I thought of installing a wifi system in my house. My tablet computer cannot access the internet without it and the streaming movie boxes (netflix, etc) require it, too..
Right now I have two computers and a router connected by Cat 5 cable. In order to have streaming video at my TV in the family, I would have to run a
100' cat 5 cable, through attics and walls, a difficult proposition.
As an alternative to running long cables I came across something called "Powerline Adapters". They are fairly inexpensive and function by utilizing the electric house wiring as a cat 5 wire.
formatting link
network adapter.
Anybody have experience with this equipment, pro and con?
Hi, You can have WiFi AP. Power line adapter is, first it has to be in same AC wiring branch circuit to work well. Go to smallnetbuilder or AVS forum to get all the info you need. Also it is good idea you use CAT 5e or CAT 6 cable to get best performance. I use CAT 7. My TV has WiFi, I stream real time video from NAS to TV directly. Actually that is my wife doing/enjoying movies, show, stuff like that.
I have a SlingLink ethernet over powerline link that came with a slingbox. They attempt to get a megabit/second of digital data over an unshielded cable designed for 60 Hz. Never tried video, but throughput measurement test gave about 750kbps. Never did any interference tests. A short interruption that might slow a file transfer becomes a disaster if you're watching a video. Never read anything good about them from anybody who wasn't trying to sell me one. Google slinglink and look at some of the reviews in the context of video transmission. The devices are designed for point to point. if you have three places to connect, you may be out of luck.
100' is a stretch for wireless. The line of sight distance and what's in between is that matters.
Depending on a lot of variables, you may be able to shorten the wireless distance by adding an antenna to the wireless router, or moving it to a different location that has easy wire access.
I have a 20' wireless connection that's marginal. Has a wall between with metal shelves on one side and a 4' mirror on the other side.
If you have a big screen TV with internal wireless, you may not have the option to rotate the set 32 degrees to get a better signal.
If you have all new equipment, wireless is pretty easy. If you don't it's a minefield. For example, you buy a fancy wireless N router. Sure, you can talk to devices that don't support AES encryption or wireless N mode, but if you put it in that mode, your WHOLE NETWORK speed drops to much lower speed even when not using the slower devices. It's not a technical issue, it's a standards decision by some committee.
My first suggestion would be to have your internet provider supply a network interface with built-in wifi. But that don't always work.
I have Clear WiMax internet service. The modem has built-in router. But it doesn't do what I need. And you can't turn it off. So, I had to upgrade the Clear modem to a newer version with wifi capability just so I could turn it off.
I wire it to a better wireless router that has a guest mode to get around the mixed-network speed reduction issue. I use the main wireless channel for my N-devices and a wireless bridge to the other room, where it breaks out into a wired network. I use the guest channel for B and G-devices and bridge it to the main channel go get around the speed problem. In the other room, I have a third wireless router that supports very old devices that can't work with the newer protocols without slowing everything down.
Are we having fun yet?
I'd go to a forum dedicated to Audio-Visual help. The devil is in the details of EXACTLY what you're trying to do with EXACTLY what equipment. Buy your equipment from a local dealer with a liberal return policy.
I have installed D-Link network over powerline in a Church with connections upstairs serving 4 computers, one at the printer and one in the lounge. After February the upstairs moves to the basement to serve 4 computers doing tax returns on-line.
It has been a dependable network, it's been upgraded once for better speed but does the job just fine and cheaper then attempting to wire the building for network and more secure than wireless networking.
My router is on the second floor, and the first desktop computer in the basement had a wireless card and worked fine. The next computer was supposed to be only temprorary so I ran 100 feet of Cat-6 over the doors to the stairsl, down to the basement and to the computer. It's only on the floor for the last 6 feet. I stilll think of this as temporary or I would put in a wireless card.
No reason why not to use a cable until you find the smart tv you like. Under 20 dollars for 100 feet at a couple online stores. (Best buy doesn't even stock 100 feet, and they charge 50 dollars for 50 feet iirc.)
I should have said that I bought 100 foot roll because I plan to go up
7 feet to the attic, down 8 feet from the attic, across 12 feet from the closet, away from the wall 3 feet and up 2 feet.
I assumed that is why you also said 100 feet of cable.
The crow's distance from my router to the places I use my computer (don't have wifi tv) is probabaly no more than 50 or 60 feet. I checked the range outside and I've forgotten already, but I think it's also 60 feet or so from the router.
Regardless of what else you do, wifi is good to have. A friend comes over with a laptop, you don't have to plug in the internet. You don't have to unplug it from somewhere to plug him in. You can both run at once.
Are you sure you don't have wireless on your router already? Although the opposite happened to me. I saw a router just like mine at a hamfest, 10 dollars. I figured, great, if mine broke, I'd have a perfect replacement. A year later, I noticed, no antenna, no wireless. It was just a router.
Most new equipment that comes with a network connection also has built in WiFi. You should check. You may not need a cable if you get a wireless router.
I use one of these for streaming video it plays every common format:
I ran a cat5 from a second floor bedroom where the router and modem were to my basement office, two floors down and in the center of the house. I ran the cat5 cable hidden under the hot water heating panels in the bedroom to a linen closet just inside the bathroom. I Then snaked the cable up inside the closet wall into the attic. Then across the attic collar beams to the center of the attic, then down through a shaft that ran from the basement utility room, where the oil burner and water heater are, to the attic where the flue exited through the roof. I then snaked the cable from the utility room to my computer next to the utility room. I figured the cable run was about 60 feet long. Took me about an hour to do.
My routers are in the basement. I have no problems connecting to my computers on the second floor in the upstairs bedrooms (my "office is in the FROG). The NEST thermostat is only reliable with one of them, though.
My shop is 40 feet from the camper and has a steel wall in between . I get acceptable wifi from an old Linksys 54G unit . I can stream music and video on my laptop , worksfor me .
Hmmm, Now RT-68U is out for some time. Also Netgear R7000. I have both for testing. Get this stuffs free now and then, I am looking at their f/w. Personally I use enterprise class router. If TV is smart one with WiFi built in this latest routers have improved coverage even on 5GHz band.
Also better use CAT5e or 6 cable to ensure good wire performance. I use CAT 7 cables on my routers. for reliable streaming minimum speed needed is 5mbps. If you don't run cable to TV, setting up an AP is an option. Power line adapters work well if they share same branch circuit in your house wiring.
Go check out forums at smallnetbuilder or/and AVS. All latest info is there to read. If u have specific questions just ask. Members with knowledge and experience will give you good answer.
My wife streams video every night, our router covers whole house from basement to top floor loft. In family room where she is watching TV the 5GHz signal level is typically 50dbm at all times. Speed is quite good at 40mbps or so more than enough,
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