Network connection for multiple HT devices/router question

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timmmay

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#70541 26-Oct-2010 13:34

I just got myself a PS3 and a Samsung plasma, both of them have network/internet functions, but only the PS3 has wireless built in. I can't easily get a wired connection to my lounge, it would involve much drilling that I don't really want to do. I want to stream movies to the TV from my PC, via the PS3, but i'm not even sure what i'd use an internet connection on the TV for.

I haven't gotten everything set up yet, and I won't until Thursday as the lounge is having work done, but i've read the PS3 wireless can stutter at times. When the PS3 was in my office (beside my router) streaming standard def stuff worked perfectly.

Would it make sense to get something like a Linksys WRT54GL (I have one already), install DD-WRT, put it into repeater mode, and plug both the PS3 and TV into the wired connections? If signal strength was too low I could always get a better antenna, though it should be low to moderate as it is.

This might also make things easier for the PS3, as I assume that the 54GL's dual antennas and dedicated circuits will probably make it a better receiver than the PS3.

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#395803 26-Oct-2010 14:48

Not really going to be any better, the antennas on the linksys are just a short piece of wire in a large plastic case so that they look more powerful than the router on the shelf beside it. Will mean you can lift it up higher than you would be prepared to have the PS3 so get better reception.

Streaming over wifi is never perfect IME, even on 150 meg N gear there are times when thruput drops to the point that things stutter, thats playing low res 350 meg divxs on both an old xbox, a new xbox and one of those cheap chinese media player boxes.

Wired fine in all cases. If you have minimal 2.4GHz operating near you, then you should be fine. I think one of my neighbours is permanantly cooking with a rusty microwave or something here.

Richard rich.ms

NzBeagle

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#395825 26-Oct-2010 15:10

For Streaming, I had no luck on 2.4, however the xbox wifi adapter supports A band, so i didnt even need to upgrade to the new n adapter. So if you are willing to pay a little more, a 5ghz setup will stream perfectly. I'm talking 720p mkv's without stuttering over A band.

timmmay

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#395854 26-Oct-2010 15:55

How about power line networking? This setup says it gets 85Mbps, even half that should be enough for 720p or even 1080p, and is more than most wireless setups will get in practice. Add a cheap switch (how's that Level One switch, or this TP-link?) and that would give me a nice, reasonably cheap wired network to my TV and PS3.

I think i'm going to have a bit of a rats nest behind the TV though, with PS3, PS2 (for old games), 5.1 system, tv, sub, cable modem, cable box, and rather a few power outlets.

richms

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#395868 26-Oct-2010 16:10

There are ones from netgear that have 4 ports on them. I have seen blueray rips have 80+ megabit peaks on the lan when playing, no idea if buffering would allow it to work at lower speeds or if you would get glitching. Even tho the video bitrate is lower the network traffic seemed to be bursty so its quite likly it would play ok with a buffer.

I have had problems with powerline networking here, but I have a crapload of cheap energy saving lights, cheap power adapters, cheap LED drivers, cheap halogen transformers etc all connected so there is heaps of capacitance on the line and probably heaps of noise as well.

Richard rich.ms

timmmay

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#395890 26-Oct-2010 16:36

Honestly if it hits 80mbps I wouldn't be surprised if the network can't keep up, and i'll be ok with that. I doubt i'll be playing anything near that bandwidth, if I do it'll probably be from the blu ray player in the PS3, so no network would be involved.

The only time it might hit that bandwidth would be if the PS3 media server decides to upscale to 1080p. I can probably force it to 720p if required. I'm not going to be hugely critical, so long as it works pretty good.

The Netgear switch is $50 compared with $30 for those ones, but if it's worth it i'll get it. It's such a cheap commodity now, I remember when 10Mbps hubs were quite expensive. It's a trivial cost compared with the rest of the stuff in the home entertainment system.

richms

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#395913 26-Oct-2010 17:06

No, netgear do a 4 port powerline adapter where the switch is built into the device - the XAV1004 - they also had a 4 ported wall wart one that I saw at a friends clients place, but it was a US plugged one so probably not sold at retail in NZ.

Richard rich.ms

timmmay

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#395929 26-Oct-2010 17:40

Awesome, that sounds perfect! It's 200Mbps as well so it could probably stream 1080p no worries. Thanks for your help, that solves all the problems :)

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NzBeagle

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#395931 26-Oct-2010 17:52

Post how it goes! Curious to know

timmmay

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#395933 26-Oct-2010 18:07

Will do, give me a week or so :)

Dunnersfella

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#395953 26-Oct-2010 18:58

Has anyone tried one of the Belkin options?
The 'potential' speed interests me, especially as I'd be able to connect a media server to the network in the lounge...

http://www.belkin.com/au/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=515700

timmmay

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#397078 28-Oct-2010 22:52

The Netgear home powerline router works quite well :) When the transmitter and receiver are close together I get at least 15Mbps, but I only tested with speedtest.net so i'm not sure how fast it is.

When it's at the other end of my house with the AV equipment on I get 5-6Mbps, not near enough for 1080p streaming, but fine for general use. When I turn the plasma TV off I get more like 12+Mbps. This makes me think the plasma TV is polluting the power lines with some kind of feedback.

Is there some way I can filter the power of the plasma, so my home power line networking goes faster? Perhaps something like this?

richms

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#397096 28-Oct-2010 23:23

Before you try an overpriced filter like that, get an old isolation transformer like you use for power tools and see if that helps, those block most noise which is why audiophools with crappy unfiltered amps will get them to try to help with problems.

Worst offenders for noise I found were cheap chinese power supplies that would never get any approvals anywhere in the world, a counterfeit HP charger would actually make them stop totally, and the small plug to USB ones have a massive effect on the data rate.

Richard rich.ms

timmmay

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#397103 28-Oct-2010 23:41

I have an isolating transformer, I'll try it, thanks :)

timmmay

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#397932 31-Oct-2010 00:41

The isolating transformer made no difference. The powerline utility tells me it gets 60Mbps when the plasma TV's off, or about 12Mbps when it's on. I get 6-12MBPS, depending on where I put the transmitter, receiver, and what else is turned on.

It's enough for 720p video, which is all I really need, but it'd be nice if it could play higher def material from the PC. I have no good reason to want it faster... I just want it to!

richms

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#397935 31-Oct-2010 00:51

Could be radiation from the screen drive electronics direclty coupling with the mains wiring then. Is the power cabling in the wall right behind the screen? they can put out quite substantial fields, above audible so its not really noticable like GSM/DECT/WIFI interfering with audio equipment.

Richard rich.ms

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