DirecTv On Demand

[topgman]

On my Hr21 I need to connect by Ethernet to my router to receive DirecTv's On Demand ... trouble is my router and computer are on the 2nd floor and my HDTV is in the bsmt ... any suggestions would be appreciated ... Thanks Steve

 

[gpg]

Use a wireless game adapter. I've got a Linksys WGA600N connected to my second-floor HR21, and it works well even though my router is located in the basement.

 

[ShaqDan]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-Dual-Band-Wireless-N-Gaming-Adapter/dp/B0010TEOLQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1229272880&sr=1-1]Amazon.com: Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N Gaming Adapter: Electronics[/ame]

 

[topgman]

Thanks

 

[charper1]

I think its worth every dime and bit of time to wire your rooms with CAT6, I managed mine myself; you most likely will not be 100% happy with wireless for HD viewing.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

There are ways to snake wires between floors. I ran an ethernet cable down along the water pipes running from the 2nd floor to my basement. Straight shot down in my house. Had an access point to the pipes off the back of one of my 2nd floor closets. All it cost me was the cost of a cable.

 

[jtwex]

I think its worth every dime and bit of time to wire your rooms with CAT6, I managed mine myself; you most likely will not be 100% happy with wireless for HD viewing.

My Bourbon drinking connoisseur is spot on as usual, I can't imagine downloading any VOD (let alone any HD ones) via the fastest wireless connections. If that's your only option, fine, but consider making the upgrade as a possible project with one of your buddies in the future. A download speed of 1.5mbs for a 1080p 2 hour movie is exactly 12 hours.

 

[Wesro]

I think its worth every dime and bit of time to wire your rooms with CAT6, I managed mine myself; you most likely will not be 100% happy with wireless for HD viewing.

I agree. When my wife and I moved into our house about two years ago the first thing I did was to run Cat 6 and RG6 into all the rooms in the house. I ran four Cat 6 and four RG6 jacks into each room thinking I would never need that many. Now with everything having and Ethernet port and dual tuner boxes that seems that may not be enough. I can say it was the one of the best things I did for the house.

 

[topgman]

whats the difference between Cat5 and Cat6

 

[CorpITGuy]

whats the difference between Cat5 and Cat6

The biggest difference:
Category 5e is capable of 1Gb/s speeds (1000 Mb/s) only up to 100'. If going any further, you should definitely use Category 6 network cable. Since you're likely to be bending the wiring (interfering to some extent with speed gain from twisting) I'd bump that down to 50' to be safe.

 

[chrisacutler]

Just bought this. Seems to be a viable solution.

Powerline HD Network Kit

 

[Rey]

Just bought this. Seems to be a viable solution.

Powerline HD Network Kit

Thats what I have and it works great.

 

[jpn]

My Bourbon drinking connoisseur is spot on as usual, I can't imagine downloading any VOD (let alone any HD ones) via the fastest wireless connections. If that's your only option, fine, but consider making the upgrade as a possible project with one of your buddies in the future. A download speed of 1.5mbs for a 1080p 2 hour movie is exactly 12 hours.

I've been doing it since the VOD debut. I use s Linksys WRT54G as a 4-port wireles bridge (usually costs less than a gaming adapter) with the HR20 and HDDVD player connected. Primary router is Linksys WRT150N, using WPA (not WEP). Bridge is on 1st floor, access point on 2nd floor, distance is roughly 60 feet across the 2nd floor, plus 20 feet elevation. It's a good distance with plenty of walls and interference.

The bridge generally gets 36Mbps - 48Mbps, the lowest I've seen is 18Mbps.

I've got the fastest (RoadRunner Turbo, 10Mbps max) offered in my area. I've got a VoIP modem between the cable modem and WRT150N. I ran speed tests using a WIRED desktop system, and several speed test sites (including my cable broadband provider). The results showed download speeds ranging from 4.3Mbps to 7.9Mbps.

In my case the limiting factor is my cable broadband, not the wireless. Even if I had a gigabit wired connection and my broadband was reaching its 10Mbps downstream cap, the limiting fator would still be the feed into my house.

The wired connection is going to be more conssitent, but not necessarily faster for VOD. In-home video distribution is a different matter altogether. No question, wired is much better when both ends of the pipe are in-house. But D* doesn't offer a media server yet....

 

[jtwex]

Yea, no question I'm limited by my crappy DSL service due to the distance from my home to the CO. No Fios here, but Uverse is around the corner & should be able to upgrade to that when it arrives.

 

[topgman]

I just ordered 100' of Cat6 ethernet wire and i'll let you guys know how it works out ... thanks

 

[hrbib21]

Would this work as well: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F5D7330-802-11g-Wireless-Ethernet/dp/B00020H1TG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1230608959&sr=1-1]Amazon.com: Belkin F5D7330 802.11g Wireless Ethernet/Gaming Adapter: Electronics[/ame] It appears to be plug n play.