New Broadband Speed Measurement Tool for YouTube Users
Friday, February 26th, 2010
If you are unable to watch your favourite videos online from start to finish without pausing for buffering, then now there’s a way to check whether the problem lies with your internet connection. YouTube is now offering its users a new service to check their broadband connection speed and determine whether it is up to the mark to watch videos online.
Simply having a broadband connection with high downloading speed doesn’t mean that one can watch videos easily. The geographical distance between a computer and the server; over which the video is being transmitted also has significant effect on the video watching experience.
While the YouTube video speed dashboard would not help in troubleshooting a broadband connection for fast streaming, it would provide you with substantial data about your internet service provider’s connectivity if you are unsatisfied with it. The dashboard can be used to compare one’s own YouTube speed with other users in various regions and/or using different service providers for internet. The results will be enough proof to conclude whether one should switch to another ISP or not.
The numbers showing connectivity speed that would be displayed on the dashboard will be calculated by the speed at which the YouTube video is being downloaded by the browser. This speed is calculated by averaging the speed in the last 30 days on the browser, so it is essential that the same browser is used during the period. The new feature can be tried at http://www.youtube.com/my_speed.
If you need to know more about broadband, or the various ISPs, look at broadbandgenie.co.uk. I found some useful information on, and offers from Post Office Broadband; it is worth a look at the website for and their comparative table of broadband
