Modem speed, how important for streaming?


Xfinity is saying I need to update my equipment to take advantage of more speed.  My current modem is rated for up to 400 mbps. My plan is around 500 and maybe it'll go higher they don't tell me how much.

Is there any benefit to increasing my speed related to streaming audio or high definition movies?  Will this improve sound quality with having a faster modem?

My modem model number is Arris sb6183 and I've had it for a long time and seems OK. My router is Netgear and that seems OK. 

 

emergingsoul

@emergingsoul - not sure about that, but my experience in the early days of video streaming was that while I had enough bandwidth by static packet burst testing, there was some choke point at times, enough to throw the stream into buffering. This was some years ago, and I got Verizon Fios, which was better, but they never really supported the MOCA thing --to send signal over coax already wired into an abode. Meaning that once over a threshold, it’s more about continuity of signal than raw bandwidth numbers.

Now, in Texas, I have Google fiber, which, even at the lowest tier, is over 500M download on wi-fi via static packet test. I use an ethernet wired connection to stream movies, and it’s been pretty faultless. Since video content places greater demands than audio only streaming, I would assume that the same applies.

This area is where the most intelligent and knowledgeable people congregate. I'm just here as a guest

So you think this is best suited for the “amps/preamps” forum? If only we had a “digital” forum. If only…..

More bandwidth won't improve your audio quality, but if your current modem doesn't support the speeds you're paying for, getting a new modem makes sense just so you can use all your bandwidth. It's a pretty inexpensive upgrade.

400 mbps is more than enough for multiple video streams, but if your modem is a bottleneck why not upgrade it?