A Short Guide to Solving Common Online Content Streaming Problems
The world of content distribution is slowly moving from the time of outright downloads to streaming. Even though our devices are coming with more storage spaces, it makes sense to enjoy the content we want rather than download it outright all the time.
In the case of live sports and some games, streaming is the only option that there is. After all, the action had not been pre-recorded but happening at the moment.
However, for a world tending towards streaming, there are still some issues to be taken care of.
Common Streaming Problems
One of the most common issues you could run into when streaming content is geo-restriction.
This occurs when the content distributors have set limitations to what regions can access the content they put out. This happens to sports content a lot of times, neglecting people outside the target region's access. You can even find the same issue on platforms like Netflix and YouTube, among others.
For those who are allowed to stream legally, there is also the chance of facing game blackouts. These blackouts are a common problem in the United States and other regions for some sports content. Viewers will be denied viewing access to some games, usually to drive ticket sales for such games. It doesn't even matter if such a viewer had paid the full subscription price for streaming.
Yet another problem lies with the internet service provider (ISP). Depending on what kind of content you are streaming, you could be consuming a lot of data. However, that is a data service you are paying for, so it should be no one’s business.
It is, thus, surprising that ISPs will sometimes slow down (throttle) your internet speed when they notice you have been streaming content with large amounts of data.
This, in turn, increases the chance of buffering. When you get to the buffering stage, you stop enjoying your streaming as much.
Solving the Problems
A close look at the problems above will show you a certain pattern to them. They are mostly based on the location where you find yourself. That is where a VPN can help to solve some issues.
A VPN can connect to various servers from all around the world. Thus, you can access the content servers like you were based elsewhere. For example, you can connect to a US-based server on your VPN to access content that would not have been made available outside of the US.
Even those in supported regions that suffer blackouts can use the same tactics. These blackouts are mostly local, so you connect to a server location where the game is not being aired/ blacked out.
We usually recommend checking an ISP’s strength in your area before using them for streaming. Likewise, know the kind of bandwidth that they offer. If it is clear that none of those is behind your sudden drop in connection speed, it might be time to fight them at the throttling game.
Streaming over a VPN, in this case, is not to change your server location. You are, rather, encrypting your network so that these ISPs have no idea what you are doing on the internet. That way, they cannot decide to throttle your speed.
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