Start Video Streaming With Satellite Internet

From craving another run-through Friends or watching videos related to course work, online video streaming has become an important part of our lives.

However, most of the people in rural areas think of it as an impossible thing because of not having access to cable or fiber internet. In reality, video streaming is possible even with the satellite internet. Although the experience won’t be as great as with fiber or cable, satellite internet can get you through weekly movie nights without any problem.

Almost all the satellite internet providers offer a good download speed. Depending upon the service provider you choose, that can be anywhere from 12 Mbps to 100 Mbps. Therefore, speed is not the problem.

You just have to be careful about a few things such as data caps or the latency of the connection. These are the only things that can disturb your video streaming or live streaming experience.

Want to know how these are going to affect your streaming experience? Let’s find that out.

Effects of Satellite Internet Data Caps over Video Streaming

One of the major problems that people face while streaming videos over the satellite internet is the data cap. Even when it is advertised as unlimited, you will see something like no hard data limits being mentioned.

Data caps are limits imposed over the data usage by the ISPs to balance the amount of traffic. The no hard data cap/ soft data cap means that there is a data limit but there are no additional charges for going over that limit.

Almost all the satellite ISPs offer plans with soft data limits and offer users access to limited high-speed data. Once they go over that data limit, their internet slows down, hence causes trouble for those who stream.

Now if you watch movies or stream videos every once or twice a week, that won’t be a problem for you. Contrarily, if you love to stream shows and movies on daily basis, you will have to be careful.

For instance, HughesNet offers a download speed of up to 25 Mbps and several plans based on high-speed data such as 10 GB, 20 GB, 30 GB, or 50 GB plans. Moreover, HughesNet internet prices depend upon the data plan customers choose, not the speed. With these plans, you cannot stream videos for a few hours every day. If you do so, you will run out of data and will be required to pay more or get a slower speed until your next billing cycle starts.

When you are a streamer and watch movies and shows every day that does not work well for you. It is because your data usage is going to be much more than what is available in your plan. Therefore, the only best way will be to manage that data properly over the satellite internet. If you can do that, it can help you to avoid paying extra charges and you can stream videos whenever you want.

The effect of Latency on Streaming via Satellite Internet

Latency is the measure of how long it takes for the data to travel from your system to the server and then backward. With satellite internet, the latency is usually at its peak.

The reason behind that is the distance between the dish antenna and the satellite. The satellite is usually thousands of miles away in space. That increases the travel time of the signals and increases the latency of your connection.

Even though the latency affects activities such as online gaming, it doesn’t have any effect on streaming videos. Video streaming doesn’t require any faster responsiveness like gaming, hence making it prone to the effects of latency.

On the other hand, if you plan to live stream over Twitch, YouTube, or Facebook, you will see that there’s a lag between the live feed and your actions on the camera.

How Do I Start Streaming with Satellite Internet?

The process of streaming with satellite internet is just like with any other internet connection. You don’t need any specific equipment or tools. All you need to do is to sign up for the services with any satellite internet provider that suits your budget. I would personally recommend you to go for HughesNet as it is affordable and offers a good speed.

Once you are good to go from that end, subscribe to any streaming service of your choice. That can be Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, or any other. After that, connect your device to the internet, log in to the streaming platform, and start watching your favorite shows.