I currently have 1-4 Mbps broadband in a Zone 2 London location. I can't stream on full HD and I love streaming stuff, Amazon Video & Netflix.
Hence, I'm planning to get a 4G mobile plan with unlimited data and cast stuff onto my TV, hopefully at 4K resolution if my mobile plan is quick enough.
I will need the following to get started:
1) Google chromecast ultra
2) An Android 4G capable mobile. I'm considering the Google Nexus 6P.
3) An unlimited 4G data mobile plan from 3 mobile.
Any comments on this set up before I take the plunge?
Obviously not the part of SE London where I keep my occasional-use flat; despite being on the Shooters Hill slopes with clear lines of sight to Canary Wharf and the City and surrounded by phone masts my mobile reception is a bad joke.Originally Posted by hyl1987
Can 4G really deliver that, even if you have decent signal? I've obviously spent too much time in second world countries. And SE18.
With 4G LTE service, you're looking at typical download speeds of 10-15Mbps. In theory, the technology could reach speeds of up to 150Mbps, but you never see those in practice.
Streaming 4K involves some pretty heavy compression, uncompressed 4K reaches data speeds of 18Gbps. Netflix's guideline for 4K streaming is 25Mbps service or higher. It will work as low as 15Mbps, just about the max you'll see on your cell.
You had also better get a service with a very high bandwidth cap, because Netflix 4K eats up 19-20GB an hour. A popular series can be 100-200GB of data.
So, yes its possible and no, its not realistic.
Last edited by jcm3; 15th November 2016 at 01:17.
Check to see that there is not some auto-detect going on (either with the content provider and/or the ISP) that will sense you're on a mobile, and only dole out SD resolution.
Rob.
How do I check that with the ISP?
I have a VPN service I subscribe to that should hopefully circumvent this issue..
I'm not in the UK, but you might even find that the ISP rate limits certain VPN's (if they allow them at all).
Someone in the UK will need to chime in.
Rob.
Is there no VirginMedia fibre available?
I have such a contract, bought for the same reason, am in zone 2 SE London, and I'm lucky if I get 1mbps download most of the time. It'll very occasionally get up to about 8 buy it's a rarity. Even YouTube videos are a challenge to watch without buffering.
Is https://www1.relish.net/athome any use to you?
Who is the data plan with?
There is usually some kind of limit in hidden the small print.
I have 20 or 25GB per month through a Vodafone PAYG contract. The data isn't tethered to the phone (or something like that), so I can use the phone as a mobile hotspot and upload and download stuff on the computer as normal. For the last three years or so I've had appallingly bad internet and used the hotspot to upload photos at between 1MB and 1.5MB per second, as opposed to 65kb (max) per second through my BT internet. Now I have Infinity so don't use the data, although I still have rubbish internet at home, which kills itself when it rains.
I did ask some other places about unlimited data or whatever and the best untethered deal was about 5GB. EE or whoever it was offered 50GB per month but you could only use it on your phone, not set up your phone as a remote hotspot.
I found when I used my 4G hotspot I could watch live football etc fine.
Good luck, having lived with rubbish internet for years (and still doing so at home) I know how much of a PITA it is.
"A man of little significance"
Okay... if you're into streaming HD note you will use a LOT of bandwidth.... I find, watching a couple of hours of internet telly each night on one device, you're looking at c. 150gig a month! Also you cannot get 'all-you-can-eat' data sims for routers - the providers don't mind supplying these for phones because they know that the actual usage will be quite low. However these phone sims won't work in a router. In that case you're limited to a fixed data sim of maybe 30Gig or 40Gig depending upon the provider.
Also, if you want a decent and stable connection then you will need a good router and an external 4G antenna. We sell these things so I have some experience. Not saying to buy from us (the company I work for) I'm just giving you some advice.
Unfortunately not. I've been in this situation for the past 3 years and at my wits end when I my devices start buffering I try to watch a HD video.
I think I'm at a point where I'm happy to throw money at this problem. So frustrating to try to watch something and end up waiting for it to buffer. It's not like I'm in some rural location...
Just out of curiousity, what's the exact setup you use if you don't mind sharing?
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Nope. I've been checking their website every few months for the past few years but no coverage in my area.
I'm planning to get it from 3 Mobile. They claim that it is totally unlimited, as opposed to some sort of fair usage policy, which O2 and Virgin has.
