New Belkin N1

[computer33]

I just read about this on pcworld magazine and was thinking of getting it.

Would it make a SIGNIFICANT difference in the way placeshifter is streamed into my laptop when I am at home? I would buy it if does improve my video quality.

Just wondering if it is worth buying.

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatSecti...tion_Id=203894

[David Lawrance]

I notice that they say "Coming Soon." Two things to say about this.

First, I have a Belkin pre-N router and I like it more than my Linksys or Netgear b/g routers. It truely appears to have better throughput over a greater range. b and g protrocol connections can be made simultaneously without the router degrading all service to b-level.

Second, I am disappointed that they are starting to advertise an N router rather than a flash rom upgrade to the pre-N router. I'm still hoping that might happen. But, even if it happens, it might be awhile because the N protocol was not approved a couple weeks ago as expected. So, if the N router soon becomes available, even if it works great, I still might not buy it for fear that whatever they've implemented might not be fully compatible with others' N-compatible wireless equipment.

I'm getting used to frequently replacing routers, not because they don't work, but because it feels so good to push video out faster and faster. I knew when I bought the pre-N router that it might just be with me temporarily, but given that it performs so well, I'm in no big rush to replace it until something clearly is doing a better job.

[computer33]

Thanks, Good feedback. Knowing myself I will probably end up getting it anyways. Hard to resist that speed they advertise!

I wonder if Placeshifter benefits from this increased speed.

[bhageman]

I have the pre-N router and I can use the Sage client on my pre-N pc card in my laptop consistently but I still get the occasional hiccup.

What I've found from Belkin that really works is their Powerline Ethernet Adapter. With the powerline adapter I get 3-5Mbps throughout my home. I've got four of them scattered around and I've all but eliminated the need for wireless.

[MrApollinax]

{WARNING}Okay, this is going to be a long and wordy post about transport technology. So I'm warning you now that this may be boring and may cause drowsiness or glazing of the eyes. You have been warned.{/WARNING}


The 802.11N standards are very far from being ratified (at least a year out). So early adapters (pre-n) may get burned in the long run once the standard is ratified because they may have to buy new hardware to fully support the standard. The biggest improvement on the home user side of thing is using MIMO (multiple-in, multiple-out) antenna designs to increase throughput and distance. However the misconception that many people have about this is that it will automatically improve your network connectivity. In the end you are still going to be limited by the building materials of your home and the types of interferers you have. If you have enough interference in your home you will just spread the errors and dropped packets across multiple datapaths. So you have a chance to cause more re-transmits resulting in poor perception of service.

If you are going to use WiFi for timing intensive applications there are a few things to consider:

1. Co-Channel Interference
2. Number of Obstructions
3. Number of Access Points Needed

1. This applies to b/g/and pre-n since pre-n is just adding MIMO to the typical b/g radio setup. Picture that you and a friend are having a conversation at a table. Then add a few dozen more couples at the same table having different conversations at the same volume as you. The latter example is what co-channel interference will do to your WiFi communications between you and the base radio. The rule of thumb is to have at least 5 channels of speration between your network and the networks around you.

2. Many people have confilcting stories of how good/bad the wireless coverage of a particular router has. The number one reason for that is the design of the home. Some people have very wide open homes and that lends itself very well to WiFi. Some people have homes that are very closed in where at any one point you will have 3-4 walls between them and the router. This unfortunately is not a good situation for WiFi causing a significant loss of RSSI at the client side.

3. Is the answer to 2. The optimum way of creating coverage in a home is to have multiple APs extending your WiFi. For some 1 radio is all you need, for others 2 usually gives you optimum throughput throughout the building.

In my home i have a DGL-4300 as my main router and I have in another part of my home a DI-624 acting as an AP extending my WPA WiFi network to cover the rest of the house. Before adding the 624 that area of the house would bounce from 11-24-54Mbps depending where on the couch you sat. Now I rarely see anything below 48 or 54Mbps. For my placeshifter client i have more than enough bandwidth to run without any compression on the WLAN.

Now the other question to ask is why you need the Wireless bandwidth? Next question is your network able to handle the higher throughput? You would need to have a GigE network to take advantage of the speed enhancement otherwise you are going to bottleneck yourself on the backhaul to the server.