[TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

[TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!
Links: home · search · speed test · login · more ·

Links: Reply New Topic
Forums » US Cable Support » Road Runner » [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!
page: 1 · 2
anon @ 31st Oct 02:14AM:
[TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

That's a great commercial about Time Warner cable with Turbo Boost. They say if you request a short large data transfer you get a boost. You betcha! And when you test your bandwidth with tools, such as on DSLReports, you get a falsely high bandwidth. TimeWarner is the worst service there is in high occupancy areas. They never upgrade service when more subscribers, so you can kiss your bandwidth goodbye if your neighbor subscribes. I even get dropouts on vonage, which is a really lean service in terms of bandwidth. So you should totally disregard any bandwidth reports for Time Warner Cable Broadband. They have successfully defeated this service, and it now falsely advertises that they have bandwidths that they don't!
reply

Xizer @ 31st Oct 07:57AM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

Cool story bro.
reply

Racerbob @ 31st Oct 08:06AM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

I have never been a fan of Powerboost or Turbo Boost or whatever it is called where you live. I do believe that there are overloaded nodes, but I also believe that if you haven't talked to TW about your speed issues that you should.
reply

gia @ 31st Oct 09:56AM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

and your point is?

The truth is that yes powerboost is a temporary speed increase to 30+Mbps but when it settles down TWC users revert to very respectable internet speeds of 10/1 and in many cases 15/2 and 20/2Mbps something that the telcos (excluding verizon FIOS) can't match. AT&T's adsl is a pathetic 6/.7 and their new flagship uverse service is 12/1.5 Mbps and the reverse powerboosted 18/1.5 tier which is really a 12-14/1.5 depending on how many TV streams your family is watching. So by applying your rules uverse's pseudo 18/1.5 is a 'falsely high bandwidth' service.

My guess is that powerboost speeds will become permanent or be phased out as DOCSIS3.0 is phased in. After all who would want a real 50/5 D3 with powerboost?

I agree that TWC is dragging their feet when it comes to deploy new updates and services but after reading this link »Road Runnner up to 50 mbps is ready ! it seems that the DOCSIS3.0 gears are slowly starting to turn. I'm confident that within two years the number of TWC DOCSIS3.0 customers will surpass the number of AT&T's uverse customers (currently 1.5 million).
reply

cousintim @ 31st Oct 10:42AM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

Not exactly breaking news.
reply

lordpuffer @ 31st Oct 11:10AM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

I agree 100%...My Vonage is almost like a cell phone....Like dropped calls. I live in a densely populated area, and bet lots of people around me have RR.
--
UCLA Only On A Clear Day-Class of '81
reply

patt2k @ 31st Oct 11:19AM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

looks nice on a speedtest

but it's useless

Racerbob @ 31st Oct 12:29PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

Exactly. Useless.
reply

dbmaven @ 31st Oct 12:32PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

Many people already know this - but I'll post it anyway.

Since the 'Powerboost' only lasts a short time, for a better way to see what you're 'real' speed is, use an FTP source. A popular and generally available one is found at

ftp1.optonline.net

Choose one of the larger files -like Test512 or Test1024 - that way you'll be reasonably sure to have the transfer going when the boost has timed out.

If you have Netmeter, or the Network Meter plugin for the Windows Sidebar, you'll be able to watch the inbound speed on the graph.
--
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.

reply

Anonymous_ @ 31st Oct 05:37PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

there is ways to Exploiting powerboost to your advantage!
reply

Rombus @ 31st Oct 06:29PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

Yes, power boost is useless in situations like normal web surfing, buffering videos on Hulu or Youtube, or downloading anything. [/sarcasm]:uhh:
reply

anon @ 31st Oct 06:49PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

true story, i get 26mbit on speedtest which is BS, i usually max out at 1,200 kBytes/sec on downloads for like 5 seconds then go to my normal ~840 kB/sec (7mbit)

and the upload is crap 512kbit ;_; (60kByte/sec), haha but i still manage to host games on warcraft and cod4 ps3 without much lag
reply

Anonymous_ @ 31st Oct 07:13PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

said by Rombus :

Yes, power boost is useless in situations like normal web surfing, buffering videos on Hulu or Youtube, or downloading anything. [/sarcasm]:uhh:

utorrent will auto cycle power boost

and with special download manager that auto cycles the downloads for max Speed for the whole download
:-)
reply

