Getting greedy over wifi + streaming media

[denzong]

Hi All,
i have to upgrade my wifi router cause it does not reach my entire home. i have been mulling over this for a long time but have not been able to finalise on a router. i need a minimum of 900mbs router speed because i have a large home.

my problem does not end there. now i got greedy. is there any router which can stream media wirelessly to either my smart tv or my avr. in this manner i would be saved from buying a media player (thinking of an upgrade there too as i already have a media player). this also brings to another question whether the tv/avr will have in built media playing capacity. or i buy an apple tv and then connect the same wirelessly to the router + hdd or just another media player

my file consumption is both audio and video.

the reason i am asking this is cause if i am getting a much better router then should it not do additional things for me (not in a big need of wireless printing), otherwise whats the point of buying such an expensive router. till now i am very keen of either of these routers: Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (A1521) or NetGear R6300 WiFi Router

if these routers cannot perform me the functions that i want then i need guidance as to what is to be done for: WIFI, STREAMING 3D MOVIES ON MY TV, LISTEN TO AUDIO

i shall eagerly wait for reply. thanks

 

[grunthos]

You mention your current router does not cover the entire house. What router do you currently have ?

Sent from my Dell Venue Pro using Board Express

 

[denzong]

I have one given by Mtnl. It has given me service for over 2 years and there's nothing wrong with it but I am planning to take a DSL connection with 10 Mbps speed and the rent is same as Mtnl. Therefore will change my router

 

[Nishant06]

Look for a router with usb port. You can then connect your HDD directly to router and stream. But in case the files are in a format which is not supported by your TV/ audio system, then you would need a good dual band router and you can stream from your computer running a transcoding server like serviio or ums. But for 3D movies you would need good bandwidth. You can try an AC router, but need AC support in your pc to use it fully. Ideally a good dual band router should also be enough, but would cost more than a basic AC one.

 

[Brajendu]

@Denzong: DSL connection of 10 Mbps...from which ISP? please mention.
@Nishant: can Ukindly enlighten us what's an AC router?

 

[mowgli80]

It really depends on what software you use on the client side. A decent wifi 300N router has enough bandwidth for seeing HD movies on wifi if your player can nicely distribute the load. I have an Asus N-16, single band 300N router. My client HTPC has 150N wifi adapter running XBMC. Until recently, it was not enough to stream high quality full HD movies (avg size = 12GB-15GB). With XBMC Gotham Alpha builds where they have introduced caching, I am able to watch all the movies in my collection including the high quality HD ones. If you plan to use XBMC, you need not go for expensive AC routers.

 

[leftysax]

Here ya go!
D-Link All-in-one Mobile Companion.
Picked this up from flipkart for 1500. It does everything. Increases the range of your current network. It has a usb port. It can stream media. Its also mac compatible. :yahoo:

 

[Nishant06]

@Denzong: DSL connection of 10 Mbps...from which ISP? please mention.
@Nishant: can Ukindly enlighten us what's an AC router?

AC is the latest standard for wireless. It is many times faster than the last n standard. Many routers supporting upto 1750 mpbs speeds with ac standard are available. And actually they are not very expensive. Some ac routers would be available for much less than some star dual band n routers.

 

[dheerajjotwani]

Heed mowglis advice. Moreover for better support please present here your house layout along with tv and other details where each are placed.

Also dont be swayed by the claimed throughput of a router. These figures will be misleading. A n300 router is mighty capable of what u want done provided you place it rightly and if need be, supplement with a cheaper client router as repeater or bridge... I am telling you out of experience from my place with 3 floored and basement house about 2400 sqft each floor. Have tested even commercial enterprise based equipment from vendors like ubnt and all

tapped on Note II cdma

 

[anm]

didn't get the relation between these two...

i need a minimum of 900mbs router speed because i have a large home.

 

[gauthamnaidu]

in my opinion the router speed and wifi strength have no relation.. you should be looking at a higher dB antenna ones..probably 2 or 3 antenna ones.. and regarding the streaming...it is much better when connected to a wired lan.. but if you want absolutely no buffer streaming for HD videos you should do good with a 600mbps router itself...mine is just 150mbps...and i have been happy...

http://www.hifivision.com/television/46808-allshare-video-streaming.html

pls check above link if it helps

 

[ajopaul]

One point regarding streaming. My HD streaming to WDTV live greatly improved when I started using NFS shares instead of SMB (CIFS) shares.

 

[indialogue]

One point regarding streaming. My HD streaming to WDTV live greatly improved when I started using NFS shares instead of SMB (CIFS) shares.

