The Best Broadband ISPs in America

Better Broadband Begets Better Services

If you have a big Internet pipe, start making the most of it. Here are some services that take advantage of as much bandwidth as you can bring.

Movie downloads: Sites like CinemaNow and Movielink offer movie downloads that you can buy or rent, a service that cries out for an ultrafast fiber-optic connection. Via a 1.5-mbps cable or DSL link, a movie takes an hour and a half to download. High-definition movies require even more bandwidth to download or stream in an acceptable amount of time. CinemaNow already sells some HD content, but its future plans call for HD movies in the 1080p format (the best HD format available); such files will take more than 4 hours to download if you have a 512-kbps pipe, which will be the minimum required connection. With a 6-mbps connection, you can cut that to about half an hour.

Video streaming: ESPN360 is an online video player that shows live sporting events. Your ISP must offer this service, however; otherwise you're limited to brief clips. It specifies a connection speed of at least 450 kbps--higher than most other online video services.

HD television: MatrixStream Technologies' IPTV set-top box can deliver live 1080p HDTV via 6-mbps broadband. "Unlike cable or satellite, there's no limit as to the number of HD channels somebody could have," says Aaron Keogh, MatrixStream's director of business development. A service provider, which could be an ISP or a video-on-demand site, installs MatrixStream servers on its end, and then sells or rents set-top boxes to consumers. Field trials are under way, Keogh says.

Videoconferencing: Today's consumer-grade videoconferencing hardware, such as 8x8's Packet8 $20-per-month VideoPhone, requires about 640 kbps for both upload and download streams to achieve full-motion, 30-frames-per-second video. Many of today's cable and DSL connections offer slower upload speeds--often as little as 128 kbps--so a wider upstream pipe is necessary for good two-way video. The newer H.264 codec, just now being implemented by videophone makers, should ease upstream requirements. Full-motion video via H.264 will require bandwidth of 128 kbps to 512 kbps, says Karen Hong, 8x8 director of product marketing.