Is DSL fast enough for Netflix and online gaming?

[hijeff1]

I don't know anyone who has DSL, all my friends have cable internet so I'm hoping that someone who knows from experience can help me out. I currently use cable for my internet but I want to cut my expenses down so I was considering going to DSL. Fios is not available in my area and the fastest DSL that is available is the package that has speeds of 1.5 - 3.0. Does anyone know if I get this if I will lag? I play Call of Duty mostly online and I don't want to lag out.

What about netflix too? Is this fast enough for netflix HD or will I only be able to stream in SD with DSL?

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by hijeff1

I currently use cable for my internet but I want to cut my expenses down so I was considering going to DSL. Fios is not available in my area and the fastest DSL that is available is the package that has speeds of 1.5 - 3.0. Does anyone know if I get this if I will lag? I play Call of Duty mostly online and I don't want to lag out.

I don't have DSL any more, but as I recall, latency (ping time) was anything but favourable on a DSL connection (for me). Theoretically, DSL should work just fine for online gaming (as it's supposed to offer lower packet loss and ping times, when compared against cable), but as with anything, it always comes down to the service provider. Do you know the name of the DSL provider(s)? You can always look them up online to see how they fare against other broadband providers in your area.

What about netflix too? Is this fast enough for netflix HD or will I only be able to stream in SD with DSL?

I don't use NetFlix, but I found this info on another forum:

1.5 would give you about 2 bars of quality (i.e. not good)
3.0 would give you max quality but only SD content
6.0 would give you HD quality (for those movies/tv shows that are hd). Netflix's HD feeds are 5.0 mbit.

[Beta Man]

My netflix works well with DSL, but no HD content, and the quality isn't 'great' but it's close to DVD......

I used to play one of those Call of Duty games, and didn't have any lag issues, but someone stated that a better connection made the game easier..... I don't know though... wish I could tell.

[victorvondoom88]

When I first got my ps3 and 360 my DSL was 1.5 it was fine occasionally I would end up in a lobby with guys from the west coast (I'm mid-west) and the lag would get unbearable. I mainly play with some local guys I know it usually isn't an issue. My DSL has been upgraded since then to around 5.0-6.5 on average.
Netflix streaming blows on my DSL unless I use my 360 (no HD) and if the movie has fast camera pans the image quality suffers. Below dvd across the board in fact I would say it's below my Sat feed. So I dont stream much actually I've only done it a couple of times.

FWIW I have a gigabit connection between my router and my consoles and I run a D-Link DGL-4500 gaming router. Could just be my isp.

[jawsfan1975]

I use DSL (again mainly for COD and Netflix) and used to have the 1.5 level which worked good. I recently upped the speed to 5 mps level and it works GREAT....no problems.

[JAYSONE]

I recently upgraded my DSL from ATT pro to elite. Only thing I've noticed is that the video quality and startup are better on Netflix than before.

Years ago I had cable through Time Warner. In the evenings the ping would be all over the place to the point that gaming on the pc was nothing but frustrating.

On my street, dsl provides a more stable but slower connection. Too many people on the block tap into the mainline cable in the evening for me to enjoy the faster speeds that cable would provide.

[BLindsay]

DSL is capable of very low latencies. Depends on many factors but im usually around 100ms ping in battlefield which is fine for me.

I dont use netflix so i cant comment on that.

3mbps dsl here

[UK_fan_05]

I need to bring this thread back up.

Thinking of switching to AT&T DSL Fast Access Xtreme 6.0 (6 Mbps Download/512 Kbps Upload). I have Cable Internet, from a local place, and it sucks. Lag is getting worse and worse, getting cheap deaths, etc. The only other place I can switch to in my area is the AT&T DSL service. Does anyone have AT&T DSL? Any information would be great about it.

My Cable speed is 3 Mbps and just the thought of jumping up to 6 Mbps has me excited lol.

[TheHammer317]

I am a Tech Support rep for a DSL ISP... let me start with... you will be fine.

DSL is just a bit older and has a bit slower capability (ie: ADSL2+ caps at 12mbps as opposed to cable at like 50 or so before you hit FTTP) so as long as the connection is pulling a good signal and you are not stretching the range on the speed they are offering. more than likely tho you should be just fine, Bandwith is Bandwidth is Bandwidth... just verify with you ISP that your "Signal to Noise Ratio" your "Train(connection) Margins" are all good and you will be set... also do yourself a favor and if you DONT have a modem/router combo unit, ask your ISP for help "Bridging the modem" and then just setup you PPP in the router and so you can easily adjust your NAT or NAPT if need be.

[xTRIGGER092x]

DSL is fine for Netflix and gaming. Netflix won't steam HD with it but the quality is almost DVD-level. As for gaming, lag is pretty much inexistent. However, I find downloads on large files to be quite horrendous (i.e. a 1GB download takes roughly 90 minutes to two hours to download, as opposed to the 15 minutes on cable).

[TheHammer317]

Originally Posted by xTRIGGER092x

DSL is fine for Netflix and gaming. Netflix won't steam HD with it but the quality is almost DVD-level. As for gaming, lag is pretty much inexistent. However, I find downloads on large files to be quite horrendous (i.e. a 1GB download takes roughly 90 minutes to two hours to download, as opposed to the 15 minutes on cable).

you say that but you dont say what speeds you have with Cable and what speeds do you have with DSL? if you have 6mb Down on both then the download times will be the same, DSL and Cable are the same internet its just different methods of getting it distributed throughout the neighborhood. If anything DSL is better for downloading as 85% of your available bandwidth is alloted to downstream traffic and most DSL ISPs these days use packet bursting which can turn a 6mbps connection into a 30-40mbps... where as Cable would be better for hosting games and files and what not as you get a fairly even Upstream to Downstream bandwidth but then you have to deal with local loads sucking up your available bandwidth.

[drtre81]

Originally Posted by xTRIGGER092x

DSL is fine for Netflix and gaming. Netflix won't steam HD with it but the quality is almost DVD-level.

I have AT&T DSL and I stream HD content off Netflix everyday.