How Much Data Does Video Streaming Use

Disney+ (Paradigm credit: Ara Wagoner / Android Central)

The things virtually of united states of america dearest to do with our phones is also the matter that eats the virtually data: stream music and video.

Your phone is your entertainment heart, just with a information cap.

Modern phones and streaming services were fabricated for each other. Your phone is capable of delivering high-quality content through the screen or its audio components and streaming services like Disney+, Netflix and Spotify were made to deliver them. The first popular media-centric phone was the iPhone and both Apple and Google owe a lot of their success to this considering it was also the all-time style to watch YouTube in the palm of your hands.

Things have come a long manner since then, but one thing hasn't changed. We dearest to watch and listen with our phones. But the advent of HD video streaming and high-bitrate audio streaming means that it too gobbles upward the data like never earlier. Let'southward break it down to come across but how much data y'all utilize when you fire up your favorite streaming app.

Streaming audio

Spotify app — Source: Android Fundamental (Image credit: Source: Android Cardinal)

While some services offering super-HQ streaming music, virtually services use the same scale: Depression, Normal, and High. Well-nigh as well utilise the same bitrate (the number of bits per 2nd that are transmitted digitally) to define each category. Here'southward how they expect and how much data each will eat.

Low quality is typically 96kbps. On average, Depression-quality audio streaming uses 0.72MB per infinitesimal or 43.2MB per 60 minutes.
Normal quality is typically 160kbps. Normal-quality music streaming uses 1.20MB per minute or 72MB per hour on average.
High quality music is typically 320kbps. High-quality streaming music uses 2.40MB per minute or 115.2MB per hour on boilerplate.

"Average" is the keyword hither. Well-nigh services offering streaming that auto-adjusts based on your network conditions, and some use lower quality bitrates for all categories. Only nigh any other service, including YouTube Music and Spotify, follow these guidelines when you don't have things prepare to auto-adjust.

Streaming video

Lenovo Smart Display casting video — Source: Android Central (Image credit: Source: Android Central)

Equally you can imagine, streaming video uses a lot more data than audio does. There'south just more data existence transmitted. And your network weather play a large part in how the media is streamed because nobody likes buffering. Thankfully, apps are smart enough to inquire for a video stream that will work with the bachelor network speeds and buffering is by and large a matter of the past. Mostly. Note that this hidden feature will usually override your settings when it has to, but if you ask for an HD or 4K video, you'll get it if it can be delivered.

Hither's how the streams break down on average.

Low quality video is very low-quality. think 240p or 320p. Low-quality settings volition apply almost 0.3GB (300MB) per hour.
SD quality video is standard 480p video. SD-quality video uses virtually 0.7GB (700MB) per hour.
HD quality video is between 720p and 2K (remember, the app adjusts the stream). HD-quality video uses about 0.9GB (720p), 1.5GB (1080p) and 3GB (2K) per hr.
UHD quality video uses a lot of data. A 4K stream uses nigh 7.2GB per hour.

Again, these are averages and Netflix has helped by telling us how much data their service uses. Compression, variable quality based on network conditions and your phone'due south cache will all gene in hither, but these numbers are a pretty safe bet.

How much tin I stream on my data programme?

My Data Manager Settings App — Source: Andrew Myrick / Android Fundamental (Image credit: Source: Andrew Myrick / Android Primal)

A typical information plan that'southward not unlimited — and not from companies who practice cypher-rating — comes in 2GB, 5GB, and 10GB flavors. If you wanted to stream media while using your data connection, here's what each tier volition allow:

47 hours of low-quality music
28 hours of normal-quality music
17 hours of loftier-quality music
half-dozen.5 hours of low-quality video
2.8 hours of standard definition video
2.2 hours of 720p video
1.3 hours of 1080p video
0.6 hours of 2K video
0.25 hours of 4K video
117 hours of low-quality music
70 hours of normal-quality music
42.5 hours of loftier-quality music
xvi.25 hours of low-quality video
vii hours of standard definition video
5.5 hours of 720p video
three.25 hours of 1080p video
ane.v hours of 2K video
0.6 hours of 4K video
234 hours of low-quality music
140 hours of normal-quality music
85 hours of loftier-quality music
32.5 hours of low-quality video
14 hours of standard definition video
11 hours of 720p video
6.five hours of 1080p video
3 hours of 2K video
1.2 hours of 4K video

We followed the industry standard i,000MB = 1GB formula here and not the "real" calculation of 1,024MB in ane GB. That'south because your carrier might do the same. And remember — these are close estimations. Because of how data is compressed and bitrates change based on every situation, my measurements may be a trivial different than yours. And none of this takes any rounding your carrier might do into business relationship. To us, i.7MB is 1.7MB, not 2MB.

Streaming Hard disk drive media uses a lot of information. Know this before you decide how much y'all need.

One thing these figures prove is that you're e'er meliorate off using Wi-Fi to stream high-quality media. Besides the information savings, Wi-Fi also has a more than robust betoken that will mean less degradation or compression. Your cyberspace company probably optimizes media traffic, only not nearly as much as your wireless carrier does. You can also use services that allow y'all download or pin your media while you're on Wi-Fi and play it back afterward.

Just be aware that if you lookout viii hours of Hard disk drive video every mean solar day, you're going to need upwards of 300GB of data. That means you lot'll demand an unlimited programme that doesn't have the fine-print telling yous "unlimited" stops at 22 or 24GB then gets too slow to stream. Such an animal doesn't be, and carriers that zero-rate aren't going to serve y'all 2K video (or even 1080p) without paying extra for it.

Uses these numbers to program out how much information you need for streaming if you're shopping for service.

The mega service

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Jerry is an amateur woodworker and struggling shade tree mechanic. In that location'south goose egg he can't accept apart, but many things he can't reassemble. You'll discover him writing and speaking his loud opinion on Android Central and occasionally on Twitter.