Home network with Eircom netopia router.

Dunnie1982

I want to set up a home network for steaming video, music etc around the house, I have plex media server set up on my desktop & wanted to stream to other devices throughout the house. I was going to buy a Roku 2 XS for the sitting room. Would the Eircom Netopia router have the bandwidth to allow streaming of HD video to other rooms while still allowing me to use the internet without any problems or would I be better off buying a new router altogether? If so what would people recommend?

One more problem that I have is that I live in a bungalow & have the router in the centre of the house but the signal is weak in the end rooms & almost non-existent in the conservatory. Is there any way to boost the WiFi signal from the current router? I tried an Eircom Zyxel router but it was even worse.

I'm not sure is this the right forum for this but I don't know where else to put it.

peejay1986

I'd recommend looking in to Powerline adapters, especially if you're having issues with signal strength. You could have wired points throughout the house or plug multiple access points in to the powerline adapters across your house.

Ronan H

I doubt that any of the stock modems that the ISPs provide would be good enough to stream HD content around the house. Certainly not wirelessly anyway. I have spent quite a while trying to successfully stream even non HD stuff via the xBox (& Windows Media Centre) but it simply isn't good enough with stock modems, from my experience, and I tried three of them.

Are you thinking about a wired or wireless streaming setup? Much of the information that's out there on the Internets suggests that wired is the best option if it's possible.

There is, quite literally, a ****load of things to consider when taking on this kind of project. I really thought it was simple, but it aint, and I ended up just buying a media player instead and I just play things from that. It just wasn't worth the hassle with the streaming thing.

I know there will be people here with far more knowledge of the issue who will offer better help, but I just wanted to share my experience anyway, and partly I wanted to subscribe the thread because I am still curious about it.

I know it's not the only consideration, but what sort of BB speed are you running?

Ro

Dunnie1982

Ronan H wrote: »

I doubt that any of the stock modems that the ISPs provide would be good enough to stream HD content around the house. Certainly not wirelessly anyway. I have spent quite a while trying to successfully stream even non HD stuff via the xBox (& Windows Media Centre) but it simply isn't good enough with stock modems, from my experience, and I tried three of them.

Are you thinking about a wired or wireless streaming setup? Much of the information that's out there on the Internets suggests that wired is the best option if it's possible.

There is, quite literally, a ****load of things to consider when taking on this kind of project. I really thought it was simple, but it aint, and I ended up just buying a media player instead and I just play things from that. It just wasn't worth the hassle with the streaming thing.

I know there will be people here with far more knowledge of the issue who will offer better help, but I just wanted to share my experience anyway, and partly I wanted to subscribe the thread because I am still curious about it.

I know it's not the only consideration, but what sort of BB speed are you running?

Ro

I have 8meg Eircom NGB(fastest available to me), here's my current speed:


I wouldn't mind running wired to the tv's using powerline adapters, but I would still want wireless for the laptops etc. For me media players are too much hastle, it's more for convenience in the long run as I have a collection of over 2000 movies and 400 full tv seasons. I have no problem setting up the network, its more the speeds I'm concerned about. I was going to buy a new router either way & would like one that works with both Eircom and UPC as I was told UPC may be rolled out to my town in the next 18 months & would change over if the do.

peejay1986

Dunnie1982 wrote: »

I wouldn't mind running wired to the tv's using powerline adapters, but I would still want wireless for the laptops etc. For me media players are too much hastle, it's more for convenience in the long run as I have a collection of over 2000 movies and 400 full tv seasons. I have no problem setting up the network, its more the speeds I'm concerned about. I was going to buy a new router either way & would like one that works with both Eircom and UPC as I was told UPC may be rolled out to my town in the next 18 months & would change over if the do.

You can buy Powerline adapters with built in WiFi. Wire the static devices and those that need to remain mobile can use the WiFi.

http://www.devolo.com/consumer/77_dlan-200-av-wireless-n_starter-kit_product-presentation_1.html?l=en

Ronan H

Yeah I have more or less exactly the same speeds with Vodafone (which is essentially Eircom anyway).

I'm not sure what sort of upload speed you would need to be running for HD streaming, but I know that the router is very important. All the megabit and gigabit stuff is where it's at. I must try and dig out some of the old liks i used when I was tinkering around...

PogMoThoin

Forget wireless for streaming HD, see my post here. It's a bungalow, run a few cables, you'll need them in future

measurement

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Forget wireless for streaming HD, see my post here. It's a bungalow, run a few cables, you'll need them in future

..... and check for the latest/highest CAT rating cable when you do this.
If the streaming is coming over the internet (i.e. the source is on the far side of the Eircom modem/router) don't forget that one limiter will be the incoming phone line, no matter what you do inside the house.