Video Bandwidth – A Guide to Streaming Videos [2023]

Broadcasting at the professional level is now easier than ever before. Many powerful live streaming platforms have created a streaming experience that requires little to no technical knowledge to produce professional-grade streams.

While it is easy to get away with minimal technical know-how, it is a good idea to have at least a basic understanding of what goes on behind the scenes of your live stream. Video bandwidth, for example, is something that is handled by the video platform, but broadcasters benefit from understanding what it is and the role it plays in  live streaming.

In this post, we’re going to discuss everything broadcasters need to know about video bandwidth for HD streaming. We will discuss what it is and why it is important before we dive into bandwidth usage. To wrap things up, we will cover how you can configure your encoder settings to control your bandwidth consumption.

What is Video Bandwidth?

Video bandwidth is a metric in streaming that describes the amount of data that can be transferred per time. Bandwidth refers to both the capacity of your server in terms of how much stress and traffic it can handle and how much data you actually used.

It is important to have an understanding of video bandwidth because bandwidth usage is one of the main costs associated with live streaming setups and can also affect your video streaming quality. Generally speaking, the more you stream, the more bandwidth you use. However, other factors influence bandwidth consumption. We will take a close look at these factors later on in this post.

Metrics Related to Bandwidth for Broadcasting

Before we get further into video bandwidth, it’s important to understand the different metrics and settings. These are different things that you can control at the encoder level.

Let’s shift gears to check out a couple of related metrics that are important to understanding bandwidth’s role in live streaming, including bitrate, frame rate, and resolution.

Bitrate

Video bitrate is the amount of data transferred over the internet at any given time. In layman’s terms, bitrate is the speed that your video files travel from the server to the internet.

Bitrate is measured in bits per second (bps), kilobits per second (kbps), and megabits per second (Mbps).

In the context of online video streaming, bitrate affects the overall quality of your live stream. Higher bitrate settings will yield higher resolution  full HD or 4K streams. That said, streaming at a higher bitrate consumes a larger amount of bandwidth.

Additionally, with adaptive bitrate streaming becoming a widely accepted standard for streaming, your bitrate could vary every second based on the viewer’s internet speed. This could change the bandwidth requirements dynamically too.

Frame Rate

Every video is made up of a series of still images called “frames.” These still frames move quickly to create a fluid appearance that becomes a video.

Frame rate is the speed at which each frame is shown. This metric uses the units frames per second (fps). The minimum  frame rate for live video streaming is about 30 fps.

If you are streaming videos with a low amount of action and motion, you can get away with a lower frame rate. However, high action streams, like sporting events, require a higher frame rate.

Frame rate and bandwidth consumption are directly correlated. The higher the frame rate, the more bandwidth you’ll use. So, for a sports event where your frame rate is about 45 or 60 fps, you’d typically consume more bandwidth to give the viewers a better viewing experience.

Video Resolution

Video resolution is the measurement of a video’s width by height in pixels. For example, a video with a 2560 × 1440  aspect ratio would measure 2560 pixels along the bottom and 1440 pixels in height.

Video resolution is determined by a few things. First, it is determined by the camera that it is captured by. When it comes to a specific stream, however, it is determined largely in part by your encoder settings, such as bitrate and frame rate.

Higher resolution videos require more bandwidth to stream since they are larger files. But here’s the thing—higher video resolution is also desirable as it gives a superior quality viewing experience. This is especially true if your viewers are watching your streams on larger screens. You’d need to stream at full HD or above to give a great video watching experience.

How to Calculate Bandwidth Usage for Video Streaming

There are a few factors that go into calculating bandwidth usage for video streaming. The primary factors include how often you will stream, how long you’ll stream, how many viewers you’ll have, and what bitrate you stream in.

Dacast offers a video bandwidth calculator that allows you to plug these criteria in to generate an estimate of how much bandwidth you’ll need each month and approximately how much that will cost.

How Much Bandwidth is Required for Video Streaming?

As we discussed, calculating bandwidth usage depends on a number of factors, so there is not an all-encompassing answer to the question of how much bandwidth is necessary for streaming.

In order to give you a better understanding of how much bandwidth is required for streaming, let’s take a look at a few different hypothetical streaming scenarios and how much bandwidth they’d require. 

1. Low Bandwidth Usage

For this example, let’s assume you’re streaming live lectures to your college students.

You’re not too concerned about streaming at a high resolution since you’re simply streaming from your webcam in your office. In order to stream live video in standard definition, your average bitrate will be around 0.8 to 1.2 Mbps.

Your class has 30 students, and your lecture will last an hour. Each lecture you stream with these specs will use between 11 and 17 GB of bandwidth. 

2. Average Bandwidth Usage

Now, let’s assume that you’re streaming a city council town hall. This sort of event also requires a moderate video quality, so a bitrate of 0.8 to 1.2 Mbps will suffice.

If the event is an hour and a half long and 200 constituents tune in, you can count on using 108 to 162 GB for this stream.

3. High Bandwidth Usage

For this example, we’re streaming a very popular concert. High-resolution streaming is a must since fans are paying for access to his event and their expectations are high. They want to feel like they are there.

In order to achieve an HD stream, you’re going to want to use a bitrate of at least 1.9 Mbps. If 20,000 people tune in and the concert lasts two hours, you’re looking at using 36,765 GB of bandwidth. 

