WEEKLY WHEATIES #2436
Understanding Bandwidth, OpenAI, ElevenLabs Reader
In this newsletter:
📝 Post: Bandwidth Basics: How Much Speed Do You Really Need?
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Open AI
😎 Pick of the Week: ElevenLabs Reader
📦 Featured Product: Goal Zero Torch Light
📝 Bandwidth Basics: How Much Speed Do You Really Need?
Let’s start with a basic premise here. Internet speed is measured in megabits per second (Mbps). Contrary to popular belief, it’s not megabytes per second (MBps). However, there are 8 megabits in a megabyte, so their relation is somewhat close compared to the other sizes we’ll mention. A megabyte (MB) is a common term used to measure data size. The next step up is a gigabyte (GB) which is 1024 MB. And a Terabyte (TB) is 1024 GB. So, let’s see what these sizes actually translate to before we dive too deep into more bandwidth issues.
For example, most pictures are between 5-10 MB in size; a typical 3-minute song is also around the same size (5-10 MB); cell phone videos that last around 30 seconds may be around 150 MB in size; a TV show is probably less than 500 MB; and a 2-hour movie may be around 2 GB.
Now, there’s a ton of more nuances if we dive into file types, but since we’re discussing streaming, that typically won’t matter. What can matter is the quality - especially for videos. Those file sizes for video are typically for 1080. Which is considered High Definition (HD) in most cases. Standard Definition (720) would be close to half the file size, whereas 4K would be closer to 4 times the file size. Again, these nuances won’t matter for now - unless you know every TV in your house is streaming 4K (which I doubt).
To that point, most TVs aren’t 4K - or need to be. If you’re not watching on a TV around or larger than 55”, you probably can’t tell a difference anyway. Most streaming devices do offer 4K streaming, but not all streaming services offer 4K. And those that do are very limited in what’s being streamed in 4K anyway. All that to say, I don’t think we’re at a place where 4K will matter just yet. Maybe in another 5 years or so.
Starting with your mobile phone, no matter what it’s doing - will only pull a limited number of Mbps regardless. Your cell phone provider doesn’t sell tiers of speed other than 4G/5G (which also doesn’t really matter) because speeds are fast enough and you’re not downloading tons of data at one time. Meaning, you’re not streaming 4K because you don’t need to. However, cell phone providers do limit your total data usage for the month. This is typically ranges from 10-50 GB. Not diving too deep into that here.
Home internet is a bit different than mobile phone internet. Meaning, you purchase bandwidth speeds first, then worry about data caps. And in some cases, the data is unlimited. If you’re streaming your TV rather than satellite or typical cable options, you may want the unlimited plan unless you are staying under the data cap (typically around 1 TB).
There is another term in this conversation worth mentioning - throughput. If we compare bandwidth to a roadway, the more lanes the roadway has, the more cars that can be on the road - throughput. So, while we pay for the width of the road (bandwidth), the devices and types of entertainment we utilize, dictate how many or types of cars can be on the road (throughput). We can have 100s of motorcycles, or 5 big trucks fit in the same space. Within reason anyway…
To answer the ultimate question of how much bandwidth you need ultimately depends on the types of devices you have and what they’re doing. To give some specifics…
Typically, streaming video regardless of the platform (Netflix, YouTube, Sling, Hulu, Peacock, etc.) takes around 5-10 Mbps. Gaming on Xbox or PlayStation and the like uses even less. Video conferencing doesn’t use as much as video streaming believe it or not. Zoom and Microsoft Teams even say less than 4 Mbps is sufficient. Streaming audio only, browsing the web, social media, etc., are all fairly minimal (say 3 Mbps at the most).
Phones and tablets use around or less than 5 Mbps regardless of what they’re doing. Let’s be gracious and say most devices on average will use around or less than 10 Mbps. Assuming you want to verify a stable connection. So, in order to need more than 100 Mbps of bandwidth, you’d need 10 or more devices streaming simultaneously.
There is something else we hadn’t talked about that also plays into this though. All Internet Service Providers (ISPs) note: “Speeds up to [x] Mbps.” Meaning you aren’t guaranteed the speed you pay for 24/7. Bandwidth can fluctuate, too, since you are technically sharing your bandwidth with your neighbors. Unless you pay for a business connection (and a high level one at that), you probably aren’t guaranteed to have the same speeds all day every day.
A quick note here, too: Upload speeds are typically about 10x less than download speeds because you’re not uploading a lot. This would be a factor with gaming and video conferencing, among a few other things you’d have to know what you’d need a higher upload speed for. But for most people, whatever comes with your package is probably sufficient.
That said, you can generally do some basic math to figure out what speed you should be paying for. With the shared bandwidth issue, it’s also okay to pay for more than you need. Which I typically do myself and suggest for others. Consider it an insurance or convenience fee to make sure you never have hiccups. But most people still probably pay for more than they need.
My suggestion is to see what your ISP offers and lower it until you have issues, then raise it up a level at a time. Sometimes you can literally change your speed every day through the app if not under contract, too. There will be prorated costs associated with that, but still. On the other hand, you may be stuck with a certain speed/cost for a given time based on discounts and coupons available. However, they will usually not have an issue if you raise your payment, only if you are trying to lower it. It doesn’t hurt to try and see what you can do through the app or calling customer service.
Are you paying too much for your internet bandwidth? Consider lowering your speeds to save some money and pay it forward by becoming a paid subscriber to Weekly Wheaties!
🗞️ ICYMI: OpenAI
OpenAI has undoubtedly been one of the largest AI companies in the last few years. They’ve received investments from more prominent tech companies over the years, and Microsoft still appears to own a 49% stake. They were seen to have a value of over $100 billion as Microsoft and Thrive Capital looked to invest more. Now, Apple and Nvidia are in talks to join the investment. This would easily move their value over the $100 billion mark.
What’s interesting is Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia all need OpenAI to succeed as part of their businesses function because of OpenAI. Microsoft has Copilot, Apple as their new Apple Intelligence, and OpenAI is one of the largest purchasers of Nvidia chips. However, it’s not just the 200 million active weekly consumers using OpenAI, it’s the 92% of Fortune 500 Enterprise customers. With all of the investments and use of their models, is OpenAI now too big to fail?
In other AI news, a study from UCLA shows how LLMs excel at inductive reasoning but struggle with deductive tasks. One thing suggested is if you want the best output from an AI, when giving it a prompt, also give it examples (3-5 seem to be sufficient). And if you’re worried they’re feeding the LLMs and AIs too much information to prepare for a takeover, the California legislature passed a “kill switch” AI safety bill. They note this will only be “activated if that model starts introducing ‘novel threats to public safety and security,’ especially if it's acting ‘with limited human oversight, intervention, or supervision.’”
😎 POTW: ElevenLabs Reader
ElevenLabs is no stranger to the AI space with text-to-speech software. They arguably are one of the biggest players and have a great product. Many “third-party” clients and softwares even use ElevenLabs software on the backend. Recently, they have released a mobile app that allows a user to input text, upload an epub or PDF, link to an article, or even scan text from an image and have their service convert it to audio for you. Essentially making any ebook, blog post, or document, have an audio companion. The app is completely free today, but there will be a paid version in the future (along with a free plan).
Download the app on the App Store or Google Play.
📦 Featured Product
There are tons of flashlights out there, but if you’re looking for one that offers a little more, consider the Goal Zero Torch Light. It is waterproof, has a spotlight, a floodlight, can be charged via USB or solar, and also offers the ability to charge other devices via USB with a 5200mAh power bank built in.
