graphic options and bandwidth utilization

(I searched the forums and didn't see this addressed, apologies if I missed a more pertinent thread)

My partner and I have a band and will be performing in world. I've got the streaming software configured and have a host, so that bit of it is working fine. The caveat is that between running the viewer on 2 machines as well as the Winamp DSP for sending up the audio, I am pretty well maxing out our consumer grade DSL connection. Anything that pulls bandwidth causes warbling and skipping in the stream, and I am concerned that if we're playing in crowded areas we may have problems. My question-

Does disabling graphic options reduce the amount of data coming to the Viewer, or does it simply tell my video card to ignore that data? In other words, if I turn off say particle effects and turn down draw distance all the way, does that mean I am pulling less data down the pipe? I'm anticipating having to upgrade our connection eventually, but if I can squeeze out a little more kbps I want to try.

I don't think graphical settings manipulate d/l and upload speeds--changing the poly count of an object or resolution of a texture doesn't soak up bandwidth. At least...I'm pretty sure it doesn't...I think that's all client side based, and remains on your computer...

And all objects themselves are server-side...

Shoot, I'm confused.

" Does disabling graphic options reduce the amount of data coming to the Viewer"

Yes, SLeek should be your answear to that, webbrowser SL client, no graphics ;
http://delta.slinked.net/

SLeek is an open-source ,relatively lightweight client for Linden Lab’s Second Life virtual world. It allows you to perform basic in-world tasks such as chatting, IM, viewing Inventory, viewing Profiles, and more. It can be useful especially for lower-power computers, or if you only need the basic functionality of SL at the moment.

Texture - download is the main reason SL is such a bandwidth hog, textures go from 20kb to 16~mb EACH depends on how big resolution they are made in.

"particle effect "

those wont matter if you disable,they are tiny script inside prims that you just render on your screen so its never identical for others how they look, 0.1kb ~ 1kb

" view distance "
Turn it waay... down will save alot of bandwidth yes, less to render, less to download (textures)

To make movies I run in 'Silent Mode', although I do need the graphics up high, I balance draw distance with the Fog Distance. If you want to run in a lower format than the profile I use, try these settings:

Draw distance=64
Fog=1.0 (or less)
Particles=0
Turn down all the flexi sliders to the far left.
Turn off VBO and Avatar Vertex buffers.
Turn off music and movie streams.
Use Sun and Moon settings and not local lights.
Land textures=low
Turn off ripple water.
When you logout, do all of the above, and log back in after a reboot, to the spot where you are performing (don't TP about).
Reduce your client window resolution to say 800x600.
Remove any desktop wall papers and use one of the solid colours or small tiles. (Yes this has an impact on your system).
Drop as many desktop icons you can into folders.
Defrag your HD before and after loggin of your session.
Run a registry cleaner.
Make sure any virus checkers aren't scanning the SL cache.
Turn off any automatic updating software (QuickTime, Java, XP, Virus Checkers etc).
Cold boot your router (assuming you have one, turn it off at the mains plug for 10-15 seconds).
Set the World to midnight (lower graphical impact on your system).
Remove any not required HUDs, scripted objects including bling jewelry, flexi hair and heavy primed clothing.
Turn off any background programmes that are not required for your performance.
If you are using a BT line for your broadband connection, and you have a sky box, unplug the sky box, and if you also have a BT telephone socket with a split face (upper and lower face sections) unscrew the face and plug the router directly into the inner test socket (thats BT recommendation BTW). Unplug any telephone extension leads/phones. Use a new micro filter.
Set yourself to Busy mode ingame, this prevents you seeing local chat and being bombarded with unwanted IM's (only a slight impact, but all counts).

I could go on, but try those first and see what impact that has on your system.