Speedify Jitter Buffer Overview

This article explains what the Jitter Buffer feature in Speedify does, when to use it, and how to configure it for your needs.

What Is Speedify's Jitter Buffer?

Jitter refers to inconsistent or varying latency (delay) in your internet connection. When packets of data arrive at unpredictable intervals, applications that rely on a steady stream, like live video, can struggle to maintain quality.

Speedify's Jitter Buffer feature intentionally adds a small, fixed amount of latency to specific internet traffic flows. By smoothing out that variability, Speedify delivers your internet traffic with a consistent delay instead of an unpredictable one. This is especially useful when your internet connection has naturally varying latency, or when you are bonding multiple connections with different latencies.

When to Use Speedify's Jitter Buffer

Good use cases

Jitter Buffer works best for applications that can tolerate a bit of extra delay, but that are sensitive to changing latency. A common example is live streaming. When you're broadcasting video, a small fixed delay is perfectly acceptable, but unpredictable latency shifts can confuse the adaptive bitrate algorithm and cause unnecessary drops in stream quality. Jitter Buffer keeps that latency stable.

When not to use it

Jitter Buffer is not recommended for real-time calling applications such as Google Meet, Zoom, or similar tools. In those cases, the extra fixed delay added by the Jitter Buffer can negatively affect the call experience for all participants.

Speedify's Jitter Buffer Settings

There are two settings that control how Jitter Buffer behaves:

• Target Delay (ms): Sets the amount of delay, in milliseconds, that Jitter Buffer adds to matching internet traffic in each direction. The default is 75ms. This means the round-trip time through the VPN for traffic matching your Jitter Buffer rules will be approximately 150ms total.
• Traffic Rules (Port, IP, Domain): Defines which internet traffic should pass through the Jitter Buffer. Traffic that does not match your rules is delivered normally, without any added delay. You can set rules based on port numbers, IP addresses, or domain names.