This year on January 15th gamers and streamers worldwide united to celebrate the release of “The Last of Us”. The extremely popular Play Station (PS) game has been transmuted into a hit TV series by the wizards at Sony Studios.
January 15th is not the first time these two communities i.e. heavy gamers and binge streamers have come together. Recent times have seen many popular video games being adapted for the small screen. From Arcane legends to Halo to even Resident Evil several online multiplayer games have been serialized by streaming platforms ranging from Hulu to Netflix.
But long before this truly awe-inspiring trend brought gaming and streaming together these two seemingly irreconcilable activities already had one very important thing in common with each other: “They scare the hell out of people using a satellite internet connection.”
Though this fear has existed since the very birth of the ‘Satellite Internet’. But these days unsubstantiated online rumors have transmuted this fear into hysteria. Don’t get me wrong I am not saying that this fear is completely unfounded but it’s certainly not worth the uproar it has caused.
So, how do a satellite connection impact streaming and online gaming? Let me break it down for you.
BINGE-WATCHING SEASONS USING A SATELLITE INTERNET CONNECTION
Let’s get one thing straight modern satellite internet technology allows you to stream as much content as you want without any performance issues whatsoever. In simple words, your season will not and I repeat will not buffer over and over again if you are using a satellite connection, this is a hoax.
Streaming platforms like Netflix require you to have a download speed of 25 Mbps to function properly. Most if not all satellite internet service providers (ISPs) fulfill this minimum speed requirement. So your video will buffer as you watch.
The only issue you could face is with your Data Plan. If you stream too much you might end up gobbling up a month’s worth of data in a single night. Even though this situation can be avoided by monitoring your own consumption several satellite ISPs offer built-in fail-safes of their own. The video data saver features available to users of HughesNet internet is a prime example. The Data Saver will automatically manage the video quality settings of your stream to prevent you from shooting beyond your data limits. If you choose to use this feature most of your videos will be streamed in the 480p (DVD) standard display quality. You can also manually update the video to better versions like UHD but remember doing so puts you at risk of consuming huge amounts of data.
So, the next time you want to plan a watch party for your friends you can do so without fear of long buffering breaks. Your guests won’t even be able to tell if your internet is terrestrial or satellite-based. Simply put, just go ahead and watch as much as you can pay for.
BINGE-PLAYING MULTIPLAYER GAMES USING A SATELLITE INTERNET CONNECTION
Now that we have established that you are completely free to binge-stream video content using a satellite internet connection it’s time to move on to the next enigma: online gaming.
I wish I could tell you that much like video streaming playing online games over a satellite connection is a seamless experience. Sadly, it is not.
Even though you can play online multiplayer games using satellite connections the experience is somewhat constrained. The aforementioned statement is not targeting a particular service provider but holds true for all satellite ISPs.
Internet obtained via satellite has very high latency as compared to its terrestrial counterparts. This is because of the distance between your router and the satellite.
Latency or ping is the time it takes for a signal (data packet) to travel from your router to the satellite and back. Simply put, it is the time gap between you pushing the ‘fire’ button on your console and the game server shooting the gun on your screen.
And while this delay does not impact simpler, lighter games like those on Facebook the performance of heavy multiplayer first person shooter (FPS) games like COD or CS will suffer. And your overall gameplay may seem as if it is lagging.
But if you reside in a rural area with limited ISP options playing games over a satellite internet remains your only viable option.
CONCLUSION
A vast majority of us use the internet to stream video content and multi-play games. And while there are a lot of rumors surrounding the lag or delay in satellite signals hampering gaming and streaming not all of them are true.
While video streams run seamlessly over satellite internet. There may be minute limitations on the speed and type of games you can play using your satellite connection. But as long as you are not a professional gamer any delays would seem negligible.