Good and bad computer vs. online video downloading

[Disco Makberto]

Hello, forum!

For many years now, I am looking for a definite answer for a potential situation of which I have only received "well, maybe" responses in the past:

Let's say that I have two computers. The first one has a better sound card, better processor, better hard drive, etc. The second, on the other hand, has worse sound card, worse processor, worse hard drive, etc. When it comes to downloading online videos with the same downloader, will the first computer download the video in better quality as opposed to the second computer? Please note that I am talking about the native quality of the downloaded file per se, and not about the playback quality. I know that the playback quality will be better on the first computer. Thus, for real comparison purposes and to avoid any confusion, let's assume that we download the same video with the same downloader via first computer and then via second computer. Afterward, we play each of these downloaded files from each computer on a third computer using the same video player for both files (this means that the player's quality settings derived from video card, etc., will be the same for both files). Will the video file from the fist computer be in any way better than the video file from the second computer?

Please post to the forum as I am sure I am not the only one thinking about this tricky situation, particularly when it comes to downloaded flv files.

Carlos Albert
Disco Makberto

If you download a live stream and your system freezes due to the lack of system resources, then there will definitely be a difference.

Also some web-sites test your Internet connection and select the best quality depending on your bandwidth. If you have a slower connection, your stream recorder might not be able to find a higher quality stream.

[Disco Makberto]

Thanks for your response, Stream Recorder!

In the case of downloading music video clips from YouTube, Google Videos, Yahoo Videos, DailyMotion, etc., will there be a difference?

Carlos Albert
Disco Makberto

[Disco Makberto]

P.S.: I forgot to mention that, for comparison purposes, let's assume that both the first computer and the second computer use exactly the same bandwidth from the same provider. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Disco Makberto

In the case of downloading music video clips from YouTube, Google Videos, Yahoo Videos, DailyMotion, etc., will there be a difference?

I don't think there will be any difference.