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Netgear wireless bridge or TP Powerline adapters?

rja66
Rising Star
Posts: 403
Thanks: 1
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Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Netgear wireless bridge or TP Powerline adapters?

I have a Samsung smart TV upstairs that I would like to connect to the internet to be able to watch BBC iPlayer etc.
Although I would prefer to install a wired connection it is not really an option (missed an opportunity when redecorating last year) and I don't want to pay the high cost of the official Samsung dongle to get connected but I am happy to use a separate wireless device and connect via ethernet to the tv.
I am trying to decide between a Netgear WNCE2001 wireless bridge (great reviews and I like the idea of using power from the Tv's USB socket ) or one of the TP Powerline adapters (again good reviews but don't really fancy extra units plugged in all the time consuming energy). Im using the Technicolor TG582N router and wireless signal is pretty good upstairs.
If I go down the Powerline route I am unsure which model to go for, will the 200 Mbps be sufficient for streaming iPlayer or should I just opt for the 500 Mbps model?
I know they suggest not using them in mains trailing leads but one definately will be and probably the other as well unless I can change things around a bit. Will this effect the performance too much? Also the two Powerline adapters will be on different circuits (one upstairs, one downstairs) but both through the same Mccb consumer unit so i'm not sure if they will work at all using this set up. My other concern is that most of these seem to only use WEP security as well, not many use WPA2.
One more question, with either the Netgear or TP products, will not having them powered up all the time be a problem. I effectively want to turn on the power to the TV and whichever device and it connect seemlessly without having to re-connect the wireless by pressing WPS buttons etc.
If anyone has personal experience of using any of these products or indeed can recommend any alternatives I would appreciate any feedback good or bad !
5 REPLIES 5
jelv
Seasoned Hero
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Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Netgear wireless bridge or TP Powerline adapters?

I use these 200mbps. Assuming your connection is fast enough (e.g. 100mbps Fibre to the premises) and you connect the powerline to a Ethernet switch upstairs, the 200mbps powerlines should be fast enough to stream HD to five or more TVs simultaneously!
I've used mine across different ring mains and using a training extension lead.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
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VileReynard
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Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: Netgear wireless bridge or TP Powerline adapters?

I've got wireless (router) and 85Mb/s and 1000Mb/s powerline.
No powerline adaptor achieves anything like the claimed speed - even on brand new wires.
They are left permanently switched on.
I have a media database stored on a PC.
This feeds a switch over the 1000Mbs line
The switch feeds an ethernet switch over the 85Mbs line.
The ethernet switch feeds the TV.
Personally, I always download to disk and play it back from disk - streaming speeds seem to depend upon popularity.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

rja66
Rising Star
Posts: 403
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Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Netgear wireless bridge or TP Powerline adapters?

Quote from: jelv
Assuming your connection is fast enough (e.g. 100mbps Fibre to the premises)

Sadly I'm not on Fibre. I have briefly tried my Apple Tv wirelessly upstairs and watched a few trailers with no issues so I hope one of the options will be sufficient to watch iPlayer without buffering etc.
Still unsure which would be the best option....
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
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Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: Netgear wireless bridge or TP Powerline adapters?

Divide the powerline adapter speed by 10 - 50 to get a true figure.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
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Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: Netgear wireless bridge or TP Powerline adapters?

I have a Samsung TV a few years old.  I tried connecting it with a compatible USB wireless adaptor but I could not get it to remember the wireless settings when I switched off the TV so that was not very satisfactory.  I also tried with a Netgear wireless range extender using the Ethernet output, a WN3000RP I think, and that worked fine.