Request throughput
Request throughput is the real download speed a viewer's connection achieved while fetching video segments, usually measured in kilobits or megabits per second. It is what the player actually got, not what the ISP advertises, so it shows whether the network can carry the bitrate being sent.
Why it matters
If throughput falls below the bitrate being sent, viewers buffer or get pushed to low quality. Knowing real throughput by country, ISP and device shows whether to add lower renditions, change CDNs or stop paying to deliver top renditions most viewers cannot receive.
How it works
- The player requests each video segment from the CDN and notes when the download starts and finishes.
- It records how many bytes the segment contained.
- Throughput for that request is the bytes downloaded divided by the download time.
- Results are averaged per view and compared with the bitrates in the encoding ladder.
What internet speed do you need to stream 1080p?
To stream 1080p reliably, viewers generally need around 5 to 8 Mbps of sustained throughput, and more for 60 fps. The exact figure depends on the codec and the bitrate the service encodes at. Throughput should comfortably exceed the stream's bitrate so the player can refill its buffer while it plays.
Throughput vs bandwidth: what is the difference?
Bandwidth is the maximum capacity of a connection, the number an ISP advertises. Throughput is how much data actually arrived in practice. Wi-Fi interference, network congestion, distance to the CDN and server load all keep throughput below bandwidth. For video, throughput decides which quality a viewer can watch without stalling.
Where it's used
OTT services compare request throughput against the bitrate ladder by country to decide whether a lower rung is needed for mobile viewers in a given market.
Where it usually goes wrong, and how FastPix handles it
Teams often plan bitrate ladders around advertised connection speeds, then find many viewers cannot sustain the upper renditions in practice.
Average request throughput in FastPix Video Data is bytes loaded divided by download time, measured for each segment request in a view. It can be broken down by country, ISP, connection type and CDN. Markets that cannot sustain the picture you send them stand out before those viewers give up on a stalling stream.
By the numbers
- Apple's HLS authoring specification recommends 2,000 kbit/s as the default starting variant over Wi-Fi and 730 kbit/s over cellular on iOS. (HLS Authoring Specification for Apple Devices)
