Bandwidth Constraints in Behavior Change Websites
Author Information
Author(s): Brian G Danaher, Stephen A Jazdzewski, H Garth McKay, Clinton R Hudson, Kerry Evers
Primary Institution: Oregon Research Institute
Hypothesis
Can a bandwidth usage index help gauge the usability of rich media in behavior change websites?
Conclusion
The bandwidth usage index is a practical tool for measuring website bandwidth requirements and evaluating design feasibility for different user scenarios.
Supporting Evidence
- The bandwidth usage index for video-rich websites ranged from 144 Kbps to 93 Kbps.
- Dial-up users could not achieve a good user experience with any of the rich media websites.
- Switching from video to audio reduced bandwidth requirements by almost 50%.
- Using a Web-enabled CD-ROM allowed dial-up users to have a good experience with rich media content.
Takeaway
This study shows that websites with videos and other rich media can be hard to use for people with slow internet connections, but using CD-ROMs can help.
Methodology
Three studies were conducted to measure bandwidth consumption and validate the usability of video-rich websites under different internet access scenarios.
Limitations
The study's tests were not exhaustive, and subjective measures of user experience were used.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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