Comcast Usage Meter

[Hacp]

A regular SD movie is about 700mb-1.4gb. A 720p movie is around 4.2gb. That's a movie a day, or more. How much time do you really have on your hands?

An xbox360 movie is 7mbits. Average movie being 2 hours, thats 6.1gb. Thats a movie a day for YOU. If someone else in the family is doing things then you'll go over.

 

[Gunslinger08]

I don't understand how the move to put everything online jives with ISP caps. It seems like online content providers are eventually going to have to pay ISPs for "preferred" access to their services so that users can spend money with them, without having to pay extra to their ISP. Isn't this basically what net neutrality is about?

 

[shortylickens]

Start using WPA2. You'll get better speeds and your neighbor will have to find someone else's internet to use.

:sneaky:

 

[TheVrolok]

You don't see because you don't use paid services. You subscribe to any TV video streaming service and you'll start racking up high usage just for watching TV.

Very good assumption, but I use Netflix streaming pretty heavily. In the past 2 months or so I've watched all 9 seasons of South Park and all 5 seasons of Quantum leap. Also, the first 9 episodes of How I Met Your Mother. In addition to this I've streamed the occasional movie, YouTube clip, and obviously, free streaming pr0n. People heavily overestimate their usage.

 

[Hacp]

Very good assumption, but I use Netflix streaming pretty heavily. In the past 2 months or so I've watched all 9 seasons of South Park and all 5 seasons of Quantum leap. Also, the first 9 episodes of How I Met Your Mother. In addition to this I've streamed the occasional movie, YouTube clip, and obviously, free streaming pr0n. People heavily overestimate their usage.

I'm not talking about netflix streaming. I'm talking about TV boxes that connect to the internet instead of a satellite etc. You accidentally leave the TV on, you're going to get a lot of gbs used. Two people watch two different things, you're going to get a lot of gbs.

 

[TheVrolok]

I'm not talking about netflix streaming. I'm talking about TV boxes that connect to the internet instead of a satellite etc. You accidentally leave the TV on, you're going to get a lot of gbs used. Two people watch two different things, you're going to get a lot of gbs.

Well, if you decide to leave your iTV on when you know you've got a bandwidth capped ISP, I can't say you have anyone to blame but yourself. If you choose to use iTV you should assume the responsibilities that come with it ... ie high bandwidth usage. I really don't see that as an excuse to lash out on what are otherwise very high bandwidth caps. If I leave every light, computer, fan, etc. on in my apartment and then get a high electricity bill, do I have the right to complain?

 

[Hacp]

Well, if you decide to leave your iTV on when you know you've got a bandwidth capped ISP, I can't say you have anyone to blame but yourself. If you choose to use iTV you should assume the responsibilities that come with it ... ie high bandwidth usage. I really don't see that as an excuse to lash out on what are otherwise very high bandwidth caps. If I leave every light, computer, fan, etc. on in my apartment and then get a high electricity bill, do I have the right to complain?

Well TV is the future of the internet, not shitty netflix streaming. If you want high quality 1080p streams, its going to need lots of bandwidth. Can't use those services if ISP caps bandwidth.

 

[TheVrolok]

Well TV is the future of the internet, not shitty netflix streaming. If you want high quality 1080p streams, its going to need lots of bandwidth. Can't use those services if ISP caps bandwidth.

I agree completely. But I also realize that this is now, and consistent/ubiquitous 1080p streams is the future. I'm not going to get upset now, over what may or may not be a precedent that will remain when the entire media distribution industry changes. Markets change as demands change, so we'll see what actually happens. I would be surprised of 1080p TV streaming becomes ubiquitous and ISPs are still capping heavily at 250GBs.

 

[Hacp]

I agree completely. But I also realize that this is now, and consistent/ubiquitous 1080p streams is the future. I'm not going to get upset now, over what may or may not be a precedent that will remain when the entire media distribution industry changes. Markets change as demands change, so we'll see what actually happens. I would be surprised of 1080p TV streaming becomes ubiquitous and ISPs are still capping heavily at 250GBs.

Markets change.. NO! Cable companies are practically government mandated monopolies. There is almost no choice. If we get the government's crummy regulatory hands out of the cable business, new companies can lay cable/fiber and begin selling services to lower prices. However, right now cable can do whatever the hell it wants.

 

[TheVrolok]

Markets change.. NO! Cable companies are practically government mandated monopolies. There is almost no choice. If we get the government's crummy regulatory hands out of the cable business, new companies can lay cable/fiber and begin selling services to lower prices. However, right now cable can do whatever the hell it wants.

Arguing about the future market where 1080p streaming is commonplace and bandwidth caps exist is NOT the same as arguing about competition between current cable companies.

 

[her209]

I agree completely. But I also realize that this is now, and consistent/ubiquitous 1080p streams is the future. I'm not going to get upset now, over what may or may not be a precedent that will remain when the entire media distribution industry changes. Markets change as demands change, so we'll see what actually happens. I would be surprised of 1080p TV streaming becomes ubiquitous and ISPs are still capping heavily at 250GBs.

