KodiakBeer Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 I'm on DSL. On the speed test I get 322kbs download and 228 kbs upload. My Firewall is off. When I set my Utorrent at the level that seems appropriate as indicated by the speed test and try to download a movie, I get an ETA of over 24 hours!This seems insane to me because I can download a movie on Netflix in about 20 minutes.Is there a problem or is this kind of glacial speed normal for Torrent? I simply don't know what to expect.If 24 hours is not a normal download time for a DSL connection, can somebody just tell me what to set the speed at, without answering me with another question, or linking me to some confusing graph? I want to level a criticism that I hope you'll take as well-meaning and constructive. There is an obvious disconnect on this forum between the techno people and the average user. People are asking simple, direct questions and getting technogarble in response. I wouldn't be asking these questions if any of the other people asking the same questions had gotten a clear reply in non-techno English.Best, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreadWingKnight Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 On the speed test I get 322kbs download and 228 kbs upload.I highly suspect this is in *bit/secYour speeds should be around 30kbyte/sec download (as shown in uTorrent's displays)If 24 hours is not a normal download time for a DSL connection, can somebody just tell me what to set the speed at, without answering me with another question, or linking me to some confusing graph?The charts are only confusing if you ignore both the column headers AND the settings in uTorrent's preferences.http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=34259 - 192kbit/sec or 224kbit/secThere's even a breakdown for what each column in the chart means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KodiakBeer Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 So, I should set it as if I have a 28.8 dial-up modem?????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreadWingKnight Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 The charts are only confusing if you ignore both the column headers AND the settings in uTorrent's preferences.http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=34259 - 192kbit/sec or 224kbit/secThere's even a breakdown for what each column in the chart means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KodiakBeer Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 I've used FAQ and Search and can't find anything except techno-babble and links to a chart that I've already used, unsuccessfully.Even the link to the thread on "how to use the chart" isn't helpful because when I go to preferences (as the thread dictates), the values are already locked in and unchangeable.The only thing I can change is the connection type in the speed guide, which doesn't seem to help. No matter where I set that, I get download times exceeding 24 hours.Is there some user out there, who will take a moment to tell me in plain English how to set this software.And I ask again - is 24 hours a NORMAL download time? Is there somebody else out there with a DSL connection who can tell me how long it takes them to download a standard movie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreadWingKnight Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 If the settings appear to be locked, turn off the "Automatic" checkboxes.You have not given us enough information for us to know if the download time you're getting is normal for your connection.Your speed test results are FAR lower than the ones I get on my own DSL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KodiakBeer Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Unbelievable! I've set my speed at 192 (as you suggest... I think?) and now have an ETA of 4 days and 5 hours!!!!!! Four days and five hours to download one movie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreadWingKnight Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Speeds with torrents aren't guaranteed.Take the time to set everything up right and you will more consistently get better speeds for your connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BD Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 You need to understand the difference between bits and bytes. A byte is 8 bits. As symbols an upper case B is used for byte, and a lower case b is used for bits. Thus 1 kB/s = 8 kb/s. µTorrent generally measure speeds in kB/s.I'd say a good limit on speeds for both upload and download is somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 of gross bandwith, thus if you for instance have a 512 kb/s down and 128 kb/s up connection, that is equal to 64 kB/s down and 16 kB/s up, and so you should limit download to something between 32 and 48 kB/s, and upload to something between 8 and 12 kB/s.Note that these limits are maximums that you apply yourself in order to have room for other traffic as well. The speeds that you acheive may be lower.About the movie, how long it takes depend on what size it is, and how well seeded it is. Whenever you download video material always take note as to how big the files are, there is no standard size for a movie, you will typically find that a normal 2 hour movie is anywhere from 500 MB to 10 GB in size, depending on how much the person who encoded it found suitable. Also for any torrent take note as to how many seeds and peers there are, if there are many peers relative to seeds your download speed will be highly dependent on your upload speed, and if there are very few peers and seeds in total your download speed may be low no matter how much you upload.Edit: Just wanted to add, don't trust the ETA when you have just started a torrent, it is always slow in the beginning, but the speed will usually increase given time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KodiakBeer Posted February 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 What is a normal time to download a 1.3 meg movie on a DSL connection? 