Power Line Ethernet Experience/Thoughts?/Apple TV-Watch ESPN

[Newton_14]

All,
I have been thinking about running Ethernet from the room where my router is upstairs, to other rooms downstairs. During my research, I learned of power line Ethernet, such as the ones made by NetGear, TP LInk, etc. Basically you run an Ethernet cable from the router to a very small box that plugs directly into a power outlet, then plug in a second box in any other outlet in the house where you need Ethernet, and run a cable from that box to your computer/TV/etc.

Have any of you guys and gals tried this technology, and if yes what is the performance like in your opinions?


Secondary question. I have Dish Network for TV Service (Hopper System). I want to get Apply TV for my TV in the entertainment room upstairs, where I have a smart tv. We have a Netflix account. I am Not going to get the tv subscription from Apple though. So the question is, will I be able to use the WatchESPN App via the Apple TV box by logging in with my Dish Network credentials, as I do today on my laptop, and I-Pads?

Thanks in advance!

[freshmanjs]

All,
I have been thinking about running Ethernet from the room where my router is upstairs, to other rooms downstairs. During my research, I learned of power line Ethernet, such as the ones made by NetGear, TP LInk, etc. Basically you run an Ethernet cable from the router to a very small box that plugs directly into a power outlet, then plug in a second box in any other outlet in the house where you need Ethernet, and run a cable from that box to your computer/TV/etc.

Have any of you guys and gals tried this technology, and if yes what is the performance like in your opinions?


Secondary question. I have Dish Network for TV Service (Hopper System). I want to get Apply TV for my TV in the entertainment room upstairs, where I have a smart tv. We have a Netflix account. I am Not going to get the tv subscription from Apple though. So the question is, will I be able to use the WatchESPN App via the Apple TV box by logging in with my Dish Network credentials, as I do today on my laptop, and I-Pads?

Thanks in advance!

Secondary question -- answer is yes. ESPN and all of the other tv station apps work by verification of your pay tv provider.

On the first question -- why not use wifi? It's gotten so fast and reliable that there isn't typicaly much need for wired connection within the house unless you are transferring large files between computers.

[cato]

All,
I have been thinking about running Ethernet from the room where my router is upstairs, to other rooms downstairs. During my research, I learned of power line Ethernet, such as the ones made by NetGear, TP LInk, etc. Basically you run an Ethernet cable from the router to a very small box that plugs directly into a power outlet, then plug in a second box in any other outlet in the house where you need Ethernet, and run a cable from that box to your computer/TV/etc.

Have any of you guys and gals tried this technology, and if yes what is the performance like in your opinions?


Secondary question. I have Dish Network for TV Service (Hopper System). I want to get Apply TV for my TV in the entertainment room upstairs, where I have a smart tv. We have a Netflix account. I am Not going to get the tv subscription from Apple though. So the question is, will I be able to use the WatchESPN App via the Apple TV box by logging in with my Dish Network credentials, as I do today on my laptop, and I-Pads?

Thanks in advance!

I bought a Powerline Ethernet thingy a few years ago to solve a problem with a laptop that refused to stay connected to wifi. It works. I have no idea how fast the connection is, because the laptop is used almost exclusively for word processing, email and browsing. It is at least as good as wifi (when the laptop was connected).

I had to find the right outlet for it to work. It involved some trial and error.

I use my Apple TV to watch ESPN with my cable credentials, same as tablets. I assume that would be the same for Dish.

[Newton_14]

Secondary question -- answer is yes. ESPN and all of the other tv station apps work by verification of your pay tv provider.

On the first question -- why not use wifi? It's gotten so fast and reliable that there isn't typicaly much need for wired connection within the house unless you are transferring large files between computers.
Hey thanks for the info. I have couple of rooms downstairs where the Wifi signal just won't make the trip, but also, we have supposedly 300mbps from Timewarner but they told me the speeds would not even approach that over WiFi, and I would have to use wireline to get those speeds.

The speeds we get downstairs via WiFi allow us to do what we need to do for the most part, in the rooms where we get a good signal.

[-jk]

All,
I have been thinking about running Ethernet from the room where my router is upstairs, to other rooms downstairs. During my research, I learned of power line Ethernet, such as the ones made by NetGear, TP LInk, etc. Basically you run an Ethernet cable from the router to a very small box that plugs directly into a power outlet, then plug in a second box in any other outlet in the house where you need Ethernet, and run a cable from that box to your computer/TV/etc.

Have any of you guys and gals tried this technology, and if yes what is the performance like in your opinions?


Secondary question. I have Dish Network for TV Service (Hopper System). I want to get Apply TV for my TV in the entertainment room upstairs, where I have a smart tv. We have a Netflix account. I am Not going to get the tv subscription from Apple though. So the question is, will I be able to use the WatchESPN App via the Apple TV box by logging in with my Dish Network credentials, as I do today on my laptop, and I-Pads?

