Speed guide · HD and 4K
Internet speed for IPTV: how many Mbps you need
Our guidance on internet speed for IPTV is simple: about 10 Mbps for each HD stream and 25 Mbps for each 4K stream, measured at the device, at the time of day you watch. Two TVs in 4K need about 50 Mbps between them. A wired Ethernet connection is more stable than Wi-Fi. Upload speed hardly matters. Below you will find a table for 1 to 4 screens, how to test properly, and the router fixes that solve most problems.
- 10 Mbps per HD stream
- 25 Mbps per 4K stream
- Ethernet beats Wi-Fi
The table
How much speed do 1 to 4 screens need?
Add up the streams that play at the same time. These figures are the speed you want to see at the device itself, during your usual viewing hours, with headroom left for everything else in the house.
| Screens at once | All in HD | All in 4K | Matching plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | about 10 Mbps | about 25 Mbps | 1 device, from $6.50/mo |
| 2 | about 20 Mbps | about 50 Mbps | 2 devices, from $10.67/mo |
| 3 | about 30 Mbps | about 75 Mbps | 3 devices, from $14.83/mo |
| 4 | about 40 Mbps | about 100 Mbps | 4 devices, from $16.50/mo |
Monthly prices are for 12-month plans. Each plan’s device count is the number of screens that can stream at the same moment.
Most homes mix the two. One 4K TV in the living room plus two HD screens elsewhere comes to about 45 Mbps (25 + 10 + 10). One 4K TV and one HD tablet comes to about 35 Mbps. 4K is only available where the source broadcasts it, so a lot of your viewing will be HD or FHD anyway.
Remember the rest of the household. Video calls, game downloads and phone backups all pull from the same connection. If someone often downloads large files in the evening, leave extra room above these figures.
Measure it right
How to test your speed at the TV
Most questions about internet speed for IPTV start with a speed test that looked fine. A test on your phone next to the router tells you very little about the TV across the house. What matters is the speed the TV or streaming stick gets, where it sits.
- Test on the device itselfUse a speed test app or the web browser on the TV, stick or box you will watch on. If the device can’t run one, test with a phone held right beside the TV, on the same Wi-Fi network.
- Test at viewing timeRun it at the hour you usually watch, such as 8 pm on a weeknight. A morning result can look much better than the evening one.
- Run it three timesSpeeds bounce around. Take the lowest of three results as your planning number.
- Compare with the tableCheck the result against the number of screens and the quality you want.
- Test during the free trialPlay a live channel on each screen you plan to use at the same time and watch for pauses. That’s the most honest test there is.
The connection
Wi-Fi or Ethernet for IPTV?
Ethernet: the stable choice
A cable from the router to the TV or box gives the steadiest stream, which is why we recommend it for 4K and for big games. If your TV or box has an Ethernet port, use it for the main screen in the house.
Wi-Fi: fine when the signal is strong
Wi-Fi works well when the TV is close to the router with few walls in between. If the speed test at the TV is low, or the picture pauses at busy times, the Wi-Fi link to the TV is the usual suspect before your internet plan is.
If running a cable isn’t practical, moving the router or bringing the signal closer to the TV often does as much as a faster internet plan would.
Placement
Router placement that helps
- Out in the open. Keep the router out of closets, cabinets and the space behind the TV.
- Up high, central. A shelf near the middle of the home reaches more rooms than a corner of the basement.
- Away from blockers. Thick walls, mirrors, fridges and fish tanks all weaken Wi-Fi.
- Short path to the TV. If the TV room is far away, bring the signal closer with a second access point or a wired link.
- Restart now and then. Unplugging the router for 30 seconds clears problems that build up over weeks of uptime.
Busy hours
Why does it slow down in the evening?
Evening is when everyone is online at once. Inside your home, that means more devices competing for the same Wi-Fi. Outside it, more households in your area are using their connections at the same time. Either can push a stream below the speed it needs for a few minutes, which shows up as a pause or a drop in picture quality.
You can’t control your neighbours, but you can control your own share. Pause big downloads during the game, plug the main TV in with Ethernet, and if one stream is in 4K, let the others run in HD. Sports channels on our side run on dedicated priority servers for the same reason: that’s the hour everyone tunes in.
Download vs upload
Does upload speed matter for IPTV?
Barely. Watching TV sends a steady flow of data toward you and almost nothing back, so the download number is the one that counts. Upload matters for video calls and sending large files, which can still compete with a stream if your connection is near its limit. When you judge internet speed for IPTV, look at the download figure and how it holds up in the evening.
Context
Where the CRTC’s 50/10 target fits
The CRTC‘s universal service objective is 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload for Canadian homes. A home that meets it has room for two 4K streams, or up to five HD streams, by our guidance, as long as little else is running at the same time.
That’s a target for the connection to your home, though. The speed that reaches the TV through Wi-Fi can be lower, which is why we always say to test at the device.
Honest limits
What more speed won’t fix
- 4K on a channel that isn’t broadcast in 4K. The stream can only be as sharp as the source.
- A weak Wi-Fi link to the TV. A faster plan still has to cross the same walls. Fix the link first.
- An old or overloaded device. Some older sticks and smart TVs struggle with 4K whatever the connection.
- The internet going down. IPTV streams over your connection, so it stops when the connection stops.
Setup steps for each device are on the devices and setup page. If you are new to all this, what IPTV is and how it works covers the basics. When you know how many screens you need, compare the plans on the pricing page or start with the free trial. The rest of the service is on the Diablos IPTV home page.
FAQ
Internet speed questions
What internet speed do I need for IPTV?
About 10 Mbps for each HD stream and 25 Mbps for each 4K stream, measured at the device during the hours you watch.
Is 50 Mbps enough for IPTV?
By our guidance, 50 Mbps covers two 4K streams or up to five HD streams at the same time, if the speed actually reaches the TV and not much else is running.
Is Wi-Fi good enough, or do I need Ethernet?
Wi-Fi works when the signal at the TV is strong. A wired Ethernet connection is more stable, and we recommend it for 4K and for live sports.
Does upload speed matter?
Very little. Watching TV is almost all download. Upload only matters if other activity, like video calls, competes with your streams.
Why is my speed test fine but the TV still buffers?
The test was probably run on a phone near the router, or at a quiet time. Test on the TV itself during your usual viewing hours. If the result is low there, the Wi-Fi link to the TV is the likely cause.
Does it matter which internet provider I use?
No. IPTV works over any home internet connection that delivers enough speed at the device.
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