Using Venice Project? Better get yourself a non-capping ISP...

Begin forwarded message:

From: "D.H. van der Woude" <[email protected]>
Date: January 5, 2007 11:06:31 AM EST
To: [email protected]
Subject: Using Venice Project? Better get yourself a non-capping ISP...


I am one of Venice' beta testers. Works like a charm,
admittedly with a 20/1 Mbs ADSL2+ connection and
a unlimited use ISP.

Even at sub-DVD quality the data use is staggering...

Venice Project would break many users' ISP conditions
http://www.out-law.com/page-7604
OUT-LAW News, 03/01/2007

Internet television system The Venice Project could break users'=20=20
monthly internet bandwith limits in hours, according to the team=20=20
behind it.

It downloads 320 megabytes (MB) per hour from users' computers,=20=20
meaning that users could reach their monthly download limits in hours=20=20
and that it could be unusable for bandwidth-capped users.

The Venice Project is the new system being developed by Janus Friis=20=20
and Niklas Zennstr=F6m, the Scandinavian entrepreneurs behind the=20=20
revolutionary services Kazaa and Skype. It is currently being used by=20=20
6,000 beta testers and is due to be launched next year.

The data transfer rate is revealed in the documentation sent to beta=20=20
testers and the instructions make it very clear what the bandwidth=20=20
requirements are so that users are not caught out.

Under a banner saying 'Important notice for users with limits on=20=20
their internet usage', the document says: "The Venice Project is a=20=20
streaming video application, and so uses a relatively high amount of=20=20
bandwidth per hour. One hour of viewing is 320MB downloaded and 105=20=20
Megabytes uploaded, which means that it will exhaust a 1 Gigabyte cap=20=20
in 10 hours. Also, the application continues to run in the background=20=20
after you close the main window."

"For this reason, if you pay for your bandwidth usage per megabyte or=20=20
have your usage capped by your ISP, you should be careful to always=20=20
exit the Venice Project client completely when you are finished=20=20
watching it," says the document

Many ISPs offer broadband connections which are unlimited to use by=20=20
time, but have limits on the amount of data that can be transferred=20=20
over the connection each month. Though limits are 'advisory' and not=20=20
strict, users who regularly far exceed the limits break the terms of=20=20
their deals.

BT's most basic broadband package BT Total Broadband Package 1, for=20=20
example, has a 2GB monthly 'usage guideline'. This would be reached=20=20
after 20 hours of viewing.

The software is also likely to transfer data even when not being=20=20
used. The Venice system is going to run on a peer-to-peer (P2P)=20=20
network, which means that users host and send the programmes to other=20=20
users in an automated system.

OUT-LAW has seen screenshots from the system and talked to one of the=20=20
testers of it, who reports very favourably on its use. "This is going=20=20
to be the one. I've used some of the other software out there and=20=20
it's fine, but my dad could use this, they've just got it right," he=20=20
said. "It looks great, you fire it up and in two minutes you're live,=20=20
you're watching television."

The source said that claims being made for the system being "near=20=20
high definition" in terms of picture quality are wide of the mark.=20=20
"It's not high definition. It's the same as normal television," he said.




--=20
"Private where private belongs, public where it's needed,
and an admission that circumstances alter cases."
Robert A. Heinlein, 1969

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