Powerline HELP!

[b1ack1otus]

hey guys,

I am asking for your opinion if anyone have used powerline before. First off, I don't know what brand to get. There seems to be Trendnet, DLink and WD.

Trendnet TPL-303E2K 200MBPS Powerline AV Fast Ethernet Adapter Kit - TRENDnet - TPL-303E2K

Western Digital WDTV Livewire Powerline Networking Kit With Two 4PORT Homeplug AV Adapters - Western Digital WD Retail - WDBABY0000NBK-NESN

D-Link Powerline AV 200 1-Port Network Adapter (DHP-306AV) : Powerline - Best Buy Canada

they are all 200mbps powerline adapter. Personally I've never bought Trendnet products and dont know how reliable they are, but DLink I have had some experience with their router products, but not powerline, and WD, i thought they just made hard drives.

so what do i need to look for when buying powerlines?

[belgolas]

I have the trendnet powerline. I highly recommend getting the 500mbps as they are significantly faster. Remember that 200mbps is the maximum and in reality will be slower. Depending on distance it can be much slower.

The only problem I have had is once every few months I have to unplug an adapter and plug it back in as for some reason it looses connection. Oh and that only happens on the downstairs one.

[Silent_Avenger]

One of my friends has a trendnet adapter and he says it works great. Like belgolas said try and get higher mbps especially if you're streaming HD content or will have a lot of devices using the powerline ethernet.

Here's a good how to by Linus.

How to Use Powerline Networking in Multiple Rooms Featuring Linksys NCIX Tech Tips - YouTube

[jtktam]

Originally Posted by belgolas

I have the trendnet powerline. I highly recommend getting the 500mbps as they are significantly faster. Remember that 200mbps is the maximum and in reality will be slower. Depending on distance it can be much slower.

The only problem I have had is once every few months I have to unplug an adapter and plug it back in as for some reason it looses connection. Oh and that only happens on the downstairs one.

does the one you have advertise a "power saving" feature?

what i found with the ASUS and Dlink ones is, that they turn off when there is no network traffic.. and it looks like it's frozen

easy way to keep them on is to plug in a network switch or a computer that has "wake on lan" turned on.. to constant have traffic on the port

-joe

[stoanee]

I have the WD setup. No issues (once I found out my router went flakey . Replaced router & all is good)

[b1ack1otus]

thanks for the quick reply, i dont know if i want the 500 mbps because im only using it for some casual gaming for the better ping as well as some streaming tv shows.

actually, here is another question... when it says 200 mbps, lets say i was downloading some files off of torrents or some files directly... is the download rate going to cap at 200mbps? or what?

[ipaine]

This is the one I got:
Trendnet TPL-401E2K 500MBS Powerline AV Ethernet Adapter Kit - TRENDnet - TPL-401E2K

I would also suggest looking at this thread:
About Powerline


Now as for your question about downloading at 200mbps, you would only get that if your connection to the outside was that good. Well even if it was you would not get a full 200. I have yet to see a kit that will actually get the full amount it is rated for. You will see that according the utility that came with mine I get 288Mbps and in real world tests transferring data I only get about 125Mpbs. Still much faster than the wireless.

[shelfelf]

was origianally gonna go the powerline route, but then just bought a 50ft cat5e cable and now get crazy fast internet speeds, with just a minor eye sore. not to mention much cheaper too!

[headsh0t]

Originally Posted by shelfelf

was origianally gonna go the powerline route, but then just bought a 50ft cat5e cable and now get crazy fast internet speeds, with just a minor eye sore. not to mention much cheaper too!

Grats on 25 post count! I have to agree cable would be cheaper but there might be certain situations where you can't run cable, say in an apartment or other rented space.

[vect0r]

I've had both the WD and D-Link ones (200Mbit versions) and have honestly found them both to not really work that well. Even a single stream of 1080P content could cause it to stutter and buffer a few times through the movie. This is in a brand new building with new wiring, too.

I am going to pick up the 500Mbit version soon though. Everyone seems to have better luck with them.