[Selfcommit]

So the overhead to begin a video stream is due to the size of video data? Would video behave generally more like audio data (could stream immidiately) if the typical user bandwidth was larger?

[thefourthchime]

In reality it's the size yes, but there is an inherent delay because of the way B-frames work. You'll need to buffer 2-3 frames worth 33ms each (for NTSC), so 66-99ms delay regardless of throughput.

Audio doesn't have such a concept, you get 33ms worth of audio, you can play it right away.

Of course, you can opt to not have b-frames and negate that issue.

[mgamache]

most (all?) of the video codecs designed for low latency don't use b-frames for this reason.

[IshKebab]

Yes. Although it still might not be as good due to TCP's slow start.