Are You Getting the Most Out of Your Streaming Services?

Access Your Favorite Movies, TV Shows and Music with a Home Network Setup

As we’ve mentioned in previous blogs, your home network affects the way your smart home technology functions. It can make or break your automation technology as it is the system through which your products communicate and function. But what exactly does that mean for your Newport, Rhode Island home?

Your home network setup is linked to your basic internet services (web-searching, email, etc.) as well as your more sophisticated technology products like your smart thermostat, lighting control, speakers and more.

One of the most important aspects is your suite of streaming services. Streaming any media — like movies, TV shows or home — places a large burden on your network to carry all that data and broadcast it uninterrupted across your network on your devices.

In order to understand how to get the best streaming quality, we’ll break down how exactly your network handles traffic and what kind of traffic your streaming services brings to your network.

 

 

See Also:Extend the Reach of Your Home Network

 

Speed v. Bandwidth

Your home network facilitates traffic —usage that requires a connection, like internet/web searching, streaming music and shows, or controlling your smart technology — via its bandwidth capacity and speed.

Bandwidth is the amount of traffic your network is capable of handling. This is important if you have multiple devices competing for space on the network, or you have large files and traffic coming through.

Think of it like a highway — the more lanes available, the more traffic can be facilitated with ease and minimal disruptions. If you have large media files streaming, or if you’re streaming multiple media files — like a movie in one room, music in another, TV shows in another area — they will all be competing to flow through the lanes.

Just like a congested highway, if there are several cars competing for two lanes, they’ll become stopped, whereas a highway with four lanes would be better able to facilitate traffic. If you don’t have sufficient bandwidth, you’ll see buffering and lagging in your streaming content.

So where does speed come in? With sufficient bandwidth, your content will stream faster with a higher speed connection. This may sound obvious, but the key here is having sufficient bandwidth. Many homeowners mistakenly think that higher speed guarantees better results. While a high-speed connection does expedite your content’s delivery, the network’s bandwidth is equally responsible for delivering your media.

 

Upgrade Your Equipment

How can you make sure you have the necessary speed and bandwidth in your network? If you’re experiencing issues like lagging and buffering, the issue may be with your equipment. You may need to upgrade your router, wiring, placement of your equipment, or add extenders throughout your property if it’s not reaching some areas of your home.

Ready to get the most out of your home network setup and stream content with ease? Reach out to us online or give