Peak bandwidth formula
Peak bandwidth (in Mbps) = concurrent_viewers × stream_bitrate
Example: 150 concurrent viewers × 4 Mbps each = 600 Mbps peak
Monthly transfer formula
Monthly transfer (in TB) = concurrent_viewers × bitrate × hours/day × 30 days × 0.45 GB/Mbps-hour
The 0.45 factor converts Mbps × hours into GB (1 Mbps × 1 hour ≈ 0.45 GB).
Why concurrency matters more than total subs
Servers are sized for peak concurrent connections, not total subscribers. A panel with 1,000 subs may only see 200-300 concurrent watchers at peak — that's what your bandwidth must handle.
Restream vs Origin setup
Origin servers stream directly to all viewers — bandwidth scales linearly with viewers. Restream servers ingest once from source then distribute via CDN/edges, so origin bandwidth is constant but edge bandwidth scales. Our calculator factors this in.
Why bandwidth estimates can be inaccurate
Real-world bandwidth varies due to: zapping behavior (channel switching costs ~30% extra), buffer pre-loading, app overhead, and adaptive bitrate switching. Add 20-30% buffer to calculated values for safety.