ODM for Thunderbolt Storage SolutionsFAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Knowledge Base
Why can I play videos smoothly at home but not when on the road?
When you access the files on the personal cloud server at home, you are on the same local area network as your device. The network speed is only limited by your network switch or router and possibly the wireless connection. In general, the transfer speed is enough to guarantee smooth playback and it doesn't take long for the video to load.
If you are on the road, you have to consider two important factors that do not come into play at home. First, there is the download speed of your current connection. This is a part which you are most likely used to it already, because it affects everything you do on the internet. The faster the connection, the faster you can load websites, download mail and stream files like those you access on the personal cloud server.
Second, and this is where your bottle neck most likely is to be found, is the upload speed of your internet connection at home. In order for you to access the files, the personal cloud server at home has to serve the files by uploading them from your home network to the wide area network. Unless you are on an expensive business plan, your download speed is many times faster than your upload speed. What this means is that when you are at home and access websites on the world wide web, the download speed is fast or at least decent enough that it doesn't bother you. However, because the upload speed is much slower than that, it takes much longer for the personal cloud server to upload the files when you are accessing them from the outside.
To get a better idea of the speed, use Google and search for "network speed test" or go to http://www.speedtest.net. Run the speed test when you are at home and select a server somewhere in the proximity of where you intend to access your personal cloud server from the outside. The results will only be for reference and not won't be exactly what you will get when accessing the device from the outside but it will show you clearly the difference between download and upload speed.
Last but not least, please keep in mind that network speed varies depending on the traffic. It might work much better during the day or at 3AM in the morning compared to 8PM when everybody else in the neighborhood comes home from work and goes online.
