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[JimH]

The Ethernet connection, wired or wireless only affects speed, wired being faster and more reliable.

I think it's down to speed now.  Modern wireless equipment seems pretty reliable to me.  And then there is Ethernet over Powerline, which I like a lot.

[Jaguu]

Yes, Powerline is my favorite connection. The newest generation has now speeds of 500Mb/s compared to the older 300Mb/s. Just installed a pair at my sister's home yesterday. In 5 minutes you are done. No drivers, no configuration, just plug in and connect the cables.

[JustinChase]

Yes, Powerline is my favorite connection. The newest generation has now speeds of 500Mb/s compared to the older 300Mb/s. Just installed a pair at my sister's home yesterday. In 5 minutes you are done. No drivers, no configuration, just plug in and connect the cables.

Can you give me specifics of what worked for you (brand/model?)  I've got a similar situation where I don't want to run a new cable, and this might let me enjoy MC on a currently unused TV.

thanks.

[JimH]

Can you give me specifics of what worked for you (brand/model?)  I've got a similar situation where I don't want to run a new cable, and this might let me enjoy MC on a currently unused TV.

thanks.

Last weekend I bought a Trendnet 500 Mbps Powerline AV Ethernet Adapter Kit.  It's a pair of devices.

They work well with my older Netgear 2501 200 Mbps devices.

It's not clear to me whether different devices will usually work with each other, but I've had good luck so far.  I've used at least a couple of generations older than the ones mentioned above.

[Jaguu]

I have used several brands/models over the years: Zyxel, Siemens, Netgear, Devolo and now Swisscom.

1. 1 pair ZyXEL PLA-401 V3 Powerline, 200Mbps Homeplug Adapter in a private flat, no problem ever reported for the last two years
   Advantage or disadvantage: you do not plug them right into the wall, they have a separate power cord.

2. 1 pair Siemens 200Mbps in a private flat, have been working for 3 years, were recently replaced by Wlan because they all replaced their desktop pc's with notebooks and wanted more flexibility.

3. 1 pair of Devolo dLAN 200 AVplus, HomePlug Network Kit bis 200Mbps + dLAN 200 AV Wireless G Router / 4-port Switch in the home of one of my sisters. The kids were complaining that Wlan for gaming was unreliable, so I replaced the whole network with Dlan.

4. 2 pairs of Devolo dLAN 200 AVplus, HomePlug Network Kit bis 200Mbps for 4 PC's + dLAN 200 AV Wireless G Router / 4-port Switch on the second floor of an office. The house was built in 1950, but that was not a problem. Works very well, but one device broke after 2 years and needed to be replaced.

5. 1 pair Netgear XAVB2001, 200Mbps, ECO,  in the home of a friend, have been working for the last 2 years.

6. 1 pair Swisscom brand (Swiss telephone company) 200 Mb/s (probably Siemens) installed yesterday in the home of my other sister. This brand has a fixed encryption key that cannot be changed. All other brands you can change the encryption key by pushing a button for 1 to 10 seconds. They have the router on the ground floor and want to connect a Digital TV set on the first floor.

They all work pretty well, but I have to say that none of these users (except the kids) are power-users and don't care for maximum speed and they do not stream. Personally I do not use them as my home office has been cabled long ago. None of the different brands ever made any problems except 1 Devolo device that broke. And it's really easy. Set-up time 5-10 minutes.

If you add a 3rd or 4th device you can transfer the encryption key to the new ones by pushing the button for one second on one of the existing adapters, then go the new ones and push the button there for one second within 1 minute.

If you buy new ones, get the newest generation with 500Mbps speed. Hope this helps.

 

[JimH]

Nice post, Jaguu.  Thank you.

Homeplug is the standard protocol, correct?

[JustinChase]

Thank you both for the specifics.  It sounds like the 500mb versions now should have plenty of bandwith for streaming HD video, which is my main goal with it.  So, $85 for one of the 'kits' Jim recommended, and about $65 for other 'termination' plugs for more machines.  About the same price as having cable run, but MUCH easier.  (especially when my attic temps are likely to be well above 140* in this heat!!)

Do these devices need to be managed apart from the rest of my network (with their utility/program), or can I see these devices with my current router, just like they were directly wired?

Can I see/use/stream to/from them in MC without any "hoop-jumping"?

They have the router on the ground floor and want to connect a Digital TV set on the first floor.

hehe, I love the "weird" things about foreign countries!!

For us, the ground floor and the first floor are the same floor   This really threw me off when I lived/traveled in Mexico and Central America!!

thanks again

[Jaguu]

Homeplug is the standard protocol, correct?

Well, not sure. According to Wikipedia it is a specification. There are various specifications like 1.0, AV, AV2 etc. AV and AV2 are compatible, but not to 1.0. Homeplug uses Ethernet as its layer-2 protocol. For more detail search for Homeplug in Wikipedia.

Do these devices need to be managed apart from the rest of my network (with their utility/program), or can I see these devices with my current router, just like they were directly wired?

No, they are not managed, just set and forget. You don't see them as separate network devices.

