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Chucktr · Apr 15, 2008, 05:48 PM

Verizon has been pitching me to switch from Time-Warner (cable) telling me they can dramatically improve my up/download speeds. I have a download running now running at 50,000 bytes/sec. I seem to remember much faster speeds when T-W first wired my neighborhood.

I have tried speed tests and do not understand the results (which seem to vary widely). What is "fast" download for a cable? Or "slow" or "average"?

Any thoughts, anyone? Thanks!

Cold Warrior · Apr 15, 2008, 06:02 PM

Go to Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test, run the test, and tell us what your current download and upload speeds are. Do this when you're not downloading something else.

Chucktr · Apr 15, 2008, 08:52 PM

Download: 2476 kbps, Upload 479 kbps, Latency: 39 ms, Distance: <50 miles

How does this compare with the 50,000 bytes/sec I was seeing with a Fetch download earlier today?

Thanks!

Cold Warrior · Apr 15, 2008, 09:05 PM

Are you sure it was 50,000 bytes, not bits? 50k byte is 50 MB/s, which isn't possible on normal connections.

Anyway, your rated download speed is middle-of-the-road. Not very fast, not slow, but you can max it out easily if you download a lot of media, especially several files at once.

Chucktr · Apr 16, 2008, 08:34 AM

Yes, I'm sure it's bytes -- at least that's what's described in the Fetch sidebar. This morning it was up to 114K...

Cold Warrior · Apr 16, 2008, 06:26 PM

If it was just K, then how can you be sure? Was it Kb or KB?

olePigeon · Apr 16, 2008, 07:02 PM

Cable speed can very dramatically. It depends on your location. For me, I'm lucky if I get dial-up speeds during the evening.

FiOS will most likely be faster than Cable, if anything because the speed isn't dependent on how much your neighbors download. Also, as far as I know, Verizon doesn't participate in packet shaping and filtering like Comcast. I'd switch simply on principle. If I had any other option I'd tell Comcast to go f**k themselves.

Chucktr · Apr 17, 2008, 11:54 AM

Sorry, Coldwarrior -- I abbreviated there. The Fetch sidebar read (literally): "Transfer: 114,852 bytes/s"

But I'm getting the point. Cable up/down rates can vary wildly. The "Why don't you clear your cache?" I've gotten from RR tech support is akin to the "Let's fix the problem by restarting your computer" I used to hear from AOL Tech Support in the early days when they were trying to explain away a busy signal on most attempts to connect with their dailup connection.

I will try VIOS. Maybe I can get a more reliable and cheaper picture on my flatscreen as well...

Thanks very much for the advice!

hookem2oo7 · Apr 17, 2008, 01:06 PM

Chucktr · Apr 17, 2008, 02:07 PM

Thanks, Hookem! Much appreciated!

olePigeon · Apr 22, 2008, 06:04 PM

Originally Posted by Chucktr

I will try VIOS. Maybe I can get a more reliable and cheaper picture on my flatscreen as well...

Yes. Comcast compresses their signals more than FIOS so they can fit more channels into their package. I can't find the article, but there's a side-by-side comparison of Comcast v. FIOS and it is noticeably different. Sometimes the Comcast HD picture looks like something you downloaded off of BitTorrent. Comcast also degrades the signal in proportion to popularity of a particular channel.