Rombus @ 31st Oct 08:53PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

said by Anonymous_ :

utorrent will auto cycle power boost

and with special download manager that auto cycles the downloads for max Speed for the whole download
:-)

Oh but powerboost is such a useless feature! lol, What is the setting called in utorrent? i want to see if the mac version or Transmission has it.
reply

Anonymous_ @ 31st Oct 08:54PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

i donno but it auto cycles PB

avg 3.13MB per second on a 69MB file done in 22 seconds

using division i can set the size of the file min but you got to do it on every download

Selenia @ 1st Nov 01:25AM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

Bullox. Just torrent a Linux distro or even just download it normally if you got a close server. These speed tests have very limited worth anyways when taking such a small snapshot of your transfer speed. They are just convenient.
reply

oldbuzzard @ 1st Nov 12:18PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

said by Rombus :

Yes, power boost is useless in situations like normal web surfing, buffering videos on Hulu or Youtube, or downloading anything. [/sarcasm]:uhh:

Useless to me - I never have enough throughput to trigger it. Neither does anyone else in my town.
reply

JonRup @ 1st Nov 12:35PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

Why do people complain about a free, although tiny, speed increase? Seriously, I bet some of you guys would freaking complain if Time Warner gave you free money.

Powerboost works fine here, and usually my download speeds sit around 1.8 MB/sec after powerboost is done. A little over my 15mbps connection, fine with me.
reply

Steve Mehs @ 1st Nov 02:02PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

Because people in general will bitch and moan about anything. They concoct some lame conspiracy theory in their head that PowerBoost exists only to inflate speed tests. Well in the real world not too many people have freaky fetishes with running speed tests every second of the day, hell I bet most users never even ran one. And some thing these tin foil hat wearers can't get through their head, because their pure hatred gets in the way of facts, if you have a connection problem and are unable to achieve speeds near your provisioned 7Mb, 10Mb or 15Mb, think about it you won't reach 25Mb-30Mb on a speed test and those tests won't just magically show that. If you can't hit 14.5 Mb you're not going to get 27.2 Mb on a speed test. Just some common sense, but the haters see things differently. If the haters don't like a free temporary increase in speed, they should vote with their wallets and go back dial up.
--
Don't Blame Me, I Voted For McCain
Welcome to The SSA, The Socialist States of Amerika, Lead By Your Dictator, Hussein Obama
Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, B. Hussein Obama
Obama = Terrorist
reply

en102 @ 1st Nov 02:38PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

I agree that this defeats the accuracy of the bandwidth tests.

I have never had issues using Skype (can't state for Vonage).
Powerboost is mostly an advertising gimmick, which actually doesn't 'hurt' their network, by having users pull down small/medium data in quick bursts vs. having multiple customers with open connections for long periods of time downloading.. say distros or Windows patches.

Streaming (YouTube, etc) is pretty much tuned to give you a few second burst to allow enough buffer, then stream the rest at a usable rate.
--
Canada = Hollywood North
reply

Vchat20 @ 1st Nov 02:56PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

Here's the rationality of the matter: Speedtests should only be used to check if your connection is operating as it should. Though many use it here as e-peen comparison, that is not its primary use.

If you are hitting powerboost speeds, guess what? It works! But if you are hitting less than your actual paid for package (10/1, 15/2, etc.) then something is up somewhere.

Powerboost does not affect latency so that doesn't even enter into it and can still be accurately measure with or without powerboost.

And powerboost will not function unless there is leftover bandwidth on the node. So if it is already at capacity, you will only get your rated speed or less. Those with powerboost packages will not be overloading it so much that 'you can kiss your bandwidth goodbye'

Any questions class? You are all dismissed.
--
I swear, some people should have pace-makers installed to free up the resources. Breathing and heart beat taxes their whole system, all of their brain cells wasted on life support.-two bit brains, and the second bit is wasted on parity! ~head_spaz
reply

anon @ 1st Nov 03:09PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

Hey, Mehs

First off, calling people "tin foil hat wearers" reminds me of the tactics of your socialist-rulers-in-waiting who call those who oppose them racists, tea-baggers, or rednecks.

Now to the subject at hand: the deliberately misleading advertising of cable broadband providers. They advertize "up to" 4 MB/s, or whatever, and that is the bandwidth of the single drop cable and equipment they provide. Then, in high occupancy areas, they split this up between dozens of subscribers. They technically fulfill their promise, because "up to" 4 MB/s includes 0 MB/s.

