Our Sites:
How does my broadband speed effect my download time?
Internet speed is the amount of bandwidth your connection has access to. For instance, if you have a dial-up modem, you will have up to 56 kilobits (K/bits) per second of download speed, whereas if you have ADSL 2+, you will have anywhere up to 24 M/bits per second of bandwidth for downloads.
Most DVD files on the Internet are at least two gigabytes, sometimes a lot more. If you are trying to download these packets of information with a dial-up Internet connection, chances are you won’t be watching that DVD anytime soon. Even with a fast connection, it can still take several hours to download a DVD. In this case, a visit to the local video shop can be a lot faster!
Of course, the speed of the download also depends on where you are getting the file. Many people download from peer to peer (P2P) networks, using Bit torrent files. Although Bit torrent files have drastically sped up the downloading process, they are actually a collection of small packets of information from "peers" who have the file on their computer. Those with the file are “seeders”, those downloading the file “leechers”. If a file has only a few seeders, the download time will be drastically reduced.
DVD quality with a slow Internet speed
Digital files themselves will not be damaged by a slow download, so in this sense, a slow connection should not effect the quality of your download. This is especially true if you are downloading a DVD from a single source, such as a company you have purchased it from.
Essentially, as long as all information is intact and in good quality at the source, it shouldn’t really matter how long it takes your computer to retrieve it. With P2P networks, however, some packets of information may disappear after a while if other peers stop “seeding”.
Minimum Internet speed for downloading media
Considering that an average MP3 file will take a dial-up connection 10 minutes to download, and an ADSL 8000K connection four seconds (on average), it’s easy to see that a dial-up connection is of little use to people who regularly download music or movies.
It’s really recommended that you have at least a standard ADSL or cable connection if you want to regularly download large files. If you can get it, ADSL2+ is even faster than ADSL, with theoretical download speeds of up to 24Mbps from some providers (others suggest up to 20Mbps). However, it’s best not to expect that you will receive the top download speed. Most ADSL 2+ users average from between 10 to 18Mbsp.