How to Control Bandwidth Consumption

Bandwidth consumption can be controlled at the encoder level.One of the best ways to control bandwidth consumption without limiting your number of viewers or abiding by strict time limits is to reduce the resolution that you’re streaming at. That said, it is important to note that streaming in a lower resolution makes more sense in some situations than it does in others.

For example, if you’re streaming a sporting event or concert that would benefit from feeling more lifelike, you may want to absorb the cost of the bandwidth for the sake of producing a full  high definition stream. On the other hand, a lower quality would suffice for lectures for a  college course or an internal training video.

It’s essential to put your viewer experience at the forefront, especially if your stream is a paid one. The last thing you want is viewers to be unsatisfied with pixelated streams.

Encoder Settings for Controlling Video Quality

You can control your bandwidth consumption by changing your video quality. For example, if you’re looking to conserve bandwidth, you might opt to stream in standard definition rather than full high definition.

Broadcasters can change their video quality by manipulating their  encoder settings. Specifically, you’re going to want to focus on the bitrate and resolution settings. Reducing your bitrate and resolution will reduce the quality of your video, and your stream will consume less bandwidth.

Here are a few bitrate and resolution setting combinations that you can use to achieve ultra-low definition, low definition, standard definition, high definition, and full high definition streams.

Encoder Settings for Controlling Video Quality

You can control your bandwidth consumption by changing your video quality. For example, if you’re looking to conserve bandwidth, you might opt to stream in standard definition rather than full high definition.

Broadcasters can change their video quality by manipulating their encoder settings. Specifically, you’re going to want to focus on the bitrate and resolution settings. Reducing your bitrate and resolution will reduce the quality of your video, and your stream will consume less bandwidth.

Here are a few bitrate and resolution setting combinations that you can use to achieve ultra-low definition, low definition, standard definition, high definition, and full high definition streams.

Multi-bitrate streaming is streaming multiple renditions of a video to suit different viewers’ internet speeds. Paired with an adaptive bitrate video player, multi-bitrate streaming is designed to improve the viewer experience since it helps to avoid buffering and lagging.

Multi-bitrate streaming will affect your bandwidth consumption in the sense that streaming smaller renditions consumes less bandwidth and streaming larger renditions consumes more bandwidth.

However, since you likely calculated your anticipated bandwidth requirements based on an average bitrate setting, you don’t really have to worry about your estimate being too far off.

Video Bandwidth Rates on Dacast

Dacast’s streaming prices are highly competitive, and unlike many other online video platforms, our pricing is totally transparent.

Our Starter plan costs $39/month and comes with an allotment of 1.2 TB of bandwidth per year. The Event plan is $63/month and comes with 6 TB of bandwidth upfront. Our Scale plan is $188/month and comes with an annual allotment of 24 TB of bandwidth. Check out our live streaming pricing plans page for more detailed info.

Extra bandwidth is available for purchase at the following rates:

• 1-5 TB: $0.25/GB
• 5-10 TB: $0.12/GB
• 10-100 TB: $0.09/GB

If you foresee yourself running out of bandwidth, we recommend setting up Playback Protection to avoid paying the overage rate for bandwidth.

FAQ

1. How much bandwidth does a 1080p video use?

Typically, when you stream a full HD 1080p video, you’d need a bitrate between 1.9 to 4.5 Mbps. So, your bandwidth needs to be about 5 Mbps to successfully stream such content at the desired full HD 1080p resolution as a viewer. On the other hand, if you’re the broadcaster, the bandwidth would depend on the number of viewers and the view duration.

2. What is the formula for calculating bandwidth?

To calculate the bandwidth for your video streaming, you need to first multiply the video duration by the data transmitted per second or minute (bitrate). Then, multiply that figure by the number of viewers to get your video bandwidth. 

3. How much bandwidth does 1080p vs 4K use?

Owing to the higher resolution and video quality, 4K video streaming uses a lot more bandwidth than 1080p (full HD). In fact, as the resolution is four times the resolution of 1080p streams, it would use about 4x the bandwidth. Typically, the actual bandwidth used by 1080p videos is about 5 Mbps while the same for 4K videos is about 20 Mbps. 

4. How much bandwidth does 1 hour of 1080p streaming use?

The amount of bandwidth a 1 hour stream at 1080p full HD resolution would consume depends on the video bitrate and frame rate. Typically, you’d use about 2-3 GB of bandwidth for streaming HD video for an hour. But as a broadcaster, this would also depend on the number of viewers, the bandwidth will multiply with each user added to your stream.

5. Which is the best bandwidth for streaming video?

A higher bandwidth is always considered better for superior quality video streaming experience. But it’s difficult to zero in on the best bandwidth for streaming videos. It’d totally depend on the video resolution and frame rate. Higher bandwidths would be needed to stream HD and 4K videos. 

Final Thoughts

As a broadcaster, it is important to have a basic understanding of video bandwidth for HD stream since it directly affects your streaming costs in most cases. The biggest takeaway should be that the length, quality, and viewership of your stream all determine how much bandwidth you will use.

Of course, most broadcasters don’t want to have to skimp on quality or place constraints on the length of their videos or the number of people who can attend. The best way to have it all is to stream with a solution that offers bandwidth at a reasonable rate.

Looking for an online video platform with phenomenal bandwidth prices? Look no further. Dacast includes a generous amount of bandwidth with each plan, and additional bandwidth is available for purchase in the event that you need more.

You can try Dacast risk-free for 14 days with our free trial plan. This gives you access to all of our professional features so you can see how our platform can help you reach your streaming goals.

All you have to do to get started is create a Dacast account today. No credit card is required.

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