Anyone have their entire house networked with Powerline? - Page 2

I've had great success with Powerline adapters after trying wireless unsuccessfully (too inconsistent). Here's how I have my setup:

Upstairs - Linksys Powerline Adapter (PLK300) connected to my router. Besides the router, I also have my cable modem and HDHomerun QAM tuner located upstairs.

Downstairs(1) - Desktop PC that connected to the network using an older Linksys PLK200.

Downstairs (2) - Entertainment center connected to a Linksys PLS300 (4-port powerline adapter) that connects my HTPC, PS3, and NAS to the network.

For me, this setup works great. I get ~3.5 to 4.5 MB/s (as measured by Windows 7 file transfer) when moving files from my Desktop to HTPC or vice-versa. The HDHomerun easily streams 1080i content (Comcast) from upstairs to the HTPC. Although, I only have one of the QAM tuners connected, I haven't tried recording on both tuners simultaneously. I have recorded OK while playing online using the PS3 and downloading a file on the desktop.

I will admit that I have to be careful about saturating the network. I avoid copying a file between computers when I know the QAM tuner is streaming to the HTPC because I will get misses in the recording.

My house was built in 2001, so it's fairly current. However, powerline networking is really variable depending on construction. I might be kind of lucky because my adapters don't seem to care if that they're on different phases, if the clothes dryer is running, or anything. I literally just plugged them in and went. Obviously, I won't be streaming any uncompressed Blu-ray movies over it, but it works well for my needs.

Not really. Wire first floor through the basement.

Run a few wires into the attic next to HVAC ducts or pipes or vent stack, the holes are usually big enough to get fish tape through. Then drop the wires from the attic.

I wired the whole house this way.

That's assuming you have a basement (or crawlspace). If you're on a slab, the first floor is not as easy.

And its not easy if your second floor has vaulted ceilings and no attic. Then, you're going through walls or taking it outside.

Not throughout the house, but we do use powerline adapters in 3 spots where it we get a bad wireless signal due to old foil insulation on what use to be exterior walls. MoCa would be nice but cable isn't available in 2 of the 3 rooms. Would love to wire the house but two guys have told me that won't touch our house due to asbestos.

But overall I'm happy with the powlerline adapters. They aren't the fastest thing in the word but they are pretty dependable.

I've used 3 or 4 generations of it for about 5 years. Each generation gets better and faster. It's as reliable as hard wired Ethernet over Cat5.