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About downloading speed

Developers distributing multimedia over the Internet usually limit file size, primarily because most users connect at relatively slow speeds. At 28,800 bps, it takes 30 seconds to 1 minute to download a 60K file. Using streaming playback can help you avoid some of the delays caused when downloading large files.

Movies and streaming Shockwave Audio (SWA) sounds always compete for control of the network. This can cause a noticeable problem on slower connections.

If there is heavy traffic at the Internet access point or on the Internet host, or if there is network congestion, the rate drops even lower—to as low as a few hundred bytes per second. In general, it is a good idea to assume your movies will download at about 2K per second.

The following chart shows theoretical throughput times for modems of different speeds. The speeds 14,400 and 28,800 bps are common for modems; 64 Kbps and 128 Kbps are the throughput of an ISDN line; 1.5 Mbps is the throughput of a standard high-speed Internet connection (T1).

Content | 14.4 Kbps | 28.8 Kbps | 64 Kbps | 1.5 Mbps
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Small graphics and animation, 30K | 30 sec | 10 sec | 6 sec | 1 sec
Small complete movie, 100 to 200K | 100 to 200 sec | 50 to 100 sec | 20 to 40 sec | 1 sec
500K movie | 500 sec | 120 to 240 sec | 90 sec | 3 sec
1 MB movie | -- | -- | 180 sec | 6 sec