iChat AV data transfer per hour?

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Level 3

576 points

iChat AV data transfer per hour?

I will be in a country whose main ISP (DSL) has 2 options, 2 GB per month + overage charges per MB, or unlimited for twice the charges of the first option.

Since a chief reason to get the broadband is to use iChat AV, I am trying to determine how much data is actually transferred in an average hour by iChat AV doing video.

Does anyone know this, or has anyone seen any info posted elsewhere about this, or does anyone know how to do the calculations?

Based on something I saw about 100 kbps transfers, I worked out something like 44 MB / hour. ((100 * 60 * 60) / 1024) / 8) That was assuming that 100 kbps meant kilobits and not kilobytes. if it was kilobytes it would be 350 MB / hour. I also don't know if that is both ways -- or whether in a two way chat it would be double.

Thanks.

Posted on Jul 26, 2006 12:03 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 26, 2006 8:09 AM in response to Loren Ryter

Hi Loren,

Your first figures are correct except the need to be multiplied by the download speed the spervice will provide.

A 1Mb download is per sec. *60 *60 = 3600Mb per hour.

You will soon run into a 2Gb limit if you chat every day.

These services tend to presume you only download and charge for that.

The Upload speed needs to be considered for Multichating and should not really be below 384kb although an upload of 256kb with a dowload of 1Mb will multichat (video)

4:09 PM Wednesday; July 26, 2006

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Answer 2

Loren Ryter Author

Level 3

576 points

Jul 26, 2006 10:15 AM in response to Ralph-Johns-UK

Ralph,

Thanks for the reply. I assume by "3600 Mb" you mean megabits. Mb & MB are confusing unless spelled out, I don't know anyone who thinks in bits! Anyway, if so, we're talking 450 MB (megabytes) per hour?

I'm not sure what multichatting is. I am talking about two-way chats, not hosting chats. But I assume even 2 way chats have to use the upload bandwidth, and it is a fair assumption that would be 256 to 384 kb/s (by which I take it is meant "bits" not "bytes")

So actually what I think you are saying is that in a 2-way chat, assuming "data tranfers" counted both upstream and down stream simultaneously, it might be transferring 1.4 Mb (megabits) per second? which (I think) works out to 630 MB (Megabytes) per hour? If that is the case, then 2 gig would be transferred in 3 hours.

But assuming both parties are limited to no more than 384 kb/s upstream bandwidth (cable or DSL), and both go simultaneously, that's 96 KB/s (kilobytes), or still about 350 MB (megabytes) per hour. So still 2 gigs reached in 6 hours.

In minute terms that would be 5.6 MB per minute. So you would reach 2 gigs in a month if you chatted an average of 10 - 12 minutes per day.

But at any rate, you answered my basic question, which was if I chatted for up to an hour a day would I go far over 2 GB per month. In practice it could be less than an hour a day -- but this would mean limiting myself to about 10 minutes per day.

It's not trivial matter because it works out to almost $100 US per month for 2 GB and $200 for unlimited! Crazy.

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Answer 3

Jul 26, 2006 10:35 AM in response to Loren Ryter

Hi Loren

My download is limited to 1Mb (Bits) as is the capping in System Preferences > Quicktime > Streaming tab on my Macs

The Max setting to be used for iChat should be 1.5Mbps/T1/Intranet/LAN

I agree with your limit of about 10 mins a day.

My local telephone exchange can give me 2Mbps but the upload speed would not change hence no reason for me to change to the faster service as upload is what I need to improve my iChat multichats.
In all other respects my service is not capped. (£23.44 a month)

Essentially you are going to bump into that limit

6:31 PM Wednesday; July 26, 2006

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