Higher sampling rate with poor connexion via Starlink

General Discussion
1

Optical fiber is my preference but it can be interrupted. Last year I had no connexion for about 6 weeks and now a wildfire has destroyed the line and nobody knows when it will be repaired. This is the reason why I have Starlink as a backup. While the bandwidth can be quite impressive, via satellite there is considerable jitter. A higher buffer size can compensate for that in exchange for more latency. To keep latency in check I tried a higher sampling rate (96 kHz) and here is what I get recording of a jazz lick in my JT studio London

When the main aim is to have fun making music with others the audio quality is almost good enough and the latency can be tolerated.

1 Like
2

Thanks very much Thomas! This is an interesting report on using Starlink for JackTrip sessions from your studio in London. Please keep us posted on further findings.

1 Like
3

Synthia,

finally I got an opportunity to try Starlink with someone else. In the video the trumpet is on a copper line and I connect to the internet via satellite (Starlink). We met in a studio set at 96 kHz and the audio quality slider was manually set to 26 (whatever that means) as the minimum acceptable audio level.
The backing track was on the server. Syncing issues are most obvious with video but the audio turned out ok. There is certainly room for improvement through additional rehearsing and agreeing on a a certain type of articulation for unison playing. Most importantly the experience was enjoyable. Have a look Starlink track on server 96kHz Belgium - Recording 2025-08-12 | JackTrip Labs
This is of course good news for all those who do not have access to optical fiber.
As many recent audio interfaces can handle even higher rates such as 192 kHz, it might be interesting to have this possibility also at studio level. With higher sampling rates one can increase the buffer size to compensate for jitter with poorer connections.

1 Like
4

wow yes, with additional attention to the musical considerations you mentioned this is really encouraging usage of Starlink for JackTrip sessions. Bravo! Thank you Thomas for keeping us up to date with your endeavors with JackTrip.