Of course, if someone can reach the monthly bandwidth cap limit after watching seven 1080p movies (assuming 40GB per movie), then it will artificially affect customer demand for it, thus driving people to, on-demand 1080p service which isn't capped and provided, by you guessed it, your ISP.

 

[TheVrolok]

Of course, if someone can reach the monthly bandwidth cap limit after watching seven 1080p movies (assuming 40GB per movie), then it will artificially affect customer demand for it, thus driving people to, on-demand 1080p service which isn't capped and provided, by you guessed it, your ISP.

I agree that there are niche users where things like this do occur, all I'm saying is that prior to getting up in arms about things I'd like to see what happens when the market broadens.

 

[Modular]

You get FREE internet?

2-week necro!

The best way to impose regulation and rules on people is to feed it to them slowly. It's like boiling a frog (not that I've ever done that ); you have to warm the water slowly because if you drop it in boiling water it's going to hop on out.

I can just see them starting off with a 250GB limit, and slowly decreasing it until it's 50GB and you pay per 10gb that you use over that. Granted, some may see this as a good thing because they assume that the theoretical 50gb limit will be cheaper, but they are wrong. The cost will be about the same and every GB used over that will add even more to it.

 

[GrumpyMan]

Too bad it's not like phone minutes where you can "rollover" unused gbs to the next month. Since you paid for it anyway....

 

[ciproxr]

I definitely consider myself a heavy internet user.

 

[frostedflakes]

Not heavy enough apparently. I've heard of people using like 800GB or more in a month, lol. Never understood how you could do that. Just go on usenet I guess and queue up a bunch of stuff that you'll probably never get around to watching.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Not heavy enough apparently. I've heard of people using like 800GB or more in a month, lol. Never understood how you could do that. Just go on usenet I guess and queue up a bunch of stuff that you'll probably never get around to watching.

A 720p TV show is 1gb. 800gb = 800 hours of TV. There aren't even 800 hours a month.

Ok fine. 720p movies. What, 8gb a piece? 100 movies? LoL.
Fine. 1080p movies. 12-16gb? 50 movies?

I think it's all excessive. iTV is a different story, but Netflix Streaming, Hulu, etc don't use that much unless you sit in front of your computer watching HD content 12 hours a day. I have plenty of friends who are usenet users. No way are you going over 250gb even if you found a new TV show and you're 5 seasons behind and you download all the HD versions, that's only 100gb.

 

[bignateyk]

I don't have a problem with pay as you use internet. It's a utility and should be charged like any other (electric, gas, etc...).

That said, it would have to be fair rates. Something like $0.15-$0.25/GB. To factor in faster speeds you could just put a rate modifier in. i.e. 0.20*SPEED, where slowest = 1, fastest = 1.5 or something.

 

[M0RPH]

A 720p TV show is 1gb. 800gb = 800 hours of TV. There aren't even 800 hours a month.

Ok fine. 720p movies. What, 8gb a piece? 100 movies? LoL.
Fine. 1080p movies. 12-16gb? 50 movies?

I think it's all excessive. iTV is a different story, but Netflix Streaming, Hulu, etc don't use that much unless you sit in front of your computer watching HD content 12 hours a day. I have plenty of friends who are usenet users. No way are you going over 250gb even if you found a new TV show and you're 5 seasons behind and you download all the HD versions, that's only 100gb.

File sharing is how people end up going over 250GB. If you're sharing files 24/7 and the upload speed is set at say 100kb/s, then 100 x 86,400 = 8.64GB/day x 30 = 259GB. That's not even counting what you download, and it would be even worse if you let it use your full upload speed which is typically 150-200kb/s for Comcast. I'm not saying it's kosher to run file sharing 24/7 but I know there are some people out there that would like to.

 

[gizbug]

Not to bump an old topic, but just got comcast, and debating on keeping it (North side Chicago) with this data cap.

 

[Newbian]

Not to bump an old topic, but just got comcast, and debating on keeping it (North side Chicago) with this data cap.

If you just got it you are probably under contract so if you want to get raped from charges feel free to cancel it.

 

[Freshgeardude]

i might get somewhere remotely near, like 200gb, this month because my brother discovered netflix on the wii and watched all seasons of 24, and i use netflix on my xbox and watched all 4 seasons of prison break, as well as some of the 1st season of 24

 

[Evadman]

My final was 567 GB in march. No phone calls for being evil. I haven't changed anything in the last 3 months, so I have no idea why I used 19 GB/day in March, 4 GB/day in May and 1 GB/day in June.

 

[TheVrolok]

Not to bump an old topic, but just got comcast, and debating on keeping it (North side Chicago) with this data cap.

The cap is pretty high, "normal" usage most likely won't even come close.

 

[SKORPI0]

Monthly bill is $195 (Cable&HSI).
Already used 120GB in the last 3 days.