Streaming Info & Tips

What is the difference between streaming and downloading?

Streaming and downloading are two ways in which you can access digital media content such as movies and music. People generally think these two activities are the same, however, they are two completely different processes.

When streaming you are downloading data from the internet that is stored on another device. A network media player or media streamer such as a smart TV can access a file and play it such as a TV show on Netflix. Streaming happens in real time; the file is delivered to your device like water flowing from a tap.

Downloading is when media is downloaded from a website and saved to your device or network media payers hard drive. When you download a file, you can play the media at a different time.

Downloading and streaming use almost the same amount of data. The difference is when downloading, you get to keep the file.

Please refer to our streaming usage in our data usage section.

Internet Protocol Television is the delivery of television content over internet protocol (IP) networks. Instead of receiving TV channels as broadcast signals that enter your home from a rooftop antenna or satellite dish you get them streamed through your internet connection. This is known as streaming media.

Yes. You can use your connection for IPTV. However, you will need a minimum download speed of between 7-10 Mbps. If you have a busy household and are using IPTV the faster the download speed the better as IPTV will require a lot of bandwidth and will use a lot of data.

If you are using IPTV and have a busy household, we advise users to avail of the WiFibre 30 or WiFibre 50 option.

• Operating your IPTV box over Wi-Fi may cause your stream to pause. It is always recommended to have your IPTV box wired into your router for optimum results.
• If you do not have the required bandwidth coming into your home to power your IPTV. If you have a busy household and have a lot of other devices in operation along with IPTV and are only on a WiLite package it is likely that you don’t have enough speed to power all of these devices. That is why we recommend IPTV users to avail of the WiFibre 30 or WiFibre 50 plan.
• There may be a fault with the server that your channels are coming from. If the service which you are receiving is not a paid subscription it is likely that the server you are receiving the channels from may be unreliable.
• The settings on your IPTV box. If you are streaming in ultra HD your IPTV will use far more data than if it is streaming in standard definition or HD.

• Check the plan on which you have subscribed to and ask yourself if you have a busy household, i.e. how many devices are connected to the internet. It is likely that you will need to upgrade you plan to receive higher speeds along with a higher daily fair usage allowance.
• Check to see how your IPTV is connected to the internet. It is advised to connect your IPTV directly to your router, this way it will receive the highest speeds possible, thus improving performance and reduce buffering (pausing).
• Ensure that you have a paid subscription to a legitimate IPTV service. If your IPTV service is not legitimate then the quality of the stream may very well be unreliable.
• Check the resolution on which you are streaming. The higher the resolution the more bandwidth you need along with the more data you will use.