BWTV - 285,000 observers?

During the day, the biggest bug so far in BWTV has been fixed and a lot more updates are on the way. GosuGamers have tested the server program and calculated that a server with a 10 Mbit/s connection can manage to host around 285,000 observers at the same time! We give you the latest on the hottest program just released - Brood War Television!

[s]bwtv[/s]Using the BWTV Beta with Microsoft Windows XP has previously been a pain in the neck. Most because of the fact that the program would stop running after a couple of minutes and that you were unable to change the observered players in the replay. These bugs have now been corrected and works properly as it should. Press 'update' in the BWTV program and it should automatically download the new .dll files.

Lasgo explains that the status of the server program, however, is worse than the client program. He says he is working to debug the XP problems with the server and that it's far from stable. GosuGamers had an exclusive test of the server program yesterday and came to the following conclusions regarding the broadcasting bandwidth required:

One observer for one second requires 0,035 Kbit/s of upstream connection for the server. In the example, we have a high speed connection with 10 Megabit/s of upstream, meaning 10,000 Kbit/s. 10,000 divded with 0,035 gives a total of around 285,000 observers just from one 10 Mbit/s server! Notice however, that these figures are based on a raw calculation without paying attention to computer specifications or number of maximum server connections. The figures are based on the following example: One observer for one hour would require one megabyte of total transfer. Additional features such as the chat function and live audio commentation which Lasgo has plans to add to the program, were not included in this calculation.

A function similar to the listing of games at Battle.net when pushing the "join" button is also planned for BWTV. This means you can browse all current online BWTV servers and select the one you would prefer among many. Whether the server program will be released for the public, Lasgo still hasn't decided. Right now he is very focused on solving the current bugs in the program. "Bad news is that sometimes I upload the version with another serious bug... Its still a fight!"

Lasgo still did not want to reveal any official date when he estimates the server program to be done, he is still working to debug it and fix the lag issue some users are experiencing.