HomePlug FAQ *Part 2*

blacksheep99

No issues so far. Mine are the 411 I think the model is, newish 500 Mbs ones. I have one in my kitchen and never heard it make any sound

jinder

If anyone is interested, I tried all the channels on my router as suggested by 02, and still the same problems. Dropouts in the evening mainly both wired and wireless. Very annoying when signing in on PSN.

So called them up and I am getting a free Sky Hub tomorrow.

Just thought I'd keep those who were reading on my issue, updated.

Quick, possibly stupid question, what is "Gigabit"?

gkf9

Ok thanks, mine were the 200 mbs ones, were really noisy. Got some Netgear ones on the way now.

mikeemouse

Any recommendations for a set of three homeplugs?

My setup is:

Computer room with 4-port gigabit 802.11n router connected to VDSL modem plus printer, PC, computer, and also ethernet cable out to

Bedroom with TV

Downstairs TV connected using ethernet wireless bridge (the TV has wifi built in, but the bridge is faster)

My problem is that my downstairs TV isn't getting enough throughput and it stutters.

One file I just tried to play has these stats:

average bitrate 16mbit, max bitrate 46mbit.

So I guess I need a real throughput of 50mbit, maybe even more.

Any recommendations?

Obviously due to the lack of ports on my router it would probably make sense to buy three (one for the spare port, one for the bedroom TV, one for the downstairs TV).

MilhouseVH

Since you already have a cable running from the computer room to the bedroom, you could just buy two 500-AV units - a four-port unit for the bedroom (input from the computer room, output to the bedroom TV, two spare ports) then a single port unit for downstairs.

Alternatively, as you suggest, three Homeplug units - 4-port in computer room, single-port in bedroom (replacing existing ethernet cable) and a single-port downstairs.

Have a look at solwise.co.uk for a wide selection of devices, they have a good returns policy so if Homeplug doesn't work out for you you should be able to get a refund without too many problems. I would avoid the 10/100Mbit devices (using AR7420 chipset) - you might save a few pounds but you'll also be throttling your potential throughput.

mikeemouse

Had a quick look in Maplin today, overpriced, I see you can use some of them as a wireless extender which is interesting too. Living room is in the front of the house so might not be too helpful for the back garden, but who knows, maybe upstairs in the bedroom (at the back of the house) would be better.

mikeemouse

Ok so I decided on the new Solwise PL-600AV-SMT-PIGGY. It's similar to the PL-500AV-PIGGY, which is very well-rated, but just a couple of pounds more, and is 600mbit rather than 500mbit and has smartlink, which is apparently good if you have dodgy wiring, as I think my house does (bit old).

I've bought a pair to start off with, can add a third in due course.

mikeemouse

So they arrived, they give around 80mbit, which isn't bad.

Unfortunately hasn't fixed the issues, seems that full bitrate BDs are just too much for TV to cope with. For instance I streamed Sleeping Beauty BD remux to my ipad (running XBMC), over wifi - works fine, albeit occasional buffering - but on the TV there are weird artifacts and dropped frames.

MilhouseVH

Sounds like your TV is the problem not the network.

mikeemouse

Well upgrading the network has improved stability and so on, for instance the homeplug gives an immediate 10Mbyte/second, whereas the wifi ramps up from around 2mbyte to 5.5mbyte.

But yeah the TV is also the problem. I'm going to get a receiver soon, see if offloading audio decoding helps matters.

TBH it's probably a good thing, at just under £60, to have (hopefully!) got a stable connection in there, even if it wasn't the main problem.