Autodesk 64006-051108-9001 User Guide - Page 193

Encode Tab 185 Media or Connection Speed There are many different vehicles for desktop video delivery. The most common are networks, such as the Web or a company intranet, CD, and DVD. Some rough guidelines for data rates follow. We strongly recommend that you test your movies on the minimum target computer to determine its actual throughput. Networks A wide range of network connections exist over which streaming media may be delivered. The volume of network traffic substantially affects the possible throughput, and network congestion can dramatically reduce the actual bandwidth available compared to the theoretical maximum. Because of this, there is no way to guarantee the data rate the viewer can see in real time, even if you know what connection they are using. This makes it difficult to choose a "safe" data rate. However, if you want viewers to be able to watch your video in real time, the following numbers are good starting points: 28.8 Modem 56.6 Modem Dual ISDN T1/DSL/Cable Modem WAN/LAN 20 kbits/sec (2.5 KBytes/sec) 32 kbits/sec (4 KBytes/sec) 96 kbits/sec (12 KBytes/sec) 300 kbits/sec (40 KBytes/sec) 160 to 800 kbits/sec (20 to 100 KBytes/sec) Note: The bandwidth available on a private local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) can vary widely and can possibly be much higher than indicated here. Contact your network system administrator for specifications of your system. If you do not mind the viewer experiencing some delays for progressive streaming movies, you can double or quadruple these data rates. As with everything, testing can help you determine what the actual user experience will be. CD-ROMs For CDs, a total data rate of 170 to 200 KBytes/sec is safe for cross-platform, 2x speed titles. A Macintosh-only product can usually be set somewhat higher, to 220 to 250 KBytes/sec. Safe cross-platform 4x CD-ROM data rates are often around 250 to 300 KBytes/sec. Mac OSonly products can push this data rate up to about 400 to 450 KBytes/sec. CD-ROM drives faster than 4x often have widely varying transfer rates. Sometimes the manufacturers' specifications are "burst speeds" and are not sustainable for use with movies. You should test a CD-ROM drive before assuming it actually gives the transfer rate specified on the box. Also, with very fast CD-ROM drives, the limiting factor often becomes the amount of video you want to place on a disc instead of the transfer speed of the drive.