Powerline Adapters vs WiFi

[smills]

Let's face it WiFi is just too slow to stream HD content. So another "wireless" option is Powerline Adapters.

How well do these work ?

What is the recommended Type (85MB or 200MB) ?

Can anyone tabulate some speed comparisons between 85MB Powerline, 200MB powerline and wifi for SD, HD(720p) and HD (1080p).

Curious to see what the "actual" average performance is between these technologies. (not the published numbers with are a theoretical max)

[Phosgene]

200MBits is the only way to go. Unfortunately you will need to try them out to see how good you get.
For example, I have weird wiring in my house so that if the ring mains trips, I lose all power to all wall sockets except for one in my office which continues to work. I have *no* idea where that one connects through to but the PowerLine performance is different if I choose that socket compared to the one 5 foot away. Also, other items which are plugged in effect the speed as if you have an old, noisy microwave, you can get a heck of a lot of ripple on the line and that can interfere with the connection speed.


If you want to pay my postage, I could loan you my Netgear PowerLine HDX101's to try it out with your wires...

[smills]

200MBits is the only way to go. Unfortunately you will need to try them out to see how good you get.
For example, I have weird wiring in my house so that if the ring mains trips, I lose all power to all wall sockets except for one in my office which continues to work. I have *no* idea where that one connects through to but the PowerLine performance is different if I choose that socket compared to the one 5 foot away. Also, other items which are plugged in effect the speed as if you have an old, noisy microwave, you can get a heck of a lot of ripple on the line and that can interfere with the connection speed.


If you want to pay my postage, I could loan you my Netgear PowerLine HDX101's to try it out with your wires...

So how many Powerline Adapters do you need ? 1 for Media Player, 1 for router and 1 for PC ? I appreciate you being willing to post the HDX101s. Where do you live (country ? )

[Kat-CeDe]

Hi,
I just had a bad experience with power line. I try to stream SD IPTV and wlan 54MBit is to slow. Only around 2-3% are getting through to the client. I decided to give devolo dlan200 a change. Guess what also to slow for SD.

DLAN has almost the same problems as WLAN. If the wiring in your house is not perfect you get lousy bitrates. Before you buy dlan make sure that you can return it in case of problems. I might work but nobody guaranties it.

Ralf

[smills]

It seems each technology seems to have its good and bad. The problem seems to be that it costs $100s to improve the network, but yu are at risk with any not directly wired solution.

Any experiences with 5Ghz Wireless ?

Would be nice to see "actual" data on 5 Ghz vs WiFi vs Powerline (and I don't mean comparing specs- I mean comparing playingnthe same movie etc)

[Phosgene]

Sorry for the delay. I am in the UK. If that isn't local for you, I'd suggest that you try somewhere with a generous returns policy and try it out (in good faith) but be able to get a refund if it doesn't work in your building.
You need two adapters. One for the main network and one for the remote part. If you were insane, you could have a router connected to one and a hub connected to another in a different part of the house. Then all would be connected but there would be a slow link across the HDX101's. I have my TViX connected downstairs and the main network upstairs so there is only a single item on the far end off the PowerLine network.

[smills]

I've been looking around and have found 2xAV (200Mbps) for about $80 with 30 days returns - no restocking. I think I'm going to pick up a set.

Thanks for the offer though.