Options for increasing upload bandwidth cheaply

I'm trying to setup media streaming over the internet using Plex. I assumed that my ADSL 2+ connection would be good enough for reasonable streaming to something like a phone / tablet while I'm out but really it is not, caps out at 1Mbps and of course if someone is using it at home it gets worse.

From what I can see there are no economical (ie dirt cheap) options to bump upload speeds up via the ADSL2+ plan, I'm limited by what my line to exchange can do.

But wondered whether I could set up a separate 4G dongle (I'm in a generally good mobile reception area) and hopefully filter the traffic so that all downloads come via the ADSL2+ connection and all uploads go via the ADSL2+ connection except uploads from the one stand alone PC that runs the Plex Server software (or alternatively excess uploads above the 1Mbps would be even better to minimise usage of the 4G connection and maximise the combined upload bandwidth).

Seem to get specials on pre-paid sim cards of 3-5Gb or so for $10 on a semi-regular basis which doesn't seem too expensive to me.

Hoping to get upload speeds of at least 3Mbps. Telstra 4G claims to do 1-10Mbps depending on location so hoping would get 5Mbps in my location which should be plenty.

Is this sort of thing possible / feasible? Or is multiple internet connection points and associated traffic filtering just too complicated. Is there a better way of achieving the end result without spending $00's a month?

Note already have Annex M enabled and it gained a little but nothing substantial.

Note2 yes NBN is coming sometime but looking for something that predates NBN if feasible.

Comments

  • The easiest way to do what you are describing is run the stream on a known port (say 1234) then have the LTE router forward incoming traffic to the server IP port 1234. All other traffic will go through the ADSL (use ADSL router as the default gateway). Splitting a single socket connection over two physically connections is… not advised.

    Having said that I don't think this is a great solution. I would look at hosting the steaming on the interwebs directly rather than at home. If their aren't existing services that do what you want you can always rent a VM from amazon (or anywhere else) and have the stream magically appear from the cloud.

  • Another thought, you talk about requiring 5mbps. I don't know if plex buffers data locally, but if it doesn't this won't get you far. Rule of thumb is typically that a reasonable 1080 encode will need 100mbps. Video quality would be pretty lousy at 5mbps without buffering.

    • +1

      LOL. Blu Ray doesn't even reach 100Mbps! If you have a 5Mbps upload then the quality you will receive will be excellent.

      BTW, 5GB won't last you very long…

      • Checked it out and you are right, it is 54Mbit/s. I have a rip that hits 60 though. I guess typically people round to 100 as this is what you need on ethernet (54Mbit/s wifi is definately not enough).

        DVD Video needs 10.8, so 5 is still going to be a long way from 'excellent'.

        • +1

          DVD uses the MPEG-2 codec which is very old and in-efficient. It's not fair to compare it with the current codecs. H.264 @ 5Mbps is amazing.

          Go ahead and download a 720p rip of a TV show. The bitrate is around 3Mbps and looks superb even on a 55 inch TV.

          The OP can stream at 1Mbps and he will be very happy with the quality.

        • Sure, the intent of 264 is to halve the bitrate for similar quality, and most people agree that it does this. At best this gives you DVD level quality.

          Also many people have different opinions on what 'superb' video quality is.

  • Annex M is the only cheap way but it doesn't seem to work for you. Have you tried a different Annex M capable modem? You're sure that your ISP supports it? What's the attenuation like?

    Well luckily the new NBN won't fix this problem at all…

    • I think Annex M worked for me, I just wanted more. I saw a small speed increase (~10%) with a corresponding (~10%) decrease in download speed. From the research I did that was about all I should have expected.

      But really I want to get to 3Mbps or so. From the tests I've done 1Mbps is watchable but it's not great. At 3Mbps and above it looks good with a decent scattering of artefacts that may or may not be bothersome depending on how much you tend to notice these things. 10Mbps should deliver essentially flawless HD viewing I think.

      I gave up on the wireless broadband. Just too expensive to justify and streaming video was going to burn data quotas up like nothing else.

      These are my current modem stats. I don't know if the attenuation figures are good or bad but my throughput is well in the ballpark of what I understand ADSL2+ can deliver for me given the distance I am from the exchange (estimate at 2.6km).

      Statistics Downstream Upstream
      Line Rate 10297 Kbps 1297 Kbps
      Attainable Line Rate 11248 Kbps 1282 Kbps
      Noise Margin 4.3 dB 5.9 dB
      Line Attenuation 36.5 dB 22.3 dB
      Output Power 18.7 dBm 13.1 dBm
  • Yup, your attenuation says you're about 2.6km from the exchange.

    Have you tried different profiles with your ISP? What is your ISP? Have you tried a different Annex M capable modem with a different chipset?

    You could always churn to BigPond cable and get 2.4Mbps.

    I assume you're using a wired connection to your router.

    • ISP is Internode and they offer a selection of Annex M profiles, the fastest one was too unstable for me but the second fastest is what I have settled on. The modem is a Dynalink RTA1025W and does support Annex M and I have enabled it in the modem config as well. It's the only modem I have tried but given that my throughput is well in line with what I understand is achievable given my distance from the exchange I haven't worried about the hassle of trying to swap to a different one.

      Have thought about churn to Bigpond Cable but have heard that they can get some serious congestion on that at times now, so a bit nervous that I might change and see no improvement, I don't think there are any guarantees with cable. But at the same time I have been really happy with the Internode service so definitely would prefer to stay with them as well.

      Yes I am on wired connection between server and router. I've actually got a gigabit switch internally with a wired connection back to the modem from the gigabit switch. Gives me plenty of headroom when streaming within the house.

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