1 hour? 1 day? 1 week? Just a general answer in plain English is all I'm looking for.The software does not allow me to set anything except the connection type and speed, which I have done. The settings under "preferences" are locked in and can not be changed. The "automatic" check boxes are not checked. My firewall is off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreadWingKnight Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 The settings under "preferences" are locked in and can not be changed.I highly doubt this. Screenshot this to show me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KodiakBeer Posted February 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 I appreciate your taking the time to reply, but I really don't have time to learn all those bits and bytes today.I would think that any good software should be user friendly enough to simply use your upload and download speeds to set up the system. I've supplied those above, but I can't seem to get a straight answer on how to use that info to set up the software.The movie I'm experimenting with is 1.3 gigs (I think I incorrectly said megs, above...). And it may be that I'm simply expecting too much. If download times re best measured in days rather than minutes, I'll just go back to finding the obscure movies I want on Ebay.What is a normal time (in general terms) to download a movie via torrent on a DSL connection? One of you out there must have been successful in downloading a movie or two and if so, perhaps you could give me a general range? 1 to 2 hours? 2 to 4 hours? 24 to 48 hours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreadWingKnight Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 What is a normal time (in general terms) to download a movie via torrent on a DSL connection?Saying "On a dsl connection" isn't enough of a restriction to determine how long the movie would take to download, because there is an EXTREMELY high variance between low-end DSL (320kbit download) and high end DSL (6mbit download). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KodiakBeer Posted February 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 OK, for some reason the settings under preferences were grayed out, but I restarted the application and was able to change the settings using your numbers above.I started the download again and the ETA finally leveled out at about 2 days, 19 hours.What is a normal time (in general terms) to download a movie via torrent on a DSL connection? At least one of you out there must have been successful in downloading a movie or two and if so, perhaps you could give me a general range? 1 to 2 hours? 2 to 4 hours? 24 to 48 hours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreadWingKnight Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 What is a normal time (in general terms) to download a movie via torrent on a DSL connection?Saying "On a dsl connection" isn't enough of a restriction to determine how long the movie would take to download, because there is an EXTREMELY high variance between low-end DSL (320kbit download) and high end DSL (6mbit download).Without knowing more specifics about your own connection package, we have no way of giving you an estimate of the fastest you can download. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KodiakBeer Posted February 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 I've given my connection speeds in the opening post. What is a normal time (in general terms) to download a movie via torrent on a DSL connection? At least one of you out there must have been successful in downloading a movie or two and if so, perhaps you could give me a general range? 1 to 2 hours? 2 to 4 hours? 24 to 48 hours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreadWingKnight Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 Your connection is capable of about 35kbyte/sec.Based on that and the fact that there are 86400 seconds in a day, you should expect to get at most 3,024,000kbyte in a day assuming you're going at full speed. (3gbyte/day roughly)Swarm conditions and your own settings can play total havoc with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KodiakBeer Posted February 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 THANK YOU!!!So, the ETA for a 1.3 gig movie should be 12 hours or a bit less? Using the settings supplied here, I'm getting closer to 60 hours ETA. The best I've done with any the settings I've tried is over 24 hours.Is Utorrent one of those programs that doesn't work correctly on Vista? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreadWingKnight Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 No. It's just one of the more picky applications for configuration based on a user's hardware and software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Switeck Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 You download about as fast as you upload...if you don't have other problems...on a torrent that's low on (but not lacking) seeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firon Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 The ETA for a torrent depends on your connection, your settings, and the quality of the swarm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kas Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 How many seeds are there for the movie you're tying to download? How many leachers? My experience (I have dsl through cable) is that a healthy swarm will allow me to download a 1.3G torrent in as little as 3 hours. But a torrent with few seeds or a crappy ratio can take days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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