Why Doesn't Cable TV Buffer?
Techquickie
·Techquickie
·2019-05-06
·
895 words · ~4 min read
0:00
Thanks for watching Techquickie. Click the subscribe button, then enable notifications with the bell icon so you won't miss any future videos.
0:07
We've all been there. You're watching Techquickie, checking out your favorite Twitch stream or on a Skype date with that rando that you met on
0:14
Tinder when suddenly, and it's just so
0:19
frustrating,
0:20
this is commonly caused by a slow connection.
0:24
Whenever you stream something from the internet, that stream attempts to read ahead
0:30
filling up a local buffer on your device, which serves to ensure smooth playback.
0:35
If your connection is too slow, this buffer won't fill quickly enough, causing those dreaded freezes,
0:42
which your stream may or may not be smart enough to recover from on its own.
0:48
So you give up on streaming video for a bit and plop down in front of your good old TV
0:54
that's connected to a cable box that you're paying an outrageous sum of money each month to use.
0:58
As you flip through an array of HD channels, you have a sudden thought.
1:04
Cable TV these days is digital, just like video over the internet.
1:09
It's a stream of ones and zeros that hit a cable box that does some decoding and then
1:15
spits out the popular reality show du jour for you to
1:21
enjoy.
1:23
But for some reason, cable TV never seems to buffer like internet streams do, even though
1:30
many of the channels are in bandwidth-hungry high definition.
1:33
So what gives?
1:35
Well, it turns out that although that compressed digital video that reaches both your TV and your computer screen is indeed similar in terms of the
1:44
speed in megabits per second that it requires, the way it's delivered to either your cable TV box
1:51
versus your cable modem is quite different, even though they're both entering your house on
1:57
literally the exact same code.
2:00
Coaxial cable. You see, the signals that pass through your cable connection are divided up into different frequencies,
2:07
with clear separation between frequencies that carry cable TV and ones that carry internet data,
2:13
which you can learn more about up here. And it turns out that each channel on your cable TV guide
2:19
actually corresponds to its own
2:21
completely separate frequency
2:23
inside your coaxial cable, and each frequency is dedicated to one and only one channel.
2:31
Additionally, whatever channel that you're tuned into is showing the same thing at all times to
2:37
everyone receiving the signal, meaning that unlike streaming, there's no server
2:43
sitting out there somewhere waiting for a user to request something.
2:48
Instead, your TV provider just
2:50
blasts the same signals down the pipes, meaning that live
2:54
content is waiting for you as soon as you tune in to a specific channel.
2:58
This also means that the
3:00
route that your TV signal takes to your home is much simpler.
3:04
It goes from a distribution center, through a few nodes, and into your house on a dedicated frequency
3:10
without having to compete with a bunch of other traffic, or
3:15
respond to anything that the user does.
3:17
But when you try to stream something, your video has to fight with tons of other internet traffic.
3:22
It might be coming from a faraway server that isn't well maintained. It might be routed through a bunch of hops that add additional
3:30
lag time, and there might just be tons of people hogging bandwidth in your neighborhood because EA just dropped another AAA title that everyone wants to try out and
3:41
subsequently complain about on the internet, using up even more of your bandwidth.
3:47
Standard digital cable TV can still definitely run into signal issues, though,
3:51
if there's a problem at your cable provider's facilities or with a satellite hanging out up in orbit.
3:57
But all of this does still add up
4:00
to a more direct pathway to your screen with minimal congestion or latency.
4:05
It's almost enough for you to keep spending a hundred bucks a month so you can watch Happy Days reruns at 3 a.m.
4:14
Almost.
4:15
Check out Private Internet Access VPN. Not only does PIA work on up to five devices at once,
4:21
hiding your true IP address, it allows you to bypass geo-restrictions and censorship by making you appear as though you are connecting from
4:30
somewhere else.
4:30
And it's got all kinds of
4:32
other great functionality, too. It blocks unwanted connections to help prevent attacks, it auto-blocks all traffic if the VPN
4:39
disconnects, it keeps your data out of the hands of advertisers and other snoops who are tracking your activity,
4:45
it prevents DNS leaks, and even includes MACE, PIA's built-in malware blocker.
4:50
It supports multiple VPN protocols, and they've got apps for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux, and
4:56
even a Chrome extension with support for more platforms coming soon.
5:00
PIA has over three
5:02
thousand servers in 28 countries and doesn't log user activity. So what are you waiting for? Check them out today at the link below.
5:11
Speaking of almost, I almost had an integration to give to you guys right now, but it wasn't there, so you're off the hook.
5:18
So thanks for watching, guys. You can like, dislike, check out other channels, leave a comment with video suggestions, and subscribe!
5:24
You can, and you will.