Netgear WNHDE111 AP/Bridge & SageTV HD200 Success!

[lfilomeno]

After reading tons of horror stories and so few success ones regarding wireless connectivity to an HD200, I set my sights to lay cable between my SageTV server (soup up laptop) and my just acquired client. This was not going to be an easy cabling job since my house (one story house) is built in concrete. Just when I was ready to start this gruesome project, I read the Geektonic review of the HD200 and ask the Geektonic moderator to suggest wireless equipment that might work with my newly acquired HD200. From his suggestions I liked what the WNHDE111 Networking Kit could do (at least on paper) and decided to give it a shot before I started drilling holes in my house. The following is my experience:

1. The setup of the units cannot be easier. Took the units out of the box and connect one of the units (AP to be) to the DSL router (Speedtouch 780 WL in my case) via Ethernet. Then connect the other (that will become a wireless bridge) to the HD200. power up both units and after two minutes or so, they were in sync. All this without even loading my browser to see if the units were paired up.

2. Upgraded my SageTV server to the latest beta in order for the HD200 to connect to the server without buying a client license. Turned my HD200 which was connected to the TV in my family room for the first time, and right away tested the WLAN connectivity by upgrading the firmware. Everything went well and quick so both units were seeing each other and received the proper IP’s via my DSL’s DHCP setup.

3. Then went to search the server which was at the end of the hallway (Master bedroom) which the WNHDE111 in AP mode reside. Found it, connect to it, and wham, I have my SageMC interface in my living room TV! I gather my kids and the wife (very important step folks) to showcase my prowess. I change channels to watch a PPV movie and it started to play like if I was watching it in the server. The response was quick and the HD200 controls were very fast and snappy. I was very impressed so far!

4. Suddenly, the LiveTV broadcast (which by the way is SD not HD) started to stop at times and stutter. All my hopes went up for nothing I though. I played a couple of videos and recorded show I had in the server and they play well but at times they stop and restart. WAF factor was declining faster that it takes a Ferrari Enzo to go from 0 to 60. After 30 minutes or so of starting, stopping, and stuttering of the broadcast, I decided to put everything back in the box and returned to Best Buy for a refund. Let me remind you that these two units are roughly 25 to 30 feet apart! And the obstructions to the units were minimal since both were facing each other in the hallway1

5. Not wanting to give up just yet, I loaded the unit’s configuration program and noticed all the dropped wlan packets between units. They were way too much for such a small distance between wireless units. Then I noticed my units were way behind in firmware updates so both units were upgraded to the latest firmware. Then I noticed that by default, the units come preconfigured for mixed N&A 802.11 schemas. I configured both units to 802.11N only mode and reboot them. Turned the HD 200 off the on again, it found the server and reconnected to it. I loaded another PPV movie and sat everybody around. Well, it played without interruptions! The wife used the microwave oven a couple of times and neither I nor my kids has experienced any frame drops or jittering! Then I what another PPV movie, played recorded TV shows, movies, videos and HD videos from the web and they all played well. I started to put away the external RJ45 jack boxes I purchased and sat down and watch some more of the same as mentioned above. Well, roughly 6 hours has passed by that I have been punished the HD200 via my Netgear wireless WNHDE111 setup and the media has not skipped a beat! I just put away the chipping hammer and shortly, will order another HD200 and an extra tuner since the WAF has placed her seal of approval on my system. Was I lucky? Maybe. But all I can say is that after upgrading firmware and changing the default 802.11 mode, my problems disappeared! Sorry about the long post but I just wanted every form member to get all the steps and tribulations I had been thru to obtain success. The latest stats are: Received Packets: 2136344 RX Packets Dropped: 0 Errors:49

[lfilomeno]

*****UPDATE *******

Moved the WNHDE111 AP in to a corner in my bedroom and placed the WNHDE111 bridge inside the family room (nothing but concrete walls in between these two units) Fired up the HD200, came right up. Watched LiveTV, recorded TV, videos, movies, without skipping one frame. I played some WMV HD files next; was able to watch them without skipping but I can't hear them! the connection speed between wireless devices is listed at 108MB. When the wife turns on the microwave, it goes down to 81MB. The lowest number connectivy wise so far has been 72MB.

[Lucas]

This sounds promising. Well Done.

Have you tried playing OTA HD videos or mkv HD of the 720p or 1080p varieties?

From your posts it seems that you are mostly playing SD video.

[lfilomeno]

Lucas,

I am downloading a couple of MKV HD videos to test them when I got home. Will post the results.

[chrisc983]

I'm using two of Netgear WNR3500 except the server and the HD200 are connected via ethernet to the same WNR3500 and its connecting to the other WNR3500 to access just the internet.

I did test though connecting my laptop via ethernet to other WNR3500. As you suspected SD streamed perfectly without any stuttering. However I played some OTA HD recordings which did stutter, a lot to the point where it was unwatchable. Now I don't know if this is because maybe the two routers are too far apart, but I when I do an internet speed test on the main router compaired to the router being used as a repeater there is no speed difference. And I do have the both of them connecting to each other using 300mbps mode.

I also tried connecting my laptop via wireless and tried streaming the HD content and it also stuttered a lot. Now the laptop may be stuttering because the adapter is only a G adapter. I will try soon with an N adapter and see.

[chrisc983]

I added a USB N adapter to my laptop to test it. Its still stutters when playing HD content. It is also reporting full signal strength and reporting that is connecting at 300mbps which I would of thought would of been more than fast enough. Any ideas??

Update: I tried playing the same HD file but this time using windows media player and it played perfectly fine with USB N adapter.

[lfilomeno]

chrisc983,

With my Netgear WNHDE111 equipment, I was able to watch an HD video in 720p with very few (2 stop and go's) problems. The 1080 started well but it started studdering bad after 10 minutes. I was show a link of 300mbps which dropped to 180 at one point (I believe that should be enough to run HD). Even thoug that will be a bummer for most people, my wireless setup satisfied my needs. The HD-200 upscale SD TV great so I am happy, the boss lady is happy, the kids are happy! Besides that, the other choice is to wire the house and mines is made of concrete

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by lfilomeno

chrisc983,
I was show a link of 300mbps which dropped to 180 at one point (I believe that should be enough to run HD).

Just so you know, the link connection speed is mostly a worthless number. Your actual speed is likely to be, in general, proportional to the link speed, but certainly won't be equal. Besides, the link from your WNHDE111 bridge to your HD200 is only 100mbps. And trust me, that's not the limiting point in the system-the wireless connection is. It's tough/impossible to get anywhere close to the theoretical max connection speed with wireless.

I have pretty good luck streaming 1080i broadcasts, but I do get some hiccups occasionally. Did you try locking the access point to wireless-N mode only? Do you have any sources of interference that could be causing problems (e.g., 5.8Ghz cordless phones, microwaves in use)? How's your signal strength (you can see this on the access point admin page)?

[lfilomeno]

Reggie!$,

I am with you totally regarding the posted manufacturer speeds versus the actual figures. I am well aware of that fact and think they ned to start posting actual figures in their product boxes. I just only mentioned the speed reading from the equipment which I knew they are far from being accurate for the reasons you mentioned on your post. I did configured both units to use N only. I do not have any coordless phones,and the Microwave is used occasionally but not when we are watching media. I did ran a spectrum analyzer and the strongest signal was the one out of my Netgear AP. The other AP's discovered were G based and their signal strenght was below 25%. Mines shows at 93% (Signal streght display as excellent) despite the fact that both AP and bridge are facing each other in the hallway