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Asked: 2026-05-11T16:06:12+00:00

I am building a C# application, using the server-client model, where the server is

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I am building a C# application, using the server-client model, where the server is sending an image (100kb) to the client through a socket every 50ms…

I was using TCP, but besides the overhead of this protocol, sometimes the client ended up with more than one image on the socket. And I still haven’t though of a clever mechanism to split the bytes of each image (actually, I just need the most recent one).

I tried using UDP, but got to the conclusion that I can’t send 100kb dgrams, only 64kb ones. And even so, I shouldn’t use more than 1500bytes; otherwise the packet would be divided along the network and the chances of losing parts of the packet would be greater.

So now I’m a bit confused. Should I continue using TCP and put some escaping bytes in the end of each image so the client can separate them? Or should I use UDP, send dgrams of 1500 bytes and come up with a mechanism for ordering and recovering?

The key goal here is transmitting the images very fast. I don’t mind losing some on the way as long as the client keeps receiving newer ones.

Or should I use another protocol? Thanks in advance!

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    I’d recommend using UDP if:

    • Your application can cope with an image or small burst of images not getting through,
    • You can squeeze your images into 65535 bytes.

    If you’re implementing a video conferencing application then it’s worth noting that the majority use UDP.

    Otherwise you should use TCP and implement an approach to delimit the images. One suggestoin in that regard is to take a look at the RTP protocol. It’s sepcifically designed for carrying real-time data such as VoIP and Video.

    Edit: I’ve looked around quite a few times in the past for a .Net RTP library and apart from wrappers for non .Net libraries or half completed ones I did not have much success. I just had another quick look and this may be of this one ConferenceXP looks a bit more promising.

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