HD300 802.11a 5GHz band wireless adapter?

[ToadMazter]

I'm certain this has probably been answered previously, but my searches came up empty. I have one of HD300's that needs to be moved and I don't feel like pulling a new Cat5 cable run. As my house is currently very well covered with 802.11 a/b/g/n, I'm certain WiFi will work fine for HD streaming (I previously had a couple Linksys DMA extenders via WiFi during my WMC days). However, I prefer to separate my media clients on the less congested 5GHz spectrum (.11a/n). Has anyone tested a dual band USB adapter yet? If so, what do you recommend?
Thanks!

[rtrski]

Sage is pretty particular about which "USB" adaptor will work, and I don't think it's dual band.

The other option would be something like an ethernet converter appliance (e.g. the Buffalo nFinity dual-band ethernet converter) which makes whatever it's connected to - via ethernet, not USB - think it's on a 'wired' link.

[Spectrum]

DLINK DWA-160 hardware rev B1 has been reported to work. No link handy at the moment. I tried tracking one down before Christmas and couldn't find one. Every one I found (including one from newegg) was HW Rev A2 which won't work due to different chipset. If you can locate one of those you may be set.

[ToadMazter]

Thanks for the responses. I probably have some leads on the Linksys (Cisco) units

Adam

[Slipshod]

It's a DLINK DWA-160, and I have one working fine on 5GHz. Had to drive 15 miles from work to find a store carrying one with the correct hardware rev though.

[Spectrum]

Ack it is a Dlink. Sorry for the confusion. I've edited the previous post to reflect.

[ToadMazter]

No worries on the brand mis-type, I should have caught it from the model number. I went ahead a got a current and a couple discontinued Cisco USB adapters on the way. I'll report back with the testing results soon.

[slimyosra]

Originally Posted by ToadMazter

No worries on the brand mis-type, I should have caught it from the model number. I went ahead a got a current and a couple discontinued Cisco USB adapters on the way. I'll report back with the testing results soon.

Any update so far ?

[GKusnick]

My understanding is that the HD300 firmware includes drivers for exactly one USB wireless adapter, which is (obviously) the one Sage recommends. So it seems unlikely any other adapter would work unless it's based on the same chip internally.

[ToadMazter]

Sorry I failed to report back earlier. The Cisco (http://homestore.cisco.com/en-us/Ada...VVviewprod.htm) USB AE1000 adapter didn't work. I haven't tried any others since.

[panteragstk]

You could always use an access point if you need to use the 5ghz band.

[willowpc]

I bought a Cisco Linksys WET610N Wireless-N Gaming and Video Adapter and it works great with the HD300 over my wireless network (driven by a Linksys WRT600N router). Much better reception than the Sage USB connector I tried first).

[ToadMazter]

Yes, I do have a few extra Cisco workgroup bridges and 1142 (802.11a/g/n) AP's lying around. Its for my youngest daughter's bedroom, and I just don't want to have another power brick to hide behind her dresser. I'll eventualy bite the bullet and get a compatible USB adapter... or just drop another CAT5 down that wall.

[stevech]

suggest you think hard about using MoCA or IP over power line, for HD.
MoCA provides interference-free, reliable 70Mbps. I use it.

[leagle]

I had a similar problem, but I decided to go in a slightly different direction. I use the Buffalo WLI-TX4-AG300N. It has performed flawlessly. And I have no problem streaming live HD tv and blu-ray movies.

[panteragstk]

I'm actually considering the powerline options. I've heard they have issues going between circuits. Anyone used those successfully?

[mechling-burgh]

I used the NETGEAR XAVB101-100NAS and had okay luck with them. Iwas able to stream HD to my old hd100 but it would not play HD Nation the stream would studder very badly. I also had to try a lot of different out lets to find a combination that worked well enough.

[SimeonPilgrim]

I recently installed and had grief with wifi, but am now very happy with the WD 200AV powerline system. Keys of WD verse Netgear devices. 100mb 4port switch as both end, and a flexible cord to the device. The latter is a double win, as it means I'll be able to use back in NZ when I return home, and I can plug into a socket with a small gap between book shelf's verse the size of the Netgear unit plugging directly into the wall. Now the netgear may get better performance due to the direct plug aspect, but I'm getting 45Mbps in my current setup. I was getting 55Mbps, but move the server in the house to get better OTA reception.

[will]

Originally Posted by Slipshod

It's a DLINK DWA-160, and I have one working fine on 5GHz. Had to drive 15 miles from work to find a store carrying one with the correct hardware rev though.

So you can confirm that the DWA-160 works with the HD300?

I'm in a situation where I am planning to use an HD300 outside my network and will only have WiFi available so I am looking for a minimal cable and very reliable (not the Sage) adapter. Any suggestions would be appreciated.