Bandwidth Question
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Category: General Discussion
Forum Name: General Discussion
Forum Description: General discussion and chat on any topic.
URL: https://forums.webwiz.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=21022
Printed Date: 30 March 2026 at 1:18am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.08 - https://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Bandwidth Question
Posted By: Amateur
Subject: Bandwidth Question
Date Posted: 14 August 2006 at 1:10am
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I have a question regarding bandwidth. 1. I have put a large (31MB) mp3 file up on my webspace for users to listen to. If they click the link it enables them to listen to it online. 2. If i put it in a zip file it is downloaded to the users PC where they can listen to it from there. My question is, does the 2nd way use less bandwidth? I am aware that the fact it is in a zip file, the file will be smaller in size but I was of the opinion that as the file is being listened to from the local PC rather than the server it would use alot less bandwidth. Am i right or wrong? In the end really, i'm trying to find the way to use the least bandwidth.  |
Replies:
Posted By: dfrancis
Date Posted: 14 August 2006 at 1:22am
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Go with the zip. If your file is popular, people will link to it and play it over and over (lots of bandwidth). As a zip, people will play it several times but from their own hard drive. If bandwidth is your concern... go with the zip.
IMHO
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Posted By: Amateur
Date Posted: 14 August 2006 at 1:25am
| Just to confirm, downloading the zip file will use up bandwidth only the once? |
Posted By: dfrancis
Date Posted: 14 August 2006 at 1:35am
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correct.
well... unless the person deletes it each time but those should be far fewer than those who link directly to it from their media player.
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Posted By: iSec
Date Posted: 14 August 2006 at 2:02am
If a person listens to a clip that is downloaded on their pc, then they're no longer connected to your server as the file is being played from their pc... so evantually they're not using your bandwidth...
I don't think that zipping an audio clip would reduce its size a lot or minimize the bandwidth need... streaming it would require more bandiwdth i think...
Edit, and yes... zipping it would prevent hot linking.. so it's a good idea to zip it if the purpose behind it is to prevent hot linking. ------------- "When it gets dark enough, you can see the stars" -Charles A. Beard |
Amateur wrote:Posted By: Bluefrog
Date Posted: 14 August 2006 at 8:39am
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Zipping a file won't prevent hot linking from other sites. You need to take care of that kind of stuff at the server level (in general). I put up some information on http://www.altools.net/Forums/tabid/86/forumid/1/postid/884/view/topic/Default.aspx - understanding compression ratios here . It explains a bit about why zipping MP3 files won't get you better compression. It also explains a couple situations where you want to zip files even though you won't get any decent compression - basically for grouping. Streaming incurs overhead, but that isn't the main concern. The overhead is generally pretty small. Some audio like WMA is very fault tolerant and can withstand packet loss without any serious problems. So past that, the main concern is people continually downloading the same content. Again, like mentioned above, you'll save on bandwidth if they simply download it. You can actually force a download of an MP3 by changing the MIME type. The normal MIME type for MP3 is "audio/mpeg" or something similar. If you change it to something like "application/x-audio-mp3" or something like that, then the browser will download it instead. So, you might want to set up a subdomain for that and have a custom MIME type. You then avoid having to zip any files and the MP3 still downloads. Cheers, Ryan ------------- http://renegademinds.com/" rel="nofollow - Renegade Minds - Guitar Software http://renegademinds.com/Default.aspx?tabid=65" rel="nofollow - Slow Down Music |
Posted By: iSec
Date Posted: 14 August 2006 at 9:33am
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Sorry, I meant that it would prevent hot linking only when those that try to hot-link an audio clip want to stream it... because it is zipped so it won't play and will not stream... but yes it would still be downloadable as a zipped file. ------------- "When it gets dark enough, you can see the stars" -Charles A. Beard |
Posted By: Bluefrog
Date Posted: 14 August 2006 at 12:43pm
Ahem... Yeah... Ouch... Hot-linked streaming could be potentially VERY painful! ------------- http://renegademinds.com/" rel="nofollow - Renegade Minds - Guitar Software http://renegademinds.com/Default.aspx?tabid=65" rel="nofollow - Slow Down Music |
Posted By: huwnet
Date Posted: 14 August 2006 at 8:51pm
| Flash applet which supports on the fly gzip :D |
Posted By: Amateur
Date Posted: 14 August 2006 at 9:42pm
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Thanks very much for everyone's help, it has really helped me. 2 things. How do you change the mime type of a page? - And - Anywhere I can get a free copy of winzip other than a trial package? |
Posted By: iSec
Date Posted: 14 August 2006 at 9:54pm
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I use WinRar, I think it is the best..and it has no trial periods but some premium features are only available when you purchase a license..for regular jobs you just need the basic version... http://www.rarlab.com/rar/wrar351.exe - http://www.rarlab.com/rar/wrar351.exe ------------- "When it gets dark enough, you can see the stars" -Charles A. Beard |
Posted By: Amateur
Date Posted: 30 August 2006 at 4:37pm
| Quick question, i am looking for 1 content type that will enforce the download of an .wmv and .mp3 file? Any exist? |
Posted By: dpyers
Date Posted: 30 August 2006 at 9:41pm
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No way to enforce a download. It's all up to the user and what they tell their browser to do with a specific mime or file type.
------------- 
Lead me not into temptation... I know the short cut, follow me. |
Posted By: Bluefrog
Date Posted: 30 August 2006 at 10:27pm
But you can configure MIME types on the server to force a download. e.g. For an MP3, you could change the MIME type to something like "application/x-force-mp3-down" which should cause it to download when clicked for most users. I can't think of anything that would play it then, but it is possible that the browser examine the file header then decide from there. Where can you configure MIME types in IE or FF? ------------- http://renegademinds.com/" rel="nofollow - Renegade Minds - Guitar Software http://renegademinds.com/Default.aspx?tabid=65" rel="nofollow - Slow Down Music |
Posted By: Bluefrog
Date Posted: 30 August 2006 at 10:32pm
1) Go into IIS 2) Right click on a web site & choose "Properties" 3) Click the "HTTP Headers" tab 4) Click the "MIME Types" button 5) Click "New..." 6) Type an extention like ".ext" 7) Enter a MIME Type like "application/x-something" 8) Click OK until you're out of IIS (3x)
You might want to try ALZip - it's free. http://www.altools.net - http://www.altools.net Cheers, Ryan ------------- http://renegademinds.com/" rel="nofollow - Renegade Minds - Guitar Software http://renegademinds.com/Default.aspx?tabid=65" rel="nofollow - Slow Down Music |
Posted By: MadDog
Date Posted: 30 August 2006 at 10:45pm
There is a easier way to change the mimie type of a page:
------------- http://www.iportalx.net" rel="nofollow"> 
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