Which Internet speed

[Axewound]

I am ordering just Internet for my home and the local provider offers various speeds with different prices. I mostly play Xbox and stream Netflix along with the usual web surfing.

The most basic is 19.99 for six months at 3 Mbps

Do I need something faster?

[MaHoTex]

I am ordering just Internet for my home and the local provider offers various speeds with different prices. I mostly play Xbox and stream Netflix along with the usual web surfing.

The most basic is 19.99 for six months at 3 Mbps

Do I need something faster?

3M is a tad slow for streaming movies IMO.

[billofrights]

Get the fastest you can afford. We have Time Warner's top tier internet speed (I think it's 30 mb down) but my work pays for $50/month of that.

[SublimeJJ99]

I would recommend at least 15 MB/s for streaming movies flawlessly. I have Verizons FiOS service at 20 down over 5 up and I run my PS3 while streaming video on the CPU and 2 phones going non stop on that one connection. All are ran with no interruption at that speed. I also think that 3 MB/s is too slow for streaming video...especially if it's HD quality.

[Montu]

really depends on how much patience you have 3 is slow for streaming...I would probably advise you get at least 12

I've had 1.5 3 12 18 24 and now 50...going back 12 or 18 is probably the sweet spot for most people

[robcoe]

I use 24 for streaming, and even with that HD movies sometimes have to buffer, so I would say as fast as you can afford.

[bbogert]

I stream 3 HD feeds, can download files and be on the phone all through a 16Mbps connection. You could likely do 1 video feed through 3, but if there were any interruption/latency, it would stop the feed to buffer.

[Laythor]

This is my current speed at home. It does help that I work for Comcast




3Mb/s is on the slow end for steaming, you'll end up with lots of buffering. I would suggest the next higher tier which for comcast would be 15/2.

The best thing you can do is purchase your own cable modem. You'll spend 7.00 a month every month for the rest of eternity... or 84 dollars a year. You can buy a modem for less then this.

[NorCalXJ]

3 megabits or megabytes? Big difference

[DavidR310]

If it is time warner cable, get the standard that goes up to 15mbs for $29. I have it and with netflix hd, amazon video hd plus the ps3, I am fine.

[AgentX]

It's been already stated, but 15mb/s is just about the minimum for streaming quality HD. I just upped to 25mb/s and enjoy it even more, but I do a lot of gaming and large downloads.

[Ramrod]

I run an independent ISP in Solano County and offer DSL. We offer 1.5, 3.0, and 6.0 MBA service. You can get by with 3.0 but may get some studded on streaming full movies but it works fine for videos. 6.0 would be best. We suggest people start low and buy what they need. Try 1.5 for a few weeks and move up as necessary. No sense paying for more than you need. Very few people need or use the really high speeds. Just keep in mind that all connected devices share the connection. We also do point- to- point wireless and finding more homes with multiple devices connected at the same time. Very common to have one desktop, several laptops and a couple mobile phones connected at the same time.

[Ramrod]

That should read studder on streaming. Good ole spellcheck got me again.

[Jet Setter]

10 meg should be your minimum line. If you can afford more, 15 to 20 will be great for streaming.

In comparison, I have a 50 meg line and it is great. Pricey but I use it.

[epilepticninja]

This is my current speed at home. It does help that I work for Comcast

Dude...wtf? That is the shizz. On a sidenote, what modem would you recommend for Comcast cable? I've been leasing a modem for prolly 10 years. Time to buy my own.