What are the bandwidth requirements?
Learn about join.me bandwidth requirements for high-quality screen sharing and video conferencing.
join.me bandwidth requirements are discussed in detail in the join.me Architecture Whitepaper.
Actual bandwidth requirements for high-quality screen sharing vary with screen resolution and the content being shared. As a general rule, we recommend at least 1Mbps of bandwidth on both the viewer and presenter side for sustained full-screen animation and shared control (when a participant is remotely controlling the presenter's screen).
Content that changes infrequently (such as a PowerPoint presentation) can be usefully shared on links as weak as a GPRS connection.
Table 1 provides estimates of bandwidth consumption in various scenarios.
| What's being shared | Example | Details | Bandwidth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Video | Youtube | 360p movie clip, minimal screen block fragmentation | ~800kbps |
| Fullscreen Video | 1080p movie clip, minimal screen block fragmentation | ~2500kbps | |
| Website with various content | Heavy scrolling | ~800kbps | |
| Website with mostly text | News Site | Mild scrolling | ~400kbps |
| Presentation | PowerPoint | Many images, colors, animations | ~800kbps |
| Presentation | PowerPoint | Mainly bullet points and solid background | ~400kbps |
Video conference bandwidth considerations
For meetings using video conferencing, Table 2 provides an estimate of bandwidth consumption in various scenarios.
| What's being shared | Resolution | Bandwidth (at 30 FPS ) |
|---|---|---|
| Screen shared | 320 x 240 | 100 - 500 Kbps |
| Screen paused (2 participants) | 1280 x 720 | 1.0 - 2.0 Mbps |
| Screen paused (>2 participants) | 640 x 480 | 0.5 - 1.0 Mbps |
VoIP bandwidth considerations
For best results, VoIP (internet calling) needs at least 100kbps of sustained bandwidth available, preferably on a stable, low-latency connection. Network congestion may result in progressively larger audio dropouts until the link is restored.