I have several 12 - 15 GB mkv files that I’m storing on a share on my 10/100 network that I would like to stream to my WD TV LIVE Streaming in another room. I’ve tried a powerline adapter… The WD Livewire 200 mbps/sec which doesn’t let these mkvs stream very well. Even 720p content shutters usually. In this setup I get a 3.2 mbps transfer rate to the SMP if I connect a USB hdd to it. I have the SMP in a spot where I have a really weak wifi signal. It’s actually hidden under my dresser which I’m sure isn’t helping any. I’d consider putting it on my dresser if there’s a chance, but at this point, it’s so terrible I’m not sure what to do. My router currently is a $39.99 Netgear N 150 that isn’t meant for media streaming obviously but I figured it would be the only activity going on as it’s just me and my wife. Theoretically the speeds should be fine. I’m thinking about getting a new higher quality router meant more for what I’m trying to do. I am also hoping it will reach further and provide a stronger signal. It’s only about 40 feet from my router. One of the possible problems that I’m not sure I can overcome is my very crowded wifi area. I’m in Brooklyn NYC and can see 23 networks via my Windows 7 box. Who knows how many more might not be broadcasting their ssid. In it’s current spot when transfering to the device I can only get 700 KB/sec transfer rates, which is absolutely terrible. I noticed if I put the device right next to the router just for testing I’m getting 8.75 mpbs transfer rates. Do you think a new router would be a good idea or should I go for a faster powerline adapter? hmmm
I have two SMP’s and stream 720p & 1080p no problem. theres a catch for me though, I can’t stream 1080p on both SMP’s at the same time.
One will play perfectly while the other stutters with no sound, but I only did this as a test (I don’t normally use both at the same time)
My wireless router (E4200) is in the office at the front of the house and each SMP is 20 to 25 feet away.
I use a WDLive Duo NAS to stream to my SMP’s, latop & desktop but mostly to the SMP’s
Thats about it and I haven’t set anything else up or tweaked it to any special settings everything is factory default.
I have a few neighbor networks in my court but none that have over 1 bar in my house so they don’t do anything to my network.
It’s possible you just need a range booster but it may not make a difference if you router doesn’t handle wifi well.
A new router would probably work better but would be more costly.
I was looking at the E4200 and I wonder if that would work well in my busy wifi area. I’m not sure how much having a lot of wifi in an area really effects the quality of any given network. Do you ever see any issues when streaming to your WD TV LIVE Streaming box? Is your nas plugged directly into the router or one of the SMPs? In my case, It’s plugged into one of the SMPs since my router is pretty cheap…
well if there’s a lot of other networks you could be using the same channel and that could mess with your wifi.
my NAS is blugged directly into my router through ethernet.
yep I’ve watched many movies inlcuding 1080p and have never had any problems, the only time I did was when I ran the test I listed in my previous post.
I’ve had my E4200 since day one and am pretty happy with it. theres a E4200v2 out now that differs a bit.
but as I frequent that forum to it has it share of problems with FW (more than the SMP) but weirdly again I never had any problems with it.
I need to look into the e4200 and the e4200v2. I’m not totally clear if I need the v2 to get the best performance for my needs. Watching a movie that I know steams fine in my bedroom on my computer and checking Task Manager, I see a certain level… when i watch a movie that I know causes problems, it’s only 10-20% higher in it’s network usage. I’m pretty close, but I’d hate to waste my time and money any more that I already have. I guess I could always return the e4200 to Best Buy if it didn’t work out. The v2 would be a bit more complicated since it would come from Amazon. Errrr… I wish I owned the place I could just have some cat5/6 installed and be done with it.
