Belkin Powerline AV Network Adapters

Neat. I'll wait for the prices to come down though, still a bit too steep imo. But if a kit like this hovered in the $50 range I'd happily pick one up.

I had my Xbox attempting to run a media center extension via 802.11g and it couldn't even cope with SD signals, plugged this kit in (which just works btw - refreshing that there is no fiddling around to get it functional) and was instantly able to play hd media across the connection, no trouble at all, not only that but I am now also able to host 8 player games of Forza with friends and they have very stable connectivity to me. Sure it doesn't beat my cat5 to my main PC's (2 gaming rigs and a HTPC), but it makes anything other than the new 'n' standard wireless networking look absolutely appalling, my only small issue with them is that the first batch that arrived developed a fault within a couple of days.

at 30quid i'd pick up a pair

We have been using this setup(not Belkin) in our house for almost a year because one computer is out of wifi range. They are a generic provided by the ISP for 30 USD a piece. The box claims 85 MB/s, and that's probably a complete lie, but it has been plenty fast for browsing, and 100 percent reliable to the other end of the house. It's a great technology for this sort of thing. It would be nice if the price would come down a bit more though.

anyone have a good link to how this stuff works?

Does this also extend your network to the outside world over the power cables?

Originally Posted by Glider
Does this also extend your network to the outside world over the power cables?

Nope, attenuation gives the signal a maximum range, your neighbours will be lucky to even see it, let alone connect.

Wikipedia knows all.

The maximum range could be closer then you imagine, think about apartments... I don't like the feeling of giving physical access to my network to my neighbours...

simple router mac address filtering would take care of that though.

I do like this idea, even if it's to allow the optimum positioning of a wireless router. I see this tech being very useful in a few years once it has matured and improved a little more. Have most pc's connecting through the power lines, then have a wireless router for laptops, iphones etc.

Good review BT, nice to see the tech has improved :)

'm/s' is a unit of speed (metres per second), but I seriously doubt that the power-line transmission was that slow (24 metres per second).

'ms' is the prefix I believe you were looking for - milliseconds.

I use a kit similar like this from Devolo. It's got a config utility which let's you set a password, so no one lese will be able to connect to it, and they also have a model which will give you wireless access.

Great stuff

Originally Posted by Glider
The maximum range could be closer then you imagine, think about apartments... I don't like the feeling of giving physical access to my network to my neighbours...

Similar devices on the market all give an on-the-fly encryption option which according to reviews doesn't slow them down much.

But as it's you, the Linux fan,

Originally Posted by Wikipedia
However, some manufacturers only supply the password-setup software in a Microsoft Windows version; in other words, enabling encryption requires a computer running Windows

There’s also the fact that every machine connected to the network via the power lines will be sharing the same bandwidth, which if you’ve got multiple machines connected could soon cause a problem.

Surely you would have that same problem with WiFi?

You can't use these things if there's a dimmer on the same power group...

so I wasnt sure if it was mentioned as I skimmed the "review" but how does this effect your power, wont it dirty your power even further?

testing real world right/copy/read

That would be "write/copy/read".

Been using the 200Mbps ones from Netgear with similar results, been running for over 2 years no problems whatsoever, so much better than wireless for me, as a warning they don't work in all houses which makes the outlay a little risky if you have problems returning it

I only had chance to skim read the artical, but wont the ethernet ports on these have to be GbE to be able to meet there maximum 200Mb/s?

Or are they 100Mb ports and the powerlines can do a 200Mb network, eg to allow more than three computers hogging the bandwidth.

I've been running 3x200Mbps Netgear Powerline plugs as part of my network for about a year, as my WiFi was drowned out by the 12 or so other users in the neighbourhood. I love the Netgears as they give a consistent 85Mbps+ & the data dropouts I had with WiFi are no more. They work with dimmers but do need to be plugged into the wall socket, not an extension. The only thing that stops them is the electric meter, so the neighbours can't snoop, which is another bonus. Setting up secure encrypted WiFi was a royal pain which I don't need to do with the Powerline's, they are quite literally 'plug & go'.

Originally Posted by andyp06
I've been running 3x200Mbps Netgear Powerline plugs as part of my network for about a year, as my WiFi was drowned out by the 12 or so other users in the neighbourhood. I love the Netgears as they give a consistent 85Mbps+ & the data dropouts I had with WiFi are no more. They work with dimmers but do need to be plugged into the wall socket, not an extension. The only thing that stops them is the electric meter, so the neighbours can't snoop, which is another bonus. Setting up secure encrypted WiFi was a royal pain which I don't need to do with the Powerline's, they are quite literally 'plug & go'.

how does that stop them?? wiki says nothing!

how does that stop them?? wiki says nothing![/QUOTE]

Often separate houses will be on different phases from a 3-phase supply or will have a return noise filter on the line side of the power meter, these tend to interpret as noise and smooth out the high frequency signal from the networking gadget.

Are these a good option for gaming then? I have my xbox 360 connected via wireless adapter and drilling a hole or two for a Cat5 cable is really not something I want to do. If this is sufficient - I may consider it - Could you guys perhaps run a test of some sort to see how it runs? if it works well?

:)

I have 4 of the BT Vision ones - They're also 200Mbps, although MCB's (ie from the upstairs ring to the downstairs ring) play havoc with the speeds. It dips to ~14Mbps sometimes. Mind you, that's still better than the flaky wireless we get.

Speeds are also dependant on transient load. A large inductive load, like the hoover or washing machine, will also cause speed blips, but it's not too bad generally.

I cannot see these working in my house, the main problem being the water pumps which are a large enough load to dim all the lights.
However, despite being quite a big house, we have manage to get a wireless signal all over it and that is only with g. Its not like we have particularly thin walls either :)
Anyway, the internet is always going to be the slowest link and I can't persuade my parents to let me put in any computers that aren't strictly necessary... the BBC iplayer laptop is hanging on by pretending not to be anything to do with the TV :D

Originally Posted by Solidus
Are these a good option for gaming then? I have my xbox 360 connected via wireless adapter and drilling a hole or two for a Cat5 cable is really not something I want to do. If this is sufficient - I may consider it - Could you guys perhaps run a test of some sort to see how it runs? if it works well?

:)

You should get the equivalent of a 100Mbps wired network if your wiring is good & you get a 200Mbps Powerline kit, so this is ideal for gaming & downloading movies. Mind you, I've found I get 85Mbps from one socket & 100Mbps from the one next to it, so simple changes to your basic mains circuit have a significant effect.