HD-200 and ethernet over powerline

[dead_ferrets]

Hey folks,

For anyone struggling with the HD-200 and wireless you might want to consider giving ethernet over powerline a try.

I'm using the Linksys PLTE-200s to stream from my server in the basement to a bedroom in the third story of my house. HD cable TV served up from my HD-PVR looks fantastic, in fact it looks like the TV is plugged directly into the cable box.

Be warned though that if your house has older wiring you may not get the necessary throughput for good HD streaming. The initial outlet I was using for the ethernet adapter uses older wiring and the HD streaming was very spotty. When I switched the adapter to an outlet with newer wiring I started getting 65-90 mbps throughput.

For me the HD-200 and ethernet over powerline has been a beautiful marriage so far.

[Taddeusz]

It's great that it works well for you but MOCA is a much better choice than ethernet over power. I tried it once and wasn't even getting 10MB. It was horrible. Power lines in your house just aren't meant to carry that kind of a signal. Coaxial cable on the other hand is and can.

[dead_ferrets]

Oh, I'd love to have used MoCA but there's no cable in the room.

For folks in my situation ethernet over powerline products using the 1.0 HomePlug specification are certainly a viable alternative worth exploring.

[Taddeusz]

I actually moved into a new house a month ago and ran CAT5e and a little CAT6 throughout. One drop was rather difficult but I managed to get it run. Next up is the speaker wire for the rear surrounds. I have a plan which should make this rather easier than the ethernet. Just waiting on the weather to get predictably cooler to go up into the attic again.

[cenwesi]

I discovered powerline about 6months ago and i love it.

[sbelge]

have looked at the powerline a couple of times - can it handle HD content ??
any security issues?

easy plug and play?

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by sbelge

have looked at the powerline a couple of times - can it handle HD content ??
any security issues?

easy plug and play?

If you're lucky it can. My luck with it was not very good. It ended up being magnitudes worse than the 802.11g wireless bridge I had been using. At that house I ended up stringing a CAT6 cable through the windows because nothing else was workable. MoCA wasn't as common then.

[dead_ferrets]

Originally Posted by sbelge

have looked at the powerline a couple of times - can it handle HD content ??
any security issues?

easy plug and play?

Like I said in my original post, I'm streaming HD cable and it looks beautiful. I can't speak for all powerline solutions but the Linksys stuff is dead easy. Certainly easier much easier to configure than wireless.

If your house has older wiring though you may run into trouble. If you go this route, buy it from a retailer that will allow you take it back if it doesn't work out, e.g., Bestbuy.

[fyodor]

Originally Posted by dead_ferrets

Like I said in my original post, I'm streaming HD cable and it looks beautiful. I can't speak for all powerline solutions but the Linksys stuff is dead easy. Certainly easier much easier to configure than wireless.

If your house has older wiring though you may run into trouble. If you go this route, buy it from a retailer that will allow you take it back if it doesn't work out, e.g., Bestbuy.

It's not even necessarily a question of new vs. old wiring. A lot of times, people have trouble because some of the improvements for newer electrical systems (better surge protection, isolation of different parts of your house, etc) actually hinder the powerline devices' ability to communicate.

[jarredduq]

Originally Posted by fyodor

It's not even necessarily a question of new vs. old wiring. A lot of times, people have trouble because some of the improvements for newer electrical systems (better surge protection, isolation of different parts of your house, etc) actually hinder the powerline devices' ability to communicate.

Powerline worked great for me.... Until I get on my treadmill. The ironic part is the room with the treadmill is where I needed connection. However, I was able to switch to MoCA, and have not looked back. In another room I'm using Netgear 5ghz Wireless-N bridges I picked up from Newegg for $49 a few months ago, and they work well too.

[wayner]

I have one part of my house where it would be expensive to run CAt6 so I tried powerline but had trouble getting bandwidth greater than about 15 mbps which is not enough as OTA HD uses 19 Mbps. I went to MOCA (Motorola NIM-100s) and have no problems - when I use a PC to do file transfers I get about 45 Mbps on my MOCA connection. If you have cable in the room where you want to put your HD-200s then I would highly recommend it.

[iammike]

I just bought an older house that was built on a slab and has limited attic space. Moca wasn't an option, but powerline ethernet is working well for me. I'm using 2 pair of these Netgear models:


http://www.staples.com/Netgear-Power...?cmArea=SEARCH

I've got extenders in my living room, master bedroom, and kitchen. They blow away the wireless N option. I can play blu-ray rips in the living room and off-air and Dish Network HD work fine everywhere else.

On a side note, I tried the Belkin Gigabit models prior to the Netgears and found the Netgear models to work much better even though they're only rated at 200MB.

[impro]

NETGEAR 200MBIT Main server
3 around 117mgbit clients
Works like a charm.
However my ceiling light in my bedroom has electrical problem and it is blinking.
When I switch it on the hd100 start stuttering.