Yea. I've realised that the plan limits tethering to 30GB per month. But it has completely unlimited data when using on a Phone.
But as I'm planning to Cast/Mirror my phone with my Tele via Google Chromecast, hopefully that wouldn't count as tethering :)
Check that applies even if used in a router. I think you'll find the answer is no.
Yea, I don't plan to use a router but use my Mobile to Cast/Mirror stuff via Google Chomecast onto my Tele.
I've seen some external 4G antenna and will consider it if I don't get a stable 4G service indoors.
I had the same problem as the OP. No fibre in building and BT internet averaging 4Mbps. Resolved by using relish and I can stream HD Netflix without any problem.
Last edited by ryip88; 15th November 2016 at 16:05.
What sort of speeds do you get on Relish? Are you able to watch 4K videos if you wanted to? they required 15 MBPs for Amazon Video and 25 MBPs for Netflix.
Claimed speed is up to 50Mbps, but for me, i get between 15-25Mbps depending on time of day. Not tried 4K as I don't have it, but no issues with HD content.
Last edited by ryip88; 15th November 2016 at 16:05.
From the 3 website.
The last paragraph suggests you should be ok up to a 1000 GB
What is all-you-can-eat data?
All-you-can-eat data is part of some of our latest Pay Monthly and SIM plans, as well as some older Pay Monthly plans like the Ultimate Internet Plan and The One Plan. It's also available with our All in One 20 and All in One 25 Add-ons on Pay As You Go and some Talk and Text plans. It gives you all the internet use you need when you're in the UK and up to 12GB of data for internet use when you’re in a Feel At Home destination, unless you have one of our Essential plans.
With all-you-can-eat data you can use as much data as you want. This means you can use your smartphone as you like - so you can download apps, browse the web, look at maps and check your emails as often as you like without worrying about going over a data allowance.
Note:
- TrafficSense™ applies to all our plans. Find out how we use TrafficSense™ to protect your experience.
- All-you-can-eat data can only be used abroad when you’re in a Feel At Home destination and your plan includes Feel At Home. It is limited to 12GB of data use. If you’re on a plan which allows Personal Hotspot use, this isn't permitted in a Feel At Home destination. Find out more about Feel At Home.
- If you use data abroad, and you’re not in a Feel At Home destination, or if you're in a Feel At Home destination and have used your data allowance, you’ll be charged for it in accordance with the relevant roaming rates. Find out more about data roaming costs.
- All our current plans include a Personal Hotspot allowance, with the exception of Essential plans, but it's not included in your all-you-can-eat data allowance. Find out more about Personal Hotspot.
- All you can eat data gives you worry free internet use. Even if you used your phone for every minute of every day you could only use, subject to TrafficSense™, around 1000GB each month. We may use this cap to identify inappropriate use of the service, such as commercial use, which isn't permitted under our terms and conditions.
I stuck with the three contract for 2 years (without any broadband), and it was sufficient for university research, but after 2 years I finally pulled the plug and just went for a broadband connection alongside the phone contract. Twice as expensive, but worth the money. I can finally stream shows. 2 years without youtube wasn't very fun! It was so hit and miss that I gave up trying.
My setup wasn't based on home media streaming, but simply getting my laptop an internet connection. As such I just used usb tethering (PM me if you want details on how to circumvent the 4gb tether limit, best not to put it out in a public domain) and was averaging about 200gb download a month (it really is unlimited, but not fast! perhaps it sped up over night, I never checked, but during the normal day, it was a bit of a pig!)
I think this kind of setup is certainly the way forward, theoretically i.e. why bother updating the wired infrastructure when you can get 40-50 mb with 4G. I'm genuinely impressed with the speed and latency of 4G - when I can get a 4G signal.
I suspect the other problem, in practice, is that none of the networks really want their bandwidth being taken up by people streaming video at 20-30 mb for long periods. It's not that long ago that this would've fallen foul of "fair usage" policies (I remember getting a slightly arsey notification that I'd exceeded 10GB in a month!), so I'd be surprised if it not going to be an issue until the capacity of the cellular networks is expanded. (I could be behind the curve on that one though).
this is your internet connection watching movies in HD when using 4G,
Thanks for all the advice guys!
My conclusion is that it is unlikely that I can stream any 4K videos using 4G. Hence, I will just be getting a standard google chromecast.
Hopefully this will resolve my issue of streaming HD videos on slow broadband speeds. Will repost here if it works or not once I've got the setup going.
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