Thanks in advance!

Powerline ethernet works best on same phase. Otherwise, it's iffy. Best - far best - to pull cable.

-jk

[PackMan97]

I use a powerline ethernet for my home office which is on the other side of the hosue and over the garage. Works brilliantly. Never had a problem except when the kids realized they could get Dada to come downstairs whenever they unplugged the unit by the router. :mad: I actually use it as a wifi range extender, since the remote unit also acts as a wifi hotspot, I never use the ethernet port on it.

Our base unit and remote unit are NOT on the same circuit, I don't think that is really a concern with the newer units.

[fuse]

Powerline wifi works pretty well for me.
Spend the money on the fastest rated you can afford, and spend the time enabling the encryption.

Supposedly the more powerline adapters you have the better it works.

I also just an Amplifi mesh wifi router.
Been really happy with its performance.

[moonpie23]

TWC's wifis are crap.....i've got the 300x25 and it's 360/26 via hard line ethernet, but switch to the TWC wifi and it goes down to 80/25.

i bought a Netgear wireless and set it an inch away from the TWC hub and my wireless went to 225/26 (ethernet the netgear into the twc hub)


also, for those of you with wifi "dropping out", check you systems to see where any USB 3.0 Hubs might be located.....usb 3.0 works on the same frequency that most wifi does. 2.5khz. having a hub to near your computer or laptop can interfere with the connection.

[-jk]

I use a powerline ethernet for my home office which is on the other side of the hosue and over the garage. Works brilliantly. Never had a problem except when the kids realized they could get Dada to come downstairs whenever they unplugged the unit by the router. :mad: I actually use it as a wifi range extender, since the remote unit also acts as a wifi hotspot, I never use the ethernet port on it.

Our base unit and remote unit are NOT on the same circuit, I don't think that is really a concern with the newer units.

Sorry if I wasn't clear - same circuit isn't the issue, but same phase. US power is multiphased - I think it's three-phase on a typical street, but two-phase into the house. Typically, electric stoves, water heaters, dryers, heat pumps, etc., get the full, two-phase 220-240V (and have a double-sized circuit breaker). The rest of the various 110-120V circuits get one or the other of the two phases, roughly split in half. Getting powerline signals to move between phases can be tricky.

Powerline thingies, whether home automation or ethernet, often use some sort of coupler/repeater to bridge the phases. X10, for example, won't work without one. The higher frequency of most powerline ethernet devices makes it better than X10, but keeping powerline ethernet on the same phase makes it more stable.

-jk

[snowdenscold]

An alternative to using your power system is to use any Coax cabling which may already run through your house.

My Verizon FiOS router is enabled for MOCA, so I just bought a little ActionTec adapter (has a single ethernet port on coming out of it) for the coax port in my office here, and my connection and speeds are very solid. I do high-def video conferencing on a regular basis from here.

[awhom111]

I am posting this connected with a Netgear PL1200. I was concerned about whether the wiring would work, but it did and it passes through the entirety of my 50mb connection from Comcast. On wifi, this location was topping out at around 15-20mb and an iPad right next to the router gets me around 30-35mb. The other question is to ponder is whether any other electrical devices would cause interference. I am following their suggested practice of not having anything plugged into the other outlet on either end and the outlets I am using are slightly distant from anything else plugged in.

[Newton_14]

I am posting this connected with a Netgear PL1200. I was concerned about whether the wiring would work, but it did and it passes through the entirety of my 50mb connection from Comcast. On wifi, this location was topping out at around 15-20mb and an iPad right next to the router gets me around 30-35mb. The other question is to ponder is whether any other electrical devices would cause interference. I am following their suggested practice of not having anything plugged into the other outlet on either end and the outlets I am using are slightly distant from anything else plugged in.

Thanks to you and everyone else. Very helpful.

[alteran]

All,
I have been thinking about running Ethernet from the room where my router is upstairs, to other rooms downstairs. During my research, I learned of power line Ethernet, such as the ones made by NetGear, TP LInk, etc. Basically you run an Ethernet cable from the router to a very small box that plugs directly into a power outlet, then plug in a second box in any other outlet in the house where you need Ethernet, and run a cable from that box to your computer/TV/etc.

Have any of you guys and gals tried this technology, and if yes what is the performance like in your opinions?


Secondary question. I have Dish Network for TV Service (Hopper System). I want to get Apply TV for my TV in the entertainment room upstairs, where I have a smart tv. We have a Netflix account. I am Not going to get the tv subscription from Apple though. So the question is, will I be able to use the WatchESPN App via the Apple TV box by logging in with my Dish Network credentials, as I do today on my laptop, and I-Pads?

Thanks in advance!

I have a couple areas of my house which are long reaches for wifi, and I've had no problems using powerline to get there.

I agree that wired ethernet is better, but powerline is much easier than running cable.