Probably everyone has this confusion
regarding the amount of data consumed while downloading videos from YouTube and
streaming them online respectively. Some believe that both of these processes
consume the same amount of data, while others believe that data consumption is
different in both the processes. This is a never ending debate with each
faction having their own explanations and reasons for supporting their view.
Let’s try and get to the bottom of this confusion and arrive at a conclusion.
When you download YouTube videos, you get the option of selecting the resolution and
based on your selection, the file size is determined. An HD file will obviously
have a larger size as compared to one with a lower resolution. So when it comes
to downloading a video file, the size gets fixed according to the selected
resolution. Make sure that you keep this consideration in mind before making
any comparison related to speed or data consumption.
Basically both streaming and downloading
consume almost the same amount of data. It is an obvious understanding because
once you fix the resolution for the video file, the file size gets fixed also.
However, streaming a video on YouTube might require a little more data as
compared to the downloaded file. This is due to the constant interchange of
data between the online video player and server which is done to accommodate
packet errors, buffers, etc. The size of this “extra” data is very small, to
the point that it can easily be considered insignificant. For example, the
extra bandwidth for a 1 Mb/s video would come out to be between 10 kbits/s and
20 kbits/s.
Apart from the very minor difference in
data consumption, both streaming and downloading consume the same amount of
data. During streaming, the file’s data is directed to the browser’s cache
while during download, the file is directed to the storage location specified
by you. Once the file is downloaded, you can view is over and over again
without the need for any part to be downloaded again. However, in the case of
streaming, some part of the video might have to be downloaded in the cache
again if it is lost.
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