Latency, measured
Every ON Comms panel measures its own delay and shows it, live. Here is where the rest of the time goes, leg by leg — which parts are physics, and which you can tune.
Where the time goes
4G or 5G about 140–330 ms, mouth to ear
Venue network about 60–120 ms, mouth to ear
The phone or computerThe networkThe ON Comms serverWhat you can tuneSolid: at least. Striped: up to.
Leg by leg
The budget ON Comms is designed to. Your network decides where in each range you land; the receive buffer on a venue network is measured.
| Leg | 4G or 5G | Venue network | What decides it | Can you change it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capture and encode | 20–30 ms | 20–30 ms | The device, and Opus’s 20 ms frames | No |
| Microphone processing | 10–20 ms | 10–20 ms | Echo cancelling and noise suppression | Yes: turn Mic processing off on a wired headset, in the browser and desktop apps |
| To the server | 30–50 ms | under 1 ms | The radio, or the network | No |
| The server | 1–5 ms | 1–5 ms | ON Comms forwards packets; it never decodes or mixes them | — |
| To the listener | 30–50 ms | under 1 ms | The radio, or the network | No |
| Receive buffer | 40–150 ms | 20–40 ms; about 20 ms measured | How steady the link is: it grows on a rough one | Yes: Settings → Receive buffer in the browser and desktop apps. Auto adapts by itself |
| Decode and play | 10–20 ms | 10–20 ms | The device | Use a wired headset: Bluetooth adds 150–250 ms |
| Mouth to ear | about 140–330 ms | about 60–120 ms | The radio legs are physics; the receive buffer is the one big part that is tuned | |
The number on every panel
At the top of every panel is a reading, not a promise: measured from that panel’s own connection, every two seconds.
- The receive buffer, as it is now. On a quiet venue network it reads about 20 ms.
- The round trip to the server, as measured on the panel’s own audio.
- The two together: the buffer plus half the round trip — the part of the delay that changes with the network, and so where trouble shows first.
- Concealment, when the decoder has had to invent sound to cover losses: the sign that the network is struggling, or that a buffer set by hand is too low.
- Admin → Live shows the same for everyone on air, so the one person on a bad link stands out.
Three things that cost more than any network
- Bluetooth headsets add 150–250 ms. Use a wired one.
- Speakerphones need echo cancelling, which buffers. On a headset, turn Mic processing off.
- A receive buffer set by hand too low for the link makes the decoder fill gaps. Leave it on Auto unless the readout says there is room.
See it on your own show.
We’ll walk your engineers through ON Comms on a call — your gallery, your network, your questions.