couple of seconds, and continue in this manner. Using my laptop computer connected to the Internet and then outputting to the TV worked very well.

Now it MAY have been because I refuse to accept the "terms of service" that Samsung, as well as the third-party sites such as Netflicks, Hulu, Amazon and others demand from the viewer/owner of the TV. My personal thoughts are that the TofS are highly invasive to my privacy and I simply refuse to give that kind of access to anyone.
 
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Old 11-20-15, 10:09 AM
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The Smart TV won't use any more bandwidth than any other streaming video connection, whether it's a computer watching Netflix, Apple TV box, etc. You'll start seeing issues as you are using more devices concurrently. But on the other hand, most streaming services are getting better at adjusting their streaming based on available bandwidth. As wild bill mentioned, run a speed test to see what your actual download speed is.

Speedtest.net by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test (don't get sucked into any of their downloads or ads though)

Netflix recommendations on bandwidth requirements:
https://help.netflix.com/en/node/306
In my opinion, these requirements are on the high side - based on what plan you'd want to purchase, not necessarily the actual bandwidth used during streaming.


Personally, I'm not a fan of the interfaces with any of the Smart TVs on the market. I find none of them are intuitive nor easy to use. I can't speak much of the quality, since I've only played with them a bit before using a device that is made for streaming with a good user interface.

For $30-$100, you can get an Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick, or Roku box and use it to connect to Netflix, HBO, and all the other services out there. They are easy to setup and use and reasonably inexpensive. They each have their pros and cons, but in my mind, you can't go wrong with any of them.
Then you can pick out a TV based on image quality, and ignore all the 'smart tv' hoopla.
 
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Old 11-20-15, 12:33 PM
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Over 10 years since I had to deal with any of it, but there are speed limits to DSL.
1.) Depending on the type of DSL, the maximum loop length between the CO and the premise is over 10,000' but under 20,000' feet; the further you are from the CO, the lower your max speed.
2.) Probably 99% of a loop's length is 24 or 26 gauge wire; the smaller the wire the lower your max speed.
3.) Much of the existing loop carrier equipment (multiplexers, concentrators, SLICs, etc) will not pass DSL signals. Neither will load coils.
4.) An uncompressed data-stream for 720p is ~1 Gigabits per second and a POTS line has a bandwidth of 3000Hz; there isn't, to my knowledge, a no-loss codec that can do the job (and I doubt there ever will be). For this reason alone, any TV signal from a DSL line will be nowhere near HD quality; the signal will be degraded and noisy. I'd say it will more likely be 480i.

A friend about 3½ hours away went from cable to DSL and regretted it every time he turned on his TV. He stopped on he way through town one day, was amazed at my Over The Air picture and I use an indoor flat panel antenna.

Personally, no way would I try to use DSL for HDTV. The necessary bandwidth just isn't there.
 
 

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