Can Full HD be sent over Wireless N or G?

Wondering whether or not your current network can stream full HD movies? Check out our comprehensive look at Wireless networks and HD streaming.

N or G?

Full HD is a complicated subject to tackle because it’s hard to get a single definition of what exactly FULL HD is? Full HD in my opinion involves an MKV file and a wired Ethernet connection; however, for others it may involve an MP4 file, or in some cases even an AVI file over a wireless connection.

Here are the facts of the matter. As of this article, the only true standards for HD that exist and can be piped into an entertainment system are two kinds of files – the MKV file and the high-definition MP4 file. However, this choice is further narrowed by the fact that an MKV file can only be played by VLC media player and nothing else. Therefore, we’re left with streaming MP4 files as the only viable alternative.

It comes down to a simple matter of math. A full, 1080p, magnificent MP4 file of a movie is roughly 8 to 9 Gb when compressed down from the original 25Gb Blu-Ray disc.

First, let’s analyze the N connection because it’s the one that’s most interesting in terms of speed to actually try and carry this out. A modern N connection has a “speed” (formally defined as a net bit-rate) of between 144 Mbit/s and 600 Mbit/s, this means that in a second, it is capable of transferring up to 600 MegaBITS, not Megabytes. The difference is about a factor of 8, as 8 bits comprise a byte. At 600 Mbit/s, it will take theoretically 3 minutes to stream the 9 Gb movie to your hard drive. Of course, these numbers are derived from connections directly to the Internet, and only if everything goes PERFECTLY. Let’s account for interference and assume that the connection works closer to the 150 Mbit/s rate that seems more reasonable. Again, taking all that into account, it should theoretically take 10 minutes to stream the whole movie.

Does something sound wrong with this picture? The techies among you are probably screaming out at the screen right now because those numbers are absurd. You’d be lucky to get 54 Mbit/s in a traditional network these days, and that’s close to maximum speed. I’m usually ecstatic when my network can download at 600 Kb/s, so what exactly is the problem? Mainly that the router can operate at the speeds indicated above, that’s not a lie. However, the software and hardware that actually receives the Internet signal can’t possibly re-encode at those speeds.