Since my router is such a big component of my wd tv live, I was hoping that you guys could recommend a couple models that I should check out. My current model is a wireless-N “draft”, so I think it’s time to get the real deal. I’ve read the reviews and suggestions but it seems as none of them were targetted specifically to our application of streaming movies over a home network.
The things I’ll be using the wireless router for are:
Streaming movies from my NAS, which is wired to the router
Mulitple laptops (3) connected over wifi, possibly streaming from one laptop to the other or to the WD TV Live,
Transferring large movie files to my NAS from laptops,
I’ll likely be hooking the WD TV Live to a powerline adapter connected to the router
I’ll be forwarding ports to IP cams to stream from within and outside of my home network.
It would also be great to be able to hook a USB portable drive to the router as an additional NAS so I can use it to backup my MyBookLive NAS.
The only things I know to look for is Gigabit ethernet and Wireless-N. I’m not sure on the dual-band and 450Mbps speeds on one or both bands and how much this would affect my application.
So far, I’ve looked at the Linksys E4200 model, which looks pretty good, kinda pricey but I do believe you get what you pay for in this type of stuff… And the E3200 model, but it only supports 300Mbps on each band compared to 450Mbps on the E4200.
On another thought, since I am mostly concerned with streaming from the NAS to the WD TV, maybe I should just invest in upgrading my powerline kit to a newer, faster model? I just don’t know…
I’m thinking maybe the powerline adapters from my router to my wd tv are the bottleneck in my streaming network. What do you guys think? My powerline adapters are the old ones from Netgear, I believe about 3 years old now.
As far as the routers, you may want to look at the Netgear N900. That’s the cream of the crop right now.
I used to have an E4200 (fine router), but I upraded my internet speed to 110 Mbps downstream and for some reason I could only hit 100 Mbps on my speed tests. I plugged in a friend’s new N900 and was able to get 115 Mbps on my download.
I immediately purchased an N900 to replace my E4200. Just for the record, before I bought the N900, I plugged in my old Cisco WRT610N and was able to get the 115 on the download, so maybe I had an issue with my E4200, but I had it too long to take back for RMA. Other than the download “issue” of not being able to get past 100 Mbps, it’s been a rock solid router as far as not losing connection…
However, with the new N900 I’m able to SIGNIFICANTLY obtain higher download speeds via Wi-fi vs the E4200.
Also, the N900 has 2 usb ports on the back instead of just the one USB port on the back of the E4200
That N900 has pretty good reviews… have you ever tried to setup a USB external harddrive on it? I’m planning on using this method to backup my WD my book live NAS as it is currently the only source of my movies and pictures other than my laptop… and my laptop is getting full, so something has to go!
Most any decent “modern” router will transfer data at 100mbps over ethernet wires. The problems arise over wireless networks. Unless you have rock solid signal strength near “excellent” you may have problems. I have a cat5 wired house, so every component is wired-in here, not wireless. But, my router is centrally located, so I also have excellent wireless signal strength and all works fine with it, too, and it is only a G-router. Anytime you can be wired vs. wireless, do it.
These kinds of devices can be spotty, too. A friend has the Linksys model, and depending upon which walls he plugs into, he get none, poor, or good bandwidth.
the average home routers are not really fast enough for what we do with them.
go with a router geared toward media playing or work.
netgear has several. the one I have has speeds capable up to 300mbps. (N300 under work and play routers) but there are now routers capable of up to 900mbps
mine actually has a setting in the setup for dedicating media content with the highest priority.
I am sure there are better routers, but I was just letting the guy know his router may be suitable.
Mine is, and it is a Linksys WRT54G almost 10 years old and still working fine as I have no problems in the wired network. It helpts to have faster bandwidth for internet stuff, so my modem is a newer DOCSIS 3 that enables me to get 30mbps from Comcast when I pay for 20-25mbps. Of course, the modem doesn’t help the home network from PC to WDTV.
That’s all good info… thanks to all of you! Mine actually seems to have settled down and is streaming pretty well for the moment but we’ll see how it does over time. I think the thing I would be most interested in is that WD powerline kit which is actually a pretty decent price compared to the other brands. All good stuff to keep in mind… thanks a lot!
I am sure there are better routers, but I was just letting the guy know his router may be suitable.
Mine is, and it is a Linksys WRT54G almost 10 years old and still working fine as I have no problems in the wired network. It helpts to have faster bandwidth for internet stuff, so my modem is a newer DOCSIS 3 that enables me to get 30mbps from Comcast when I pay for 20-25mbps. Of course, the modem doesn't help the home network from PC to WDTV
they all should handle a wired connection easy. it’s the wireless part is what slows them down.
