Watching videos is one of the main ways people eat through their allowance. So it makes sense to know how much data streaming video uses.
After all, for many people in the United States and beyond, Internet data limits are a reality. Worse yet, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can charge you an exorbitant amount of money per gigabyte if and when you go over your limit.
Knowing how much data streaming video uses should help you avoid any unpleasant surprises when you get your next bill.
Let's start with YouTube. We've already covered how much data YouTube uses. How much data does YouTube use? How much data does YouTube use? Wondering how much data YouTube uses? In this article, we crunch the numbers and show you how to reduce YouTube's data usage. Read more in a previous article. Long story short, we found that the service uses 562.5MB of data/hour if you stream it at 480p (standard definition) resolution.
If you want to watch higher resolutions at 60 frames per second, the figure jumps to 1.86GB/hour for 720p, 3.04GB/hour at 1080p, and a mammoth 15.98GB/hour if you want to watch 4K video.
Fortunately, we've included some tips to help you reduce the amount of data YouTube uses in the same article.
Netflix is the most popular streaming service in the world by some distance. It has more than 130 million subscribers, many of whom do not necessarily have high-speed Internet.
So, like YouTube, there are several different quality options available in the app.
According to Netflix's own information, an hour of standard definition video streaming will use approximately 1 GB of data. When watching a high definition video, that number increases to 3 GB. Ultra high definition will use 7GB of data / hour.
By default, your account is set to automatically choose the most appropriate resolution for your connection. However, if you want to save data while watching Netflix, you can override the setting. Go to Account> My Profile> Playback Settings to make your selection. Hit Save when you're ready.
Amazon Prime is just one of many Amazon services The Amazon Index:21 Amazon Features and Services Explained The Amazon Index:21 Amazon Features and Services Explained Amazon has a lot more to it than you probably realize. bill. Here's every Amazon service, he explained. Read more . It launched in 2006, but only became a streaming service in 2011. However, in just half a decade, it has become Netflix's biggest competitor.
The service offers three resolutions for desktop users. They are good, better and better. Good Streams videos at 480p standard definition and uses 800MB of data per hour. Best streams in HD and requires 2GB of data/hour. The 4K Ultra High Definition (Best) option will consume 6 GB of data / hour.
Mobile users also have an additional option to save data.
Note: Watching Amazon Prime Video on the mobile app uses slightly less data than watching the same video on the desktop app.
Hulu is arguably the third member of the streaming video triumvirate. Like its rivals, Hulu offers some must-see TV shows. 16 TV shows you can't miss on Hulu right now. 16 TV shows you can't miss on Hulu right now. However, it would be a mistake to dismiss Hulu out of hand, as it hosts a number of truly must-see TV shows. Shows like these… Read more .
Hulu's data usage while streaming video is slightly lower than Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, making it the cheapest of the three.
In the standard definition option, you can expect to use 680 MB/hour. The 720p HD setting bumps the figure up to 1.3GB/hour, and the 1080p resolution pushes usage even further to 2.7GB/hour.
If you subscribe to Hulu's $39.99/month plan, you can also stream live TV. Hulu only offers its live channels in 720p HD quality, so mobile users with limited plans should stay clear.
Spotify is better known as a music streaming service. However, since mid-2016, a video service is also offered in select markets.
Unfortunately, the company isn't very knowledgeable about how much data its video service uses. On its website, Spotify simply says. “Videos use more data than music due to larger file sizes. But our data usage is comparable to other popular video channels.”
Most of the videos on the service are in high definition, so if we take Spotify's claims at face value, we can assume that an hour of streaming will use between 1.5GB and 3GB of data (based on Netflix data). et al).
If you want to know how much data Spotify uses while streaming music, How much data does Spotify use? How much data does Spotify use? The amount of data Spotify uses while streaming depends on the music quality settings you've chosen. To read more, check out our previous article.
Like Spotify, Vimeo does not offer any official data usage guidelines on its website. However, in third-party tests, one user found that standard definition content used 353MB of data per hour and HD videos used at 2.75GB per hour.
Stan is only available in Australia and offers a mix of movies on demand and TV shows.
The app offers four quality levels. The lowest standard definition setting only uses 570MB of data per hour, making it comparable to Netflix. Medium standard definition uses 1.13 GB/hour, and HD and 4K use 2.89 GB/hour and 7 GB/hour, respectively.
DirecTV is another company that does not provide clear information about bandwidth usage on its website.
Their guidelines simply say, "If your provider limits your bandwidth or data, change the video quality setting to low or medium."
It's safe to assume that DirecTV's data usage is in line with the other platforms we've discussed.
PlayStation Vue guidelines are much clearer. It uses 500 MB / hour in Low Quality, 1 GB / hour in Medium Quality and 2 GB / hour in High Quality.
Since 2017, the service has also offered native bandwidth capping. You can set it to your preferred limit and the stream will automatically cut off when the limit is reached.
For Sling TV, we once again need to turn to third-party research. According to Cord Cutters News, Sling TV's highest-quality stream will use 1.66GB/hour. That drops to 540MB/hour on medium and 360MB/hour on low.
Going over your data limit could be disastrous for your bank account. If you're lucky, your ISP will only throttle your speed. If you're unlucky, you could be charged a hefty fee for each additional gigabyte over your limit that you use.
We think it's a shame that of all the services we've reviewed, only PlayStation Vue comes with a built-in bandwidth monitor. It should be something that all streaming video services offer as standard.
Fortunately, other companies are thinking about the need to help people control their data usage. Learn more about monitoring your data usage in Windows 10 How to monitor data usage in Windows 10 and avoid overages How to monitor data usage in Windows 10 and avoid overages Whether you're on a laptop or mobile device, Data usage is a big concern in Windows 10 due to data limits. Here's how to make sure you never come back again. Read more.
