AVS › AVS Forum › Gaming & Content Streaming › Networking, Media Servers & Content Streaming › Wireless Router to support Media Streaming and Home Network?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Wireless Router to support Media Streaming and Home Network?

post #1 of 5
1/22/12 at 5:45am
Thread Starter 
I currently have a "G" wireless network that works great for streaming such things as Pandora to both TV and Blu Ray Player (both LG). However, even streaming SD is a little touchy. Would like to stream Amazon Streaming media and Hulu Plus.

I want to move to "N" but am a little confused by all of the dual-band, simultaneous band, etc. Most of the reviews out there are mixed on ever piece of hardware so very hard to get a feel for what the correct setup is. Here is what I have:

2 wireless G PCs
1 Wii
Blu Ray (can do N)
TV (can do N)
1 PC (can do N)
iMac (can do N)
iPhone
Galaxy S2
Kindle
Kindle Fire
Wired printer
3 wired PCs
(need at least 4 wired ports)

Obviously, these are not going all at the same time, and phones are low usage for texting, surfing web. Primary draws will be PC, Mac on N and TV.

Suggestions? Thanks in advance.

UPDATED: I guess I should describe my conditions. It is about a 2900 sq/ft home. Currently, the router sits above a bookcase in the office, and most wireless distances are inside of 30ft in most cases only through 1 wall or 1 floor. G has worked great for signal strength. Of course, the furthest link is the TV or Blu Ray at about 40 ft. I tried the Powerline route, and although I could get a signal, and at first looked strong, it would drop substantially and not work so gave up and returned.
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #2 of 5
1/22/12 at 6:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by raven70 View Post

I currently have a "G" wireless network that works great for streaming such things as Pandora to both TV and Blu Ray Player (both LG). However, even streaming SD is a little touchy. Would like to stream Amazon Streaming media and Hulu Plus.

I want to move to "N" but am a little confused by all of the dual-band, simultaneous band, etc. Most of the reviews out there are mixed on ever piece of hardware so very hard to get a feel for what the correct setup is. Here is what I have:

2 wireless G PCs
1 Wii
Blu Ray (can do N)
TV (can do N)
1 PC (can do N)
iMac (can do N)
iPhone
Galaxy S2
Kindle
Kindle Fire
Wired printer
3 wired PCs
(need at least 4 wired ports)

Obviously, these are not going all at the same time, and phones are low usage for texting, surfing web. Primary draws will be PC, Mac on N and TV.

Suggestions? Thanks in advance.

UPDATED: I guess I should describe my conditions. It is about a 2900 sq/ft home. Currently, the router sits above a bookcase in the office, and most wireless distances are inside of 30ft in most cases only through 1 wall or 1 floor. G has worked great for signal strength. Of course, the furthest link is the TV or Blu Ray at about 40 ft. I tried the Powerline route, and although I could get a signal, and at first looked strong, it would drop substantially and not work so gave up and returned.

I would highly recommend running a hard wire(s) even if it's a 'chore' - it's usually not impossible, which was the case for me - I made it a weekend projest to run a couple hard wires and have been happily streaming many Tbs of BD content since

If it really is impossible, you should try one of the N450mbps routers, since you mention your BD content - get a model that offers simultanious 2.4 & 5 GHz and of course you should use a N450 adapter (which are less available than the routers)
Brand name probably won't matter - you'll just have to try one, since each network scenario/environment is different - and if a particular model doesn't 'do it' for you - I would suggest trying a different brand/model before giving up
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 5
1/22/12 at 7:07am
Thread Starter 
Hardwire is impossible. 2005 Energy Star home built under very strict local codes. Brick outside, and would be very difficult to even run outside of home and back in. So, I guess my question is for the G devices with the N can I run both at same time? Sorry for my ignorance.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 5
1/22/12 at 1:31pm
Any N router will also support G devices, so you don't need to worry about that.

I have a D-Link 655 that I have been very happy with for a few years. It's fast, never drops connections, and never needs to be rebooted. It was a welcome relief from a series of Linksys and Netgear units I had that all seemed to have one achilles heel or other. The 655 is plenty fast for streaming Netflix at Netflix's "HD" speed. I would suppose that there are more modern units out on the market now but in my opinion speed is only half the deal. The reliability of connections and router uptime are equally important to me.

One thing to be aware of is that the quality control for wireless routers is generally pretty crappy. I have a good friend who installs wireless networks for a living and he says that in his experience at least 25% of units of a given model do not perform up to specifications and that you should return units until you get one that is reliable.

You might want to look into powerline networking as well. It has reached prime time and it works really well for a lot of people, myself included. It connects all my network gear which is in the basement with my TV equipment in the den, and also connects another wireless access point up on the second floor which serves all the bedrooms with a better signal.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 5
1/23/12 at 7:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by raven70 View Post

Hardwire is impossible. 2005 Energy Star home built under very strict local codes.

Because you're the only person to ever have a house built in the last decade?

It's not impossible, it probably wouldn't even cost $100 in materials, and it is the best bet for being happy with streaming local content about the house.

If you post schematics of your house floorplan and some pictures of where things are located, I'm sure people here can give you meaningful feedback on possible wiring solutions.

-Suntan
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › Gaming & Content Streaming › Networking, Media Servers & Content Streaming › Wireless Router to support Media Streaming and Home Network?