Very high data usage casting BT Sport to TV through Google Chromecast

[Digijon]

Has anyone else experienced very high broadband usage using this device?
Using this device I clocked up 20 Gb in 3 days at the start of this month!
I am powering the device via the USB mains adapter provided as my TV does not have a USB socket.

[imjolly]

with the chromecast you are streaming to your TV so your usage is bound to increase and if movies in HD then dats usage will be even higher  not a problem if on unlimited but could easily be a problem if on fixed data package

[Digijon]

Thanks for your reply imjolly.

I have spoken previously to BT help about this and was puzzled that most of the usage was Upload.

Does what you are saying mean that casting to the tv is different from let say, watching a Netflix film?

Is Netflix usage only Download mainly?

The other issue think I have, is once BT sport is being cast, it is effectively continuous and if one is using the mains adapter to power the Chromecast, it can keep going un-noticed even when Android and TV are off.

I am awaiting a response from BT but would be interested in Community members comments or experience.

Thanks

[Steve_M]

If the usage is on the Upload then it isn't from the BT Sport / Chromecast!

I would be turning of any PC's, Laptops etc that you have and checking them first.

Steve

[Digijon]

Thanks Steve

However, your opinion does not square up with what the BT HELP have told me.

They said that the high upload component of the usage was due to the Chromecast uploading to the TV?

I am awaiting a call back from bt tomorrow to discuss this in detail.Will post result.

[Steve_M]

I can 100% promise you that the Chromecast does not "upload" anything to the TV as it just communicates over HDMI.

There is also no significant data transfer between the Chromecast device and the Chromecast client (tablet/phone/PC) apart from to tell the Chromecast where to "download" the video stream from.

Steve

[umpire]

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@Digijon wrote:

However, your opinion does not square up with what the BT HELP have told me.

They said that the high upload component of the usage was due to the Chromecast uploading to the TV?

I am awaiting a call back from bt tomorrow to discuss this in detail.Will post result.

---

Unfortunately many of the low cost overseas call centre staff have little or no knowledge on IT matters. The statement about Chromecast uploading to the TV and that counting against your monthly allowance sounds like utter nonsense as Steve_M has already pointed out. 

Firstly, when you click the Cast button on the app I believe it tells the router to redirect the incoming BT Sport stream to the Chromecast dongle plugged into the TV. The live stream is still data that is being downloaded to the router in your home and being forwarded (routed) on to a particular device or multiple devices.

Secondly, the streamed live channels shown through the BT Sport app shouldn't count against any data allowance anyway. If they did then BT would be lying about it on this page. As detailed on that help page, some other types of downloadable content available on the BT Sport web pages will count.

I suggest you check your usage via the normal online broadband data usage monitor and use the drop-down option to display the upload/download figures for the month so far. If the upload figure is high then you do need to identify what is causing that. Possibilities include Peer-2-Peer file sharing programs and Cloud backup programs (but not BT Cloud which again should be exempt).

[umpire]

Obviously, as imjolly pointed out, if you use Chromecast to display on the TV screen content from any web pages other than BT Sport then that data will count against your allowance in the normal manner. I would still expect it to be mainly downloaded data though (not uploaded).

[Digijon]

Thanks for your post umpire.q

I agree with steve and yourself that the Chromecast should be download.

I have kept a screenshots record every day of the Bt usage monitor since the beginning of this month.

I also selected the download/upload view and that showed a mainly upload component.

The usage after 2days was around 20 gb - almost  half of full months allowance.

I do not have any laptop or desktops connected to the Hub and no peer to peer stuff going on.

The usage has been neglible since unplugging the Chromecast forseveral days.

This makes the CC the main suspect?.

I have still to get more info from Bt - but no too hopeful! 

thanks

[umpire]

Have you checked the data transmitted/received figures that the HomeHub shows?

Go to  bthomehub.home  and check the broadband info in the advanced settings.

The BT HomeHubs seem to have a design fault in the firmware that means that either figure will reset to zero once it reaches 4.3GB which makes any investigation by the customer more difficult. However, you should at least be able to check if the transmitted (uploaded) figure is increasing rapidly if you have the Chromecast connected for a few hours. If the HomeHub figures contradict the online usage monitor changes then you can raise that with BT. Just bear in mind that the online monitor is only updated some time after the event.

I assume you must be using either a tablet PC or a smartphone to run the BT Sport app and cast to the Chromecast dongle. Have you installed a data monitor app on the tablet/smartphone? Is it possible that some other app on the device is misbehaving and performing uploads in the background all the time you have it conncted to your home WiFi and have the BT Sport app running? A data monitor on the device should be able to show if this is the case.