This is a very important tip - I had the same experience as well

 

[SatMumbai]

Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (A1521) or NetGear R6300 WiFi Router

I currently use Apple Airport Extreme (A1408 - the one version before the latest). My NAS is hard-wired to the Router and my Mac Mini is on WiFi. I can stream everything including 1080p data with out any problem!

BUT... This is really important. We have at my inlaws huge house and at a friend's place (with the latest AC Router from Apple) there is a completely different experience.

The summary is that the WiFi performance is hugely dependent on the distance of the router to the device. I would say from 12 feet onwards the performance starts going down and at 30 feet it is really bad. Yes, one can browse net but not good enough for any serious data crunching. The funny bit is at home with my 300mbps single band Netgear router also, I get the same performance like the Extreme which is a 600mps dual band router.

Hope this helps. Please feel free to Ask me if you have any specific questions.

 

[denzong]

@Denzong: DSL connection of 10 Mbps...from which ISP? please mention.
@Nishant: can Ukindly enlighten us what's an AC router?

its from ssv cables in navi mumbai

 

[denzong]

didn't get the relation between these two...

to carry the speed across area

 

[gauthamnaidu]

to carry the speed across area

Hello.. I'm assuming you have a very large area to be covered by the wireless router and you want a good signal throughout the area.. As far as i have read.. The transmission speed has no relation to wifi signal coverage.. For example a 300mbps router or a 600 Mbps router or even a 90pmbps router all with the same antenna will have the same range.. But if you look at routers with double or triple antennae that will extend your wireless coverage area..

I personally would buy something like this and connect it to my existing modem

http://www.flipkart.com/tp-link-tl-...id=RTRDMNVF7CQ3HAHU&otracker=browse&pageNum=1

http://www.flipkart.com/tp-link-tl-...id=RTRDMNVFYZZBXT3G&otracker=browse&pageNum=2

http://www.flipkart.com/cisco-links...id=RTRDFFYGCUBZMY36&otracker=browse&pageNum=2

http://www.flipkart.com/tenda-w303r...id=RTRDNY65FTE5QKYE&otracker=browse&pageNum=3

I have the Cisco router and im pretty much happy.. I get about 7mbps on my 8mbps line even from the gate of my house..

Again please read reviews before buying.. Cheers

 

[haisaikat]

. The transmission speed has no relation to wifi signal coverage..

I think there may be a connection since with increase of distance between router and client the error rate may have a tendency to increase thereby causing retransmission thereby decreasing throughput.

Also wider coverage might mean increased transmission power which sometimes itself increases error rate thereby causing the same effect as above

.For example a 300mbps router or a 600 Mbps router or even a 90pmbps router all with the same antenna will have the same range.. But if you look at routers with double or triple antennae that will extend your wireless coverage area..

This may not be always true since the coverage also depends on the transmission power gain of the router which is gain of normal output of the router + gain of the antennas so a router with one antenna but higher overall gain can beat another router with 3 antennas in terms of range if the total gain of the 2nd is lesser.

 

[gauthamnaidu]

I think there may be a connection since with increase of distance between router and client the error rate may have a tendency to increase thereby causing retransmission thereby decreasing throughput.

Also wider coverage might mean increased transmission power which sometimes itself increases error rate thereby causing the same effect as above



This may not be always true since the coverage also depends on the transmission power gain of the router which is gain of normal output of the router + gain of the antennas so a router with one antenna but higher overall gain can beat another router with 3 antennas in terms of range if the total gain of the 2nd is lesser.

The 600mbps and a 900mbps is just the possiblity of the router handling dual bandwidth.. which simply means a higher speed of wifi transmission if in the LAN..the wifi speeds are limited to the bandwidth provided by the ISP.. which usually is around 2-25 mbps.. the wifi signal coverage is simply a result of other factors
as mentioned

10 reasons your Wi-Fi speed stinks (and what you can do about it) - Techworld.com

7 Tips to Increase Wi-Fi Performance

Boost Wi-Fi signal | Better Wi-Fi speed and range - PC Advisor

the below page also gives an idea

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/wirelessspeedfaqs/Wireless_Performance_FAQ_Speed_and_Range.htm

no where do i see that a higher bandwidth (600/900 mbps) router gives a better area of wifi coverage BECAUSE OF THE EXTRA WIFI TRANSMISSION BANDWIDTH/ SPEED...

Again im not saying that area of coverage in important for speeds.. you need a proper signal for better speeds...

Im just saying area of coverage doesnt depend on the Transmission speeds...it is mainly the hardware and Antennae..

 

[nishikant]

to carry the speed across area

Hi
I am from Navi Mumbai. Which is the DLS provider and how much does he charge for 10 Mbps