When we surf the Internet, we use services and platforms, a very important factor for everything to work properly is speed. All users are concerned that our connection goes well, that we receive what we have contracted for uploading and downloading. However, there is another very important factor, especially for certain uses that we can give it: latency. In this article we are going to talk about what the correct ping should be in order to make a video call .
Why a good connection is important for making video calls
Video calls have gained a very important weight in recent years. We have at our disposal a wide range of possibilities for this. Many online programs and services that allow us to be in contact with friends and family through a mobile phone or computer.
This type of service will require that the Internet connection works correctly. If we have a slow Internet, if we use a device that does not work well, it will also affect the video call itself. We could suffer cuts, have a poor image quality or even that it does not even work.
That is why it is very important to have a good connection, in addition to having the appropriate, updated and secure software. Speed is going to be essential, as we all know. But beyond that we must also bear in mind the latency or ping. It is a term that sometimes goes unnoticed but is essential for certain uses that we give to the network, such as making a video call .
What is the proper ping or latency for a video call
If we have a very high ping, the video call will not go well. We can have cuts, delay and, ultimately, a bad user experience. Ultimately, latency is the time measured in milliseconds that it takes for a request to arrive back from a server. Something similar happens with online games. If the ping is very high, the actions we perform while playing are delayed.
Unlike speed, the lower the ping is going to be better for our interests. Therefore we can say that basically what matters is that this latency is as close as possible to 1 ms.
If we connect through fiber optics , and especially if we are connected by cable, the latency will be very low, unless we have a problem with the line. In this case we are not going to have big problems. Yes we could find certain failures when we connect from the mobile through mobile data or a Wi-Fi network with little coverage.
Surely on some occasion we have been in a video call and we have suffered delay. Either the sound or the image comes to us later than it should, which makes communication very difficult. This could be due to a problem with latency.
So what should the ping be for a good connection when making a video call? We can say that any latency below 40 ms is more than enough to avoid problems. We would not perceive that annoying delay when sending sound or video.
We can even say that between 40 and 100 ms that delay, that increase in ping, would not be blocking. It would not mean that the video call had to be stopped. Of course, we could notice certain problems in certain applications.
It is from 100 ms when we would really have problems. The higher that latency, the worse. Even some connections can exceed 200 ms if we connect wirelessly and are far from the source of the connection.
In short, to be able to make a video call correctly, pinging will be very important. We must get that latency as close as possible to 1 ms. The fastest and most stable fiber optic connections offer us a figure that is around 5 ms, so it is more than enough. After 100 ms we could already start to have certain problems.
Why can we have bad latency
There are factors that can influence whether this latency is higher or lower. It not only depends on the Internet rate that we have contracted, the operator or the equipment itself. Some aspects also influence, as we are going to see.
Server to which we connect
A key point for that ping to be better or worse is also due to the server we connect to and where it is. The further away we are from that server, the worse. It is not the same to connect from Spain to a server for video calls that is in our own country, to another that is in another continent.
Therefore, the distance from the server to which we connect will also influence to have a better latency. It is a factor that we must take into account and whenever we have the possibility to choose where to connect it, we must keep it in mind.
Have the system clean and updated
Of course the system must be properly secure , free of threats and up to date . Any malware can damage the functioning of the Internet, affect the speed that reaches us and the latency. It is essential to always have programs that protect us.
We must also keep it updated. This way we will correct certain vulnerabilities that may be present. Sometimes there are bugs that, through patches and updates, we correct them and thus improve the performance of that application or that system.
Connect by cable or Wi-Fi
Another issue that can greatly influence the ping we have to make a video call is depending on whether we connect by cable or Wi-Fi . In the first case the stability is greater, as well as the improvement in speed and latency. On the other hand, wireless networks tend to be more unstable and generate certain problems when connecting and obtaining better performance.
The program we use
Finally, we must also include the program that we are going to use. That software can influence having a higher or lower ping. It must be optimized and not have any bugs. Otherwise it could influence the quality of that connection.
In short, these are some aspects that we must take into account and that are related to ping or latency when making a video call.
