SatSig topic:

SKYPE video bit rates

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Oct 2^nd, 2008 at 6:31pm

Hi,

How much does a 10 minute video call with Skype use in Mb up/down approximately, or is that too complicated a question. I use Skype a lot and I seem to keep being punished by slow speeds the next day.

Oct 3^rd, 2008 at 5:39am

Here is a report regarding how Skype video adapts to various network bit rate limits:
https://c3lab.poliba.it/images/8/86/Skype-video_nossdav08_slides.pdf

I wonder if your satellite modem or your LAN router has a status screen showing the amount of transmitted and received bytes.

Skype, VoIP, video and file sharing are very demanding in terms of bits transferred and are expensive to do.

Best regards, Eric.

Oct 3^rd, 2008 at 7:45am

Hi Eric,

Thank you for that. I have reconfigured the config.xml file and Skpe seeks to be working fine. although I cannot tell how much it has affected my daily usage.

My modem and router do not show tx and rx bytes.

I was sent a file named 'BTW00083@518 - Profile eutelsat-bronze-4w Traffic volume statistic' when I complained about my transfer speeds.

I have asked Tariam if there is file somewhere I can access so that I can monitor my daily usage, but they have not bothered to reply, am I suprised?

Oct 3^rd, 2008 at 8:12am

What kind of local LAN router are you using ? Most routers do have a facility to monitor traffic on the internet gateway port, in your case the ethernet cable between your LAN router and your satellite modem.

Does anyone know if there is a way of looking into the Tooway satellite modem to measure the traffic ? These are the same modems as used in Wildblue. Advice please.

Regarding the traffic report from Eutelsat. The Tooway teleport hub is run by Skylogic (a sub company of Eutelsat) in Turin, I think. You, and all other Tooway users, need to keep making fuss as it should be possible to either get traffic stats on demand at any time, preferably by access a web site where you can see the traffic quantities from all sites and their traffic status, both upload and download.

Lets start a campaign for all satellite internet users to to have access to their traffic stats and current network status. Bentley Walker, with their multiple Hughes HX hubs already do this with great success and customers have the satisfaction of easily seeing exactly what traffic they have generated, once they have exceeded the lower traffic threshold per 8 hours.

Best regards, Eric.

Update: I have received a message saying that Skylogic "are working on it"

Oct 3^rd, 2008 at 8:46am

Hello Eric,

I use an Intel based Apple Mac using Apple Airport wireless router. It just gives me a signal level.

Oct 3^rd, 2008 at 8:49am

Gilat traffic stats can be found here, The QOS address is: https:// 217.159.0.81 /

Note by forum admin: This IP is ONLY for Gilat users from a Gilat terminal. Don't try accessing this IP address unless you are inside the Gilat network.

Oct 3^rd, 2008 at 10:50am

It would be wonderful to get stats from BW. I would love to see any at all, especially ones relating to my account!
I, like so many others, have asked for them but not received anything.

I tried the link suggested for the Gilat stats but it tells me my IP is unknown to the system.

Oct 3^rd, 2008 at 10:58am

There are a number of free downloadable "bandwidth meters which can be found by a simple search. I use Tautology Bandwidth Meter. These show total usage and can be monitored before and after periods of usage to give some idea of up/downloads. I don't know how accurate they are though.

Regards,

Tony

Oct 3^rd, 2008 at 4:11pm

Here is a quote from another forum:

In all fairness, ANY ISP that intends to monitor your bandwidth should provide you with a usage chart, and if they don't complain, and then if they still don't complain to OFTEL.

I posed the question to TARIAM about this and their reply was:

There are currently no site where you can monitor your usage.

Before I bought the system I asked if it was suitable for use with Skype. I was told it was. Since I have had problems getting punished after using it, I asked about the usage of Skype through the satellite. Their answer was:

Using Skype will use a lot of bandwidth, VOIP is not something we support.

I wish this was told to me before I bought the system as one of the main reasons was keeping in touch with my family in the UK. In the end I would have stuck with dial-up and waited for the availability of ADSL and continued the use the phone.

Oct 3^rd, 2008 at 7:24pm

I am sorry to hear about your disappointment. I am not suprised that VoIP does not work well, or at all, over such a cheap shared system. I have tried over the last 9 years on this web site to emphasise, time and time again, that shared systems make use of shared capacity at the satellite and that each site gets its fair share according to how much they pay. I would not rule out fully successful VoIP, over cheap systems, but it will require skilled configuration of the customers phones, the customer LAN and of the satellite modems at the customer and at the teleport hub, but even then the amount of time you will be able to talk per day will be limited. Some networks will be simply unsuitable for VoIP if the TDMA return path system design cannot accommodate regular bursting.

It costs us about $7000 per month to give you 800k down and 200k up. Do the multiplications about number of sites and how much each might pay and you will see that for minimum price the number of sites increases otherwise we go bust.

You may be interested in reading the Tooway fair access policy (FAP) that was here:
https://ww w.europe-satellite.com/EMS/pdf_files/gos/GOS_tooway-GOS.pdf

Section 6 is very interesting. It says:

6) The Fair Information Policy (FIP)
Information given to subscriber
• Instantaneous real time information (Push)
– Network congestion (FAP active or not)
– FAPed or not
– Punished or not
• Information on a web site (Pull)
– Account status
– Remaining Volume / Volume available
– FAP status

It was clearly the intention of Eutelsat/Skylogic to provide an interface to the end user subscriber providing them with the information stated. Maybe the software is not yet finished, but there is hope for the future.

*** Update: I have received a message saying that Skylogic "are working on it"

Best regards, Eric.

Oct 3^rd, 2008 at 8:48pm

Ok I am not lying when I say this but around 2006 when i called ((I'll leave the company name out for now)) i said to them very clearly that I want a system that the users will use for "web surfing, vpn connections, email and Voip". I was told the iDirect system would be a great fit.
Then i went on and asked about whether Skype would work and i was assured if i selected a plan with a at least 512kbps upload i should be OK.

Lately almost everyone and their grandmother will tell you that any Voip over satellite is not supported.

I wonder what forced them to lie before and now all of a sudden they're being honest.

Oct 3^rd, 2008 at 9:49pm

Hi Eric,

After changing my config.xml file I downloaded a Bandwidth Monitor for Mac OSX.2> on Intel based Macs It is called

MenuMeters

and it is free. It works great. It gives me Rx throughput, Tx throughput, Peak throughput and Rx/Tx traffic totals.

I just made a Skype call and had the MenuMeter screen running along side it and my throughput was minimal although there was a loss of image quality, it was worth it just to see the Tx/Rx running quite slowly and affordably. It was like watching a Taxi meter, you know when to say 'pull over, I'll walk from here'

Thanx

Nov 22^nd, 2008 at 9:35am

Hi Boussagues,

I believe you are with Tarriam have you lost your connection as I seem to have done?