HDTV via orb.com

[TheSpecialist]

Here's what I've got:
Dell studio XPS with built in HD tuner, connected to  AT&T yahoo DSL (at 1.5 Mbps downstream, 384 Kbps upstream speed) using Linksys wireless N router that I got about a year and a half ago.  When trying to view HD broadcasts from my PC, using this service on a different computer with the same internet connection the picture looks very low-def.  Does anyone know if this is supposed to be the case?  Is it because by DSL isn't the fastest out there?  Would I have better results using an ethernet cable instead of the wireless router?
Any advice would help.

[tencom]

If the broadcast is streamed video, it would be impossible to get good video at such a low bit rate.

[brewtownska]

I'm having a hard time following exactly what you are doing.  You mention an HD tuner in one computer, and then mention doing something on another computer.  On the first computer...are you watching a HD broadcast (over the air with antenna, or QAM off a cable tv connection...both NOT related to the internet) or watching something in HD streaming from the internet?

Are you doing that while ALSO trying to watch another streaming broadcast on the 2nd computer?  If both computers are trying to pull a high quality internet stream, then yes, your bottleneck is probably the 1.5Mbps internet connection.

If you're just saying you're comparing the HD broadcast on 1 computer (not related to the internet at all) to the quality you're getting by streaming the same show off the internet on the 2nd computer, then you are comparing apples to oranges.  The broadcast networks use a combined picture and audio bit rate a bit higher than 19Mbps, whereas you're trying to compare an internet stream that maxes out on your end at 1.5Mbps.

Another question is if your TV and your internet are coming in on the same line (if it's AT&T, do you have Uverse?).  That might be a whole different beast, as you're dealing with a fixed total bandwith into your house, and then it is regulated between what's available and needed for what TV channel(s) you're watching and then a smaller chunk reserved for internet.

I think with a few more details from your side, we'll all be able to give you better advice on what the problem is and suggestions on how to make it better.

Mike

[brewtownska]

Ok, a few of my questions in my previous post still apply, but I now have checked out the orb.com site and have a better guess at what you're trying to do.

I think you're watching a local HD broadcast (either over-the-air or from a cable tv connection), then you must be using this orb software to send it out to the internet, only to pick it up again on the other computer sharing the same internet connection.

If that's a true statement, then your biggest bottleneck is the upload speed on your internet connection, which is only 384Kbps.  I think the quality is being chopped off just by sending it out to the net...you're probably having no problem downloading the stream on the other computer.

I know there are lots of different ways to stream things to other computers inside the same network, so what software you decide on probably doesn't matter much.  But the main thing I think you need to do is make sure whatever you use keeps all the data within your own network and never goes out the internet.
Since you have a wireless N network internally, you should have good enough speed to transfer a full-quality HD video stream whether it's wireless or wired.

Mike