HD extender beta test

[Razillian]

Any idea on wireless capabilities for the mythical HD Extender?

[GbrNole]

well it's not mythical and the pics shown from CES indicate a plugin location for a wireless antenna so i'm guessing they would be half decent.

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by gplasky

I would buy two right off the bat.

Gerry

Me too. Even though I only have 1 HDTV right now.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by Razillian

Any idea on wireless capabilities for the mythical HD Extender?

I wouldn't even consider trying wireless for an HD extender unless it was Wireless-n. Wireless g is barely enough for SD, and HD is easilly 3x the bandwidth.

[GoldenTiger]

Originally Posted by stanger89

I wouldn't even consider trying wireless for an HD extender unless it was Wireless-n. Wireless g is barely enough for SD, and HD is easilly 3x the bandwidth.

Really? I haven't heard of such issues so long as people are using a wireless bridge instead of the lame built-in antenna on the wireless MVP. I was considering holding out for an HD MVP so I could use wireless G (54mbps) on it... it would technically need about 20mbps bandwidth, so unless you had a really bad signal wouldn't it be fine?

[Razillian]

I've seen pictures of mythical unicorns, but according to legend I'm not allowed to touch one

The only wireless I use here is n, so in theory I should be fine (cough cough), right? I just hate the notion of climbing back into my attic to run more network lines.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by Razillian

I've seen pictures of mythical unicorns, but according to legend I'm not allowed to touch one

The only wireless I use here is n, so in theory I should be fine (cough cough), right? I just hate the notion of climbing back into my attic to run more network lines.

Even Windows MCE recommends you do NOT do HDTV over wireless. It's just too bandwidth intensive and sensitive to any bandwidth flucuations.

Gerry

[Lucas]

Given that most HDTV content is at least 20Mbit/s and more like 30 to 40 Mbit/s, Wireless G, although on paper sufficient for ONE client (additional clients share the 54 or 108Mbit bandwith), in practice it cannot deliver due to reductions in effective speed caused by nearby wireless phones, microwave ovens etc....

Wireless N may also have issues for more than one client. Imagine watching a movie and all of a sudden getting the stutters because the wife or one of the children decided to copy a 10Gb file over the N network.

[willgill]

I agree, wireless G just doesn't quite cut it. I attained a perfect 54Mbs possible over G and I still got some stuttering streaming HD content. I upgraded to N and now get low to mid 200's Mbs connection. All is silky smooth now.

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by Lucas

Imagine watching a movie and all of a sudden getting the stutters because the wife or one of the children decided to copy a 10Gb file over the N network.

Or imagine the phone ringing and getting studders or turning on the microwave and getting studders or one of the 100 other devices using the 2.4GHZ bandwidth. Also lets not forget that in the future more and more of the devices around our homes will need internet connectivity and I can only imagine that that they will use the wireless spectrum to do so.

[willgill]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

Or imagine the phone ringing and getting studders or turning on the microwave and getting studders or one of the 100 other devices using the 2.4GHZ bandwidth. Also lets not forget that in the future more and more of the devices around our homes will need internet connectivity and I can only imagine that that they will use the wireless spectrum to do so.

You know, it's really not as bad as you think (or even as bad as I would have guessed). First you have to setup QOS correctly so when you kids transfer 10Gig files it doesn't drastically affect your media streaming. I've got 1 laptop, 1 kid's destop, my HTPC and my iTreadmill MVP all on wireless. No issues.

I also have an extremely crowded 2.4Ghz spectrum at my house. My laptop has Bluetooth sync to my SmartPhone. My desktop computer has Bluetooth to my mouse and keyboard. I have two wireless access points, one N and one G (both 2.4Ghz). I have two Bluetooth headsets. I believe the Wii remotes are 2.4Ghz. I have a couple of 2.4Ghz wireless PS/2 controllers. All work pretty well together. I have noticed slight background noise on my Bluetooth when I'm too close to some of the other devices. At least my wireless phone system is 5.8Ghz.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by Lucas

Given that most HDTV content is at least 20Mbit/s and more like 30 to 40 Mbit/s,

Technically HD content (that we get) is <= 19.4Mbps. But yes, Wireless G is just not reliable/consistent enough for streaming HD. It has enough trouble with 3-8Mbps SD.

[Lucas]

Originally Posted by stanger89

Technically HD content (that we get) is <= 19.4Mbps. But yes, Wireless G is just not reliable/consistent enough for streaming HD. It has enough trouble with 3-8Mbps SD.

I stand corrected.
Some sat HD channels over here in Europe have slightly higher bit rates but I was thinking about possible future streaming of the new HD formats which supposedly have significantly higher bit rates.

[stanger89]

True, but (surprisingly perhaps?) even HD DVD and Blu-ray have nominal bitrates under 20Mbps due to using advanced codecs (VC-1/H.264) which are much more efficient than MPEG-2. Though there are MPEG-2 BDs at >20Mbps I believe.

However for broadcast HD, bandwidth is money, so I expect a shrinking of bandwidth over time. Heck, in the US, some sat companies are cramming MPEG-2 HD into 12Mbps.

But still the point stands, Wireless-G can't consistently, reliably sustain the throughput necessary for HD. That's not to say it can't work, it can, and does for some, but it should be considered a last resort, when using a hardline is impossible.

[briands]

Originally Posted by stanger89

True, but (surprisingly perhaps?) even HD DVD and Blu-ray have nominal bitrates under 20Mbps due to using advanced codecs (VC-1/H.264) which are much more efficient than MPEG-2. Though there are MPEG-2 BDs at >20Mbps I believe.

However for broadcast HD, bandwidth is money, so I expect a shrinking of bandwidth over time. Heck, in the US, some sat companies are cramming MPEG-2 HD into 12Mbps.

But still the point stands, Wireless-G can't consistently, reliably sustain the throughput necessary for HD. That's not to say it can't work, it can, and does for some, but it should be considered a last resort, when using a hardline is impossible.

Soooo... is there any chance that you could add a USB drive to this unit for local DVD or maybe even HD-DVD playback???