Wireless Bridging

[diamondd]

good idea?

Here's the situation, my brother has bought a smart tv which is wifi enabled and also has an ethernet port. The tv is downstairs and my billion 7800 is upstairs in my room and it ain't moving and there's no way we can run a cable directly to the tv.

I've heard mixed reviews about the manufacturer's wifi dongles that you have to use and I'd also like something a bit more versatile so I'm trying to assess some other options.

top of the list is bridging the network, I figure I can flash some firmware on a cheapish router to enable wireless bridging, stick it by the tv and then go direct with an ethernet cable. Additionally it might give my brother and I a better signal using our laptops downstairs (maybe).

the other option is powerlining but that sounds a bit more expensive than I'd like.

what do you think? Thanks

[AzzA82]

Completely depends on what you use it for.
You mention tv, so i am assuming here it may be used for streaming.
I tried that route and it was pretty dismal, tho i mostly play 720p and 1080p streams wifi just could not keep up especially in large quick action moments.
Anything less then that quality was perfectly fine tho.
Also the distance was 5 metres thru a brick wall tho.

Just check out and make sure the router you have / buy supports bridge or wifi extension, they call it different things same result.

I ended up drilling a hole thru the wall and running ethernet under the carpets lol

[diamondd]

Completely depends on what you use it for.
You mention tv, so i am assuming here it may be used for streaming.
I tried that route and it was pretty dismal, tho i mostly play 720p and 1080p streams wifi just could not keep up especially in large quick action moments.
Anything less then that quality was perfectly fine tho.
Also the distance was 5 metres thru a brick wall tho.

Just check out and make sure the router you have / buy supports bridge or wifi extension, they call it different things same result.

I ended up drilling a hole thru the wall and running ethernet under the carpets lol

ok, well I'm definitely a quality nazi so I may have to go the powerline route.

thanks for that, I was a little worried about how the wifi would hold up but yeah, its certainly for streaming some high-res video

[Long John]

the other option is powerlining but that sounds a bit more expensive than I'd like.

I havent used these scince the early 1mbs models and they may have improved by now, but the heat genetered of them was realy alarming.

And be aware that just because both routers suport WDS doesnt mean that the will play nice together. Id reasch and ask around on Whirpool and the likes before picking a model.

[tryonthis]

I used powerline (power over ethernet?) adapters for a year or so. They worked a charm. They do generate quiet a bit of heat but nothing to be seriously alarmed about though.

One major issue I had (and I'm sure others have encountered) is that they're dependent on how your house/apartment/etc is wired. Excuse the layman's description, but if they're not on the same "line", they won't work (i.e. the power outlet your computer is plugged into AND the outlet from where the modem/router is plugged into have to be on the same electrical line). Again, hopefully someone else can properly describe what I'm attempting to ^^. Or, suss out Whirlpool

[diamondd]

I used powerline (power over ethernet?) adapters for a year or so. They worked a charm. They do generate quiet a bit of heat but nothing to be seriously alarmed about though.

One major issue I had (and I'm sure others have encountered) is that they're dependent on how your house/apartment/etc is wired. Excuse the layman's description, but if they're not on the same "line", they won't work (i.e. the power outlet your computer is plugged into AND the outlet from where the modem/router is plugged into have to be on the same electrical line). Again, hopefully someone else can properly describe what I'm attempting to ^^. Or, suss out Whirlpool

I get what you mean, as in both power points need to be on the same circuit breaker?

well I'll look into the powerline situation a little more, the main goal is to stream media from my computer to the TV and that will include 1080p video so if wireless n is going to be choppy anyway I won't worry about it.

I might do some tests with my laptop to see how well that can stream content downstairs, might keep the wireless hopes alive.

^ P.S. nobody's come to hook my internet up yet either...

[AzzA82]

I forgot one thing i was using 802.11g when i tried

I didn't have a receiver in the lounge room with 802.11n even tho my router is

So i cant say if a 802.11n network would handle high bitrate steaming

[diamondd]

I forgot one thing i was using 802.11g when i tried

I didn't have a receiver in the lounge room with 802.11n even tho my router is

So i cant say if a 802.11n network would handle high bitrate steaming

ah ok, thanks. Well I'll definitely do some 802.11n streaming on my laptop and see how that copes first then.

[mpeyper]

I'm currently using wireless n bridges to stream media off my pc to my ps3s.

I have 2 set up, one going to bedroom, one to lounge with the router in my study.

I can stream SD video to both areas at once, 720p to one and SD to another, or 1080p to just one with no stuttering.

The only negative is that occasionally the bridge drops its connection to the main router and doesn't reconnect without a restart. only takes about 20 secs but I usually don't realize until I am comfortable on the couch or in bed and have to get up to fix it ><

Note: there is only 1 plasterboard wall between the router and either bridge with the longest distance being around 8 meters.

My main router is the Billion 7800n and I picked up some cheep Linksys routers and flashed them with dd-wrt to do the bridging.

If I could do it again, I would go for a powerline setup. When I did all this, EoP was still relatively new and was much more expensive than bridging (even more so than now).

[Otto-matic]

Tried direct transcoding streaming to my PS3 with PS3MediaServer and TVersity over 802.11n. Anything 720p and over was pretty woeful, connection was about 2 metres with a single brick wall in between.

Are you sure your bedroom couldn't be improved with a hole in the floor?

[diamondd]

I'm currently using wireless n bridges to stream media off my pc to my ps3s.

I have 2 set up, one going to bedroom, one to lounge with the router in my study.

I can stream SD video to both areas at once, 720p to one and SD to another, or 1080p to just one with no stuttering.

The only negative is that occasionally the bridge drops its connection to the main router and doesn't reconnect without a restart. only takes about 20 secs but I usually don't realize until I am comfortable on the couch or in bed and have to get up to fix it ><

Note: there is only 1 plasterboard wall between the router and either bridge with the longest distance being around 8 meters.

My main router is the Billion 7800n and I picked up some cheep Linksys routers and flashed them with dd-wrt to do the bridging.

If I could do it again, I would go for a powerline setup. When I did all this, EoP was still relatively new and was much more expensive than bridging (even more so than now).

hmm, thanks. More good info to take into consideration...

I'll still wait and see how my laptop goes, I'd say the card in that isn't going to work as well as a linksys router with an antenna. At least I'd assume not, so if that goes OK I might go ahead with the bridging anyway.

Don't really like the idea of having powerline adaptors running hot 24/7 although I'm sure realistically it would be fine.