Powerline HD ethernet adapters (do work!)

[FloatingDuck]

I recently purchased a pair of Netgear powerline HD ethernet adapters, and after some "fiddling" have made them work well with Vudu. Work well means I point and click on a movie and watch it to the end w/o a problem.

My main home is cable modem and Time Warner basic cable service. I usually get over 4.5Mps without any other load on the router. My router is a Netgear FWP114P.

I purchased the Netgear HDXB101-100NAS from Amazon. The "B" means it is the kit - with two adapters - you need at least two. One to connect to the router, the other in the room with the equipment (Vudu) you want to connect.

Immediately after plugging in the system, it went "green" meaning that the link between the two adapters had been made. Seeming success! However, success was a bit fleeting. It took me three weeks to understand why my Vudu was NOT working!!! The Vudu system clearly showed green also. This means that my setup should have been working as advertised - movies when you want to see them; but no luck.

When I tested a ping flood to the Vudu system, I got a saw-tooth return, meaning that the system seemed to work for a few seconds and died-off. This is unlike pinging a working computer - the computer returns in a flat response (or should)..... turns out I had an obscure problem... the "router", yes, the router was on a "safe-powerstrip" so that equipment plugged into it was protected against power fluctuations. When I plugged the ROUTER in the same system as the two adapters, the system worked as advertised! A ping flood showed a flat-peak response, just like any other device. Success!!

So, the lesson for me was - plug the router and the adapter into the same circuit - neither on a powerstrip.

Vudu is working fine now. (so far)

FD

[RonV]

Re: Powerline HD ethernet adapters (do work!)

Great that you got it to work. A couple of point on the power-line Ethernet adapters including the one that you pointed out:

• The same circuit provides the best performance
• Keep the adapters on the same leg of your service box (most home AC service has two legs of power)
• Do not plug into power strips or surge suppressors
• Use circuits that don't have minimal power bricks or electric motors.
• Use the newer "Media" adapters for best streaming performance

[Taveanator]

Re: Powerline HD ethernet adapters (do work!)

• Use the newer "Media" adapters for best streaming performance

For those of you that are interested I bought some ZyXEL 200 MBps powerline adapters and they get the job done - I'm getting about 5-6 MBps out of a max 7MBps internet connection. Allows me to have instant HD viewing.

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16833181058

and yes, I paid too much for them - though I gotta imagine they will drop in price over time, just like the 14MBps adapters did.

-T

[HeadHodge]

Re: Powerline HD ethernet adapters (do work!)

Great that you got it to work. A couple of point on the power-line Ethernet adapters including the one that you pointed out:

• The same circuit provides the best performance
• Keep the adapters on the same leg of your service box (most home AC service has two legs of power)
• Do not plug into power strips or surge suppressors
• Use circuits that don't have minimal power bricks or electric motors.
• Use the newer "Media" adapters for best streaming performance

I tried power line adapters for a while in some of my non-wired rooms, but eventually switched to Sonos wireless adapters and have had really good luck with them. Their new Zone link box is more expensive than a power line, but not by a lot.