01-23-2012, 11:16 PM

My teen says that downloading via bit torrents uses the same amount of bandwidth as downloading a song via iTunes. This sounds wrong to me but, he usually knows more about this stuff than I do so, I thought I'd ask the knowledgable folks around here. What say you?

01-23-2012, 11:22 PM

Originally Posted by davidjstix

My teen says that downloading via bit torrents uses the same amount of bandwidth as downloading a song via iTunes. This sounds wrong to me but, he usually knows more about this stuff than I do so, I thought I'd ask the knowledgable folks around here. What say you?

Downloading depends on two things:

- the speed of the internet connection and amount of activity on the site being downloaded from.
- the speed of the internet connection and amount of activity on the receiving end (your home)

These two things primarily determine how fast a download will occur.

- Nick

01-23-2012, 11:36 PM

Thanks, Nick.
From what I understand (and I am NO techie!), bit torrenting requires going to a lot of different locations to find small bits of the whole. Wouldn't that take longer than (and therefore use more bandwidth than) going to one location and getting the whole thing quickly? If you're online downloading for longer periods of time, don't you use more bandwidth? Theoretically, that is. I'm sorry if I'm just not getting the concept!

01-24-2012, 01:40 AM

Downloading via torrents does use more bandwidth, since as you noted, the "bits" and "pieces" must be obtained from many contributors. And yes it can be very slow trying to accomplish one download.

Also, something your teenager may not want you to know... But most downloads of music, movies, and other material from torrents is illegal and can lead to trouble not only for your teenager but also for you as the responsible parent. Tell your teenager to only download music and other material from legal sites such as iTunes or Amazon.

01-24-2012, 02:51 AM

Yeah, good luck with that.

I am of course a strong advocate of legal downloading, but I also remember my teenage years.

Here's an approach that MIGHT work: explain to your teenager that YOU are exposed to possibly very severe (and not AT ALL theoretical) legal repercussions if he/she is downloading anything copyrighted. Thousands of REAL parents have been hit with HUGE legal bills and fines because of the actions of their children. Explain to him/her the implications if that happens to you.

Next, explain that downloading illegal music (in particular) is not stealing from the record companies so much as it is stealing from the artists. Buying gives the artists SOME of the proceeds; stealing gives them NONE.

Finally, incentivize: offer a regular amount of pre-paid iTunes cards (not a huge amount) and ask the he/she go this route to get music/movies etc. I find that this last bit actually encourages kids to suddenly get more CHOOSY about what they're buying, which is good for everyone.

I won't guarantee it will work, but it might get them to look at the issue in a different way ...

01-24-2012, 06:52 PM

The simple answer to your question is that it uses more - much more bandwidth, in fact. Bittorrent is a two-way street... that is, you can not download without uploading. In comparison, iTunes will do a straight download of a given track, with no need to upload.

01-25-2012, 04:59 PM

Thanks, everyone, for your answers and comments.

We have been telling our older teen for some time now about the potential problems and illegalities of torrenting. We've TOLD him not to do it. We THINK he is getting it straight. It's hard, at his age, to understand some of these concepts but, we are hopeful in that regard.

Ironically, his mom and I are professional musicians so, we speak with some authority about the "stealing" of the livelihood of folks like his parents. And, he has been receiving gift iTunes cards from us and relatives for Christmas and his birthday.

This whole thing started when I made a list of the biggest users of bandwidth and posted it on the fridge for all 3 of our kids to see. Torrenting was at the top of the list, according to at least one source. We have a cap of 75 gigs a month and we feel that that is plenty but, we have gone over a few times. Hard to administer all 5 computers in the house! But, we are trying and I'm thankful for this forum to give us input and advice.

Cheers,
DJ

01-25-2012, 07:45 PM

Nice reply. Thanks for getting back to us.

01-25-2012, 07:58 PM

One thing I'd like to point out as well, in terms of bandwidth.. Bandwidth is the AMOUNT of data being sent/received across the Internet (or a local network).

Torrenting does, of course, use a killer amount more (typically), as the amount of data that is typically associated with these files are immense (things like movies, full artist discographies, games, software programs, etc are typically measured with GB, compared to a single song being only a few MB).

With iTunes, the average users are typically downloading one (or a few) track(s) at a time, or just a single entire CD. Maybe the odd TV show or movie. However, not on a consistent, daily basis, which in turn doesn't kill your bandwidth.

So it really boils down to how much one said person buys off iTunes vs. using a torrent for. If you're a regular user if iTunes/Amazon, your bandwidth usage can surely be that of what a torrent can impose.

Keep in mind that torrenting has a lot of legal use too.. A lot of Linux distros and other software I've downloaded use Torrents because it's a simple and very quick way to obtain a disk image file, given the size of these communities.

As an artist myself, I purchase all of my music on CD (out of respect for their hardwork and dedication when putting their hearts and souls into their product), then rip it to my computer. It just kills me, well mostly my wallet, when a lot of the music I listen to, a CD goes for at $30+ CDN. Not easy on the wallet, but it's totally worth it. Like the time I paid almost $60 for Marcus Miller's "M2" album.

Quality over quantity, my friend.

01-26-2012, 01:57 PM

Thanks for letting me know that torrenting CAN be legal. I had no idea. I had it all painted with one brush, as it were.

We always buy music legally, too. Like you, we know the blood, sweat and tears (and swears!) that go into writing and producing a finished recording. The next hurdle is continued work on our teens to help them understand all this. Even when they see it with their own eyes, in their own house, it seems that the concept that recorded music is not completely "free" to them is a hard one. We are often told by one of them that "everybody" downloads like this and the implication is, I think, that we are dinosaurs and we should get with the program. <sigh>

The music business has changed massively in the past decade or so. We often hear that recording groups are now more financially dependant on live shows and merchandise sales at the gig than sales of CDs and legal downloads. For some I'm sure that is the case. For us, it's not so much, as we have an older audience who are not as tech-savvy. No one really knows where this is all going but, we do live in interesting times! Anyway, if music is your thing, there is not much you can do about it (other than stay on top of what is happening) because you are hooked on making music. A lifer. OK.... I'm going on a bit here! Thanks for the replies again, everyone!

01-26-2012, 02:09 PM

Originally Posted by davidjstix

We have a cap of 75 gigs a month and we feel that that is plenty but, we have gone over a few times. Hard to administer all 5 computers in the house!

75GB a month divided by five computers doesn't give you much. That's 15GB a machine which is roughly 500MB a day. That may sound like a lot but, as you know, it all adds up pretty quickly. This is why I have a plan with 300GB/mo.

As noted earlier, torrents are a two way street so traffic goes in and out. Torrents depend on people sharing the content - that's how the bits are shared. In the case, your son might share one bit of something that is being downloaded by someone else.

Worst case, and as much as I hate to solve problems this way, there are technical means through which you can limit or cut off his torrenting.

01-26-2012, 04:17 PM

75GB a month divided by five computers doesn't give you much. That's 15GB a machine which is roughly 500MB a day. That may sound like a lot but, as you know, it all adds up pretty quickly. This is why I have a plan with 300GB/mo.

Ahhhh, count me up as super jealous
6 computers and 20 GB/month

01-26-2012, 06:08 PM

Hmm, 110MB/day versus my 10GB/day. Wait, that didn't help did it?

01-26-2012, 08:07 PM

Your positively evil

01-26-2012, 09:01 PM

Yes, yes I am. Haha. If I could, I'd lend you some bandwidth but, you know, that's not possible.