If you buy the dLAN 200 AV Wireless G Router / 4-port Switch, you get a utility to set-up the Wlan and it also lists the Mac-addresses of all the Homeplugs in the network. You can also set a new encryption key from there. This product is really nice, it combines 4-port switch, a Wlan and a Homeplug, so can you can add as many Homeplugs as you need on the network.  In the office we combine all three of them.

[JustinChase]

cool, thanks.

I guess the new Cisco/Linksys E3000 wireless N router is going on eBay soon.  it has a terrible signal, therefore no HD streaming anyway, and I can't connect from the garden to change the station with Gizmo, so pretty useless.

this sounds much easier, and a wireless G connection is fine for Gizmo

thanks again.

Now; off to figure out how to send the signal to this new connection/TV from MC/Gizmo without it having it's own PC using this connection, if possible

[lhwidget]

Hi Jim,
I hate to be a naysayer, but PowerLine networking adapters will only get you so far.  They will be great for audio, DVDs and high def TV, but they probably won't work for streaming Bluray rips.

The problem is the way Ethernet over PowerLine adapters and wireless N systems perform when streaming data.

Right now, Netgear's XAVB5001-100NAS PowerLine adapter set is one of the best performers on the market and is advertised as a 500 Mb/sec system.  Small file transfers & internet content probably move at over 300 Mb/sec rates, but the problem is large file transfer rates and streaming rates.  Under ideal conditions (on the same phase, or "leg" from the 220 V service entry in your home, 10 to 20' apart, and no noisy electronics plugged in near the units) the pair of adapters managed a consistant 60 Mb/sec throughput rate while streaming in tests.

The pair I am using in my apartment manage about 25 to 30 Mb/sec (testing with HOO Tech's Netmeter program).  This is fine for HDTV, DVDs and any kind of audio, but with full 7.1 channel hi-def sound, my Avatar Bluray rip will not play across my PowerLine connection without severe stuttering.  Across my wired ethernet connection, my Avatar rip averages 35 Mb of data per second with peaks over 50 Mb/sec.

The Netgear PowerLine adapters are a definite step up from the wireless N bridges I was using, and I like them, they are crazy simple to use.  They just can't quite handle Bluray yet.

The best information I've found on PowerLine adapters and wireless N adapters & bridges is at SmallNetBuilder.com.

[BartMan01]

Hi Jim,
I hate to be a naysayer, but PowerLine networking adapters will only get you so far.  They will be great for audio, DVDs and high def TV, but they probably won't work for streaming Bluray rips.

I second this (with the caveat that I never gave powerline 500 a shot).  Wireless and Powerline 200 could not provide high bitrate 1080p streams and even had problems streaming HDTV.  I got a pair of MoCA (Ethernet over COAX) adapters for $100 and they have been rock solid for everything I've thrown at them.  Everything I tried could handle 720p content or 1080p streaming HD from online (at the lower streaming bitrates).

[lhwidget]

To those with questions about implementing PowerLine adapters:
The newest PowerLine systems (esp the Netgear XAVB5001-100NAS) are a definite step up from the older ones, and an improvement over wireless N systems.  They provide better steady-state streaming performance, not just higher throughput, but fewer short drops in throughput (almost none) common with wireless N systems. 

Also, for the Audio only users, anything will work well, including wireless G set-ups.

1) They are totally transparent to the ethernet network, just plug the ethernet cables into the adapters, plug the adapters in and you are done.  (If you are in a dormitory, or any other shared electricity supply situation, there is a way to enable a crude encryption system, just read the instructions.)
2) My Netgear XAVB5001-100NAS adapters were very sensitive to the AC circuit's phase.  I plugged one in upside down, and got about 5 Mb/sec.  Plugged it right side up and got 25-30 Mb/sec.
3) For best performance, both Netgear and the SmallNetBuilder.com tester recommend plugging them directly into the wall outlets, never plug them into surge protectors or a UPS.

Jim,
If you need more throughput than you are getting, you might want to try your 500 Mb/sec adapters with the older adapters temporarily removed from the house wiring.  The tests I've seen show a 20% to 50% reduction in throughput with both types operating simultaneously.

BartMan,
Where did you find the MoCA system?  I looked but couldn't find any currently available.

[BartMan01]

BartMan,
Where did you find the MoCA system?  I looked but couldn't find any currently available.

This is the one I picked up:
http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-MCAB1001-Coax-Ethernet-Adapter-Black/dp/B001N85NMI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313806286&sr=8-1

The newer spec ones aren't out yet but promise 400MB at their 'slow' end.  Powerline is more flexible if the new 500 spec models can handle sustained 1080p high bitrate.  MoCA requires a COAX run.  Since switching to my CETON based TV solution the COAX to that TV was no longer being used so I hijacked it for a dedicated MoCA run. 

[lhwidget]

While PowerLine is extremely convenient, the real steady state throughput will vary from a low of 16 Mb/sec under tough conditions to a best of 60 Mb/sec under trivial transport distances (like outlets in the same room, 10' to 20' apart, on the same breaker).

The reliability for typical/avg 30 Mb/sec Bluray streaming just isn't there yet.  

MoCA sounds pretty good.  How does it fare when the cable is carrying TV & internet signals along with Ethernet traffic?