As part of my economic free-market right to switch providers, I need to evaluate cost vs. service. Other people might try to do this, too, and I wanted to point out that they will base their decision on misleading information. I don't know if powerboost is a deliberate attempt to defeat this evaluation, but I do know that cable providers advertize in such a way as to promote the misconception that you get a direct link to the network node.

I think that the original model of splitting bandwidth up in this way (similar to the old rural phone company party lines) was once valid, because bandwidth demand was sporadic. But with all the streaming media of today, it is a deceptive business practice to claim to provide a bandwidth that is not sustainable beyond periodic bursts. There are times of the day when bandwidth demand is high for multiple users and the demand is continuous. So even low bandwidth, high-importance tasks (like online banking) can get timed out.

I'm happy for you if you live in an area where your bandwidth is not shared among dozens of users, but that is not the case everywhere.
reply

anon @ 1st Nov 03:27PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

Hi, Vchat20

I always get my "rated speed"! What is my rated speed? It is "up to" 4MB/s, which includes 0 MB/s. Guaranteed! If they delivered more than 4MB/s, I guess I could technically ask for my money back. If it is zero, then Time Warner fulfilled their part of the deal! :o
reply

maartena @ 1st Nov 03:35PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

Just test downloading a large file from a fast host, such as downloading a linux ISO from a fast mirror, or a big service pack from Microsoft etc. Select something that is 300 Mb+ in size. Download it, and you'll know what your download speed is.

Powerboost is usefull though, especially with things like Youtube, where the first 10 seconds of video buffering make all the difference.
--
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!"
reply

Steve Mehs @ 1st Nov 04:32PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

quote:
They advertize "up to" 4 MB/s, or whatever, and that is the bandwidth of the single drop cable and equipment they provide. Then, in high occupancy areas, they split this up between dozens of subscribers. They technically fulfill their promise, because "up to" 4 MB/s includes 0 MB/s.

You have to do better then that. What about the 'deliberately misleading advertising of telco broadband providers'

Verizon FIOS
Download up to 25 Mbps / Upload up to 15 Mbps
»www22.verizon.com/Residential/Fi···lans.htm

Verizon DSL
Download up to 3 Mbps / Upload up to 768 Kbps
»www22.verizon.com/Residential/Hi···lans.htm

AT&T DSL
Downstream Speed: Up to 6.0 Mbps
Upstream Speed: Up to 768 Kbps
»www.att.com/gen/general?pid=10938

Qwest DSL
Connection speeds up to 3Mbps
»https://myaccount.qwest.com/MasterWebPor···Hsi=true

Frontier DSL
At up to 3 Mbps, FrontierFast High-Speed Internet is
»www.frontier.com/products/Produc···=1&p=511

quote:
but I do know that cable providers advertize in such a way as to promote the misconception that you get a direct link to the network node.

I've never heard that claim by TW or any other cable company, I have heard that claim by the telcos when they advertise DSLOW though.

I don't know about you, but when I'm downloading large service packs or videos off of iTunes I do apperciate that extra boost of speed at the beginning of the download.
--
Don't Blame Me, I Voted For McCain
Welcome to The SSA, The Socialist States of Amerika, Lead By Your Dictator, Hussein Obama
Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, B. Hussein Obama
Obama = Terrorist
reply

Vchat20 @ 1st Nov 05:15PM:
Re: [TWC] "Turbo boost" defeats accuracy of bandwidth tests!!!

said by TWC_loser :

Hi, Vchat20

I always get my "rated speed"! What is my rated speed? It is "up to" 4MB/s, which includes 0 MB/s. Guaranteed! If they delivered more than 4MB/s, I guess I could technically ask for my money back. If it is zero, then Time Warner fulfilled their part of the deal! :o

As Steve Mehs has already stated, you'll get this wording with any residential ISP. Even the almighty Verizon itself with their FiOS packages. On the same token all residential ISPs /will/ help try to fix problems if you don't reach more than a certain percentage of your paid for speed tier as long as you have proven that it is not your own equipment and is on their end. If you are only topping out at like 500kb/s and you have a 15mbit package, call Time Warner and have it fixed. Easy as that.
--
I swear, some people should have pace-makers installed to free up the resources. Breathing and heart beat taxes their whole system, all of their brain cells wasted on life support.-two bit brains, and the second bit is wasted on parity! ~head_spaz
reply