The right internet for Streaming TV

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zs-kev

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Hi everyone!

So I'm trying to persuade my dad to get faster internet as we are currently on Telkoms 2mbps Uncapped line which is awful for streaming! I don't know which ISP to look at as every ISP that I've read reviews on, there are a ton of people complaining they shape the capped and uncapped and that they are terrible and so it goes on......... Is there any good ISP out there in SA? (I have looked at Afrihost reviews, WebAfrica Reviews, Axxess Reviews, Vox Reviews, Open Web Reviews and Telkom Reviews. No one can make up there mind, every ISP has a fortune of people complaining about them and I cant find many good reviews on any of the ISPs!)

I am a gamer, so when I download games, it uses a lot of data. My sister is an internet addict and she uses the internet like 24/7! So that uses a lot of data! She streams series like the whole entire day from her laptop. We want to get rid of the DSTV and replace it with streaming, so that is going to use a lot of internet as well. So now that you know my situation, I have asked 5 question below which will hopefully help you help me!

- So my first question is which ISP is the best and gives you the best value for money? (We are currently paying R345 for Telkoms 2mbps Uncapped line. We don't want to pay more than R700)
- Second question, should I go for a capped or uncapped account?
- Third question, what line speed should I go for? Should we start with a 4mbps line and just see how that goes and upgrade later on?
- Fourth question, If going for a capped account, how much data will be needed?
- Fifth question, How has your experience been with the ISP you recommend? Do they shape capped accounts or not? When they shape uncapped accounts, do they shape the whole line or only certain things?

Hope you can help,
Kevin
 
zs-kev said:
Hi everyone!

So I'm trying to persuade my dad to get faster internet as we are currently on Telkoms 2mbps Uncapped line which is awful for streaming! I don't know which ISP to look at as every ISP that I've read reviews on, there are a ton of people complaining they shape the capped and uncapped and that they are terrible and so it goes on......... Is there any good ISP out there in SA? (I have looked at Afrihost reviews, WebAfrica Reviews, Axxess Reviews, Vox Reviews, Open Web Reviews and Telkom Reviews. No one can make up there mind, every ISP has a fortune of people complaining about them and I cant find many good reviews on any of the ISPs!)

I am a gamer, so when I download games, it uses a lot of data. My sister is an internet addict and she uses the internet like 24/7! So that uses a lot of data! She streams series like the whole entire day from her laptop. We want to get rid of the DSTV and replace it with streaming, so that is going to use a lot of internet as well. So now that you know my situation, I have asked 5 question below which will hopefully help you help me!

- So my first question is which ISP is the best and gives you the best value for money? (We are currently paying R345 for Telkoms 2mbps Uncapped line. We don't want to pay more than R700)
- Second question, should I go for a capped or uncapped account?
- Third question, what line speed should I go for? Should we start with a 4mbps line and just see how that goes and upgrade later on?
- Fourth question, If going for a capped account, how much data will be needed?
- Fifth question, How has your experience been with the ISP you recommend? Do they shape capped accounts or not? When they shape uncapped accounts, do they shape the whole line or only certain things?

Hope you can help,
Kevin
Click to expand...

Right there is your answer ....

If papa is paying .... get the fastest uncapped unshaped account your line will permit :)
 
We do streaming instead of DSTV and it is saving us tons of money... good choice. We're currently using a 10mbps line from telkom on Vox 100Gb fatpipe - they're really great and youtube doesn't buffer...ever :)
Why not uncapped, I hear you ask? Well, uncapped is usually shaped (with your budget anyway) - and nobody wants to be in the middle of watching their favourite live TV program online only to have some bot (or whatever) slow your stuff down. With your budget, I'd say look at 100-200Gb per month UNSHAPED. Just my 2 cents worth.
 
Idiosyncratic said:
We do streaming instead of DSTV and it is saving us tons of money... good choice. We're currently using a 10mbps line from telkom on Vox 100Gb fatpipe - they're really great and youtube doesn't buffer...ever :)
Why not uncapped, I hear you ask? Well, uncapped is usually shaped (with your budget anyway) - and nobody wants to be in the middle of watching their favourite live TV program online only to have some bot (or whatever) slow your stuff down. With your budget, I'd say look at 100-200Gb per month UNSHAPED. Just my 2 cents worth.
Click to expand...

Hi Idiosyncratic,

I am also looking to go full streaming TV and looking at capped packages to ensure we have no issues with line quality.

May I ask how many hours of video/shows you usually get from 100GB?

We not big TV watchers, its going to be for occasional movie, 1-2 cartoons a day for little one and some doccies/food programs/music videos in between. I did a rough calculation based on a streaming test of F1 and 100GB looked about right. How does 100GB work for you?
 
Textile Guy, what you don't understand is that my 'papa' is the most stubborn person out here! He wont listen to anything I say! I tell him that we can save money buy doing this but he just ignores me and says I'm not interested! My dad does not mind than he is paying for a service that has hundreds of channels with nothing to watch! Drives me CRAZY!!!

That's why I need to find something that he might consider! So I'm looking at Afrihosts capped 4mbps line with 100GB data, and maybe once my dad sees how much better this is, he might cancel the DSTV and upgrade the line. That's the plan anyway......

Kevin
 
Hi Kevin,

We have the TV (plugged into the laptop) running almost throughout the day on medium quality... We just leave it on! Plus, I work from home (web developer) so while it's running I'm still using the web. 100Gb is fine.
 
Hey idiosyncratic,

Ok, so I managed to persuade my dad to move us to a 4mbps line with 100GB cap with Afrihost. If we like the streaming, then we will cancel DSTV and then we can improve the line to maybe 10mpbs.

How do we move? Do we call Telkom and tell them we are moving?

Thanks for the help guys!
Kevin
 
Well, Afrihost offers bundles - we used to have a 50Gb bundle on 10mbps line with them. They organized everything with Telkom - not sure how things work with them now since we left, but give them a shout and find out. Their customer service is great so they'll help you with whatever you need. Was kinda sad to leave Afrihost, but Vox allows you to carry over data and that along with the fact that Afrihost's network was stuffed up in such a way that we couldn't stream caused us to move. Then again, I understand that those that stuck with Afrihost are very happy with their new network - there's no harm in trying :)
 
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