best router to use

[ttiell]

I know this might lead into a large discussion. However, my router doesn't work well with sagetv. I have a netgear wgr614v5. I use it for a wireless laptop, my sagetv server (winxp pro), hd theater client, and one mvp client. I'm also looking to add another hd theater. Every week and sometimes more often, everything slows down and video/audio becomes choppy. It is completely unwatchable at this point. If I restart the router, I then get a double use of IP error (this is my laptop and mvp client). If I restart my server and router, everything is back up and running properly for another week. However, if I'm in the middle of recording, then I have to wait for the recordings to end and then restart. Which means I can't watch any tv until I restart. If this were to happen when I record several shows in a row, then it is down for hours. My main guess is that it is the router. Does anyone know of a good router that I won't have this problem with? In case anyone trys, there isn't a getting around this issue. If I get this problem and I unplug the client, it will not reload sagetv. I just get a black screen. I have left it unpluged for upto 10 minutes and still black screen. When this is happening, I can still go to the server and bring up a sagetv session without any problems. This is why I believe it is the router. I still am able to use internet when having this problem both wired and wireless.

[paulbeers]

Simple and cheap solution: Buy a switch. Consumer grade routers have terrible switches. They are great for sharing internet and using as a DHCP server, but for sharing large quanities of data they are terrible (especially if that data is time sensitive like video streaming).

Your best bet is to add a gigabit switch into the mix. All you have to do is hook your router to the switch and then plug all your wired network devices right into the switch. Your router will still delve out the IP addresses and share internet data, but the network traffic will be moved off of your router and onto the switch. This is how 95% of the users here have done.

This is a lot cheaper than buying a router with a gigabit switch built it and much more fool-proof!

[RocKKer]

A couple ideas -
Update the router to the latest manufacturer's firmware.

If your adventurous and your router is supported, update the router firmware to one of the opensource firmware's for your router. (ie: Tomato or DD-WRT), I swapped to DD-WRT and never looked back, it made my already good router an excellent router.

In either case add a GB switch as paulbeers described.

[ttiell]

thank you. so do you think that a switch off of the router will work. or should i add another nic and run the switch off of the other nic. or will this not make a difference.

[valnar]

Buy a gigabit switch. I like the Netgear GS series, but the HP 1400-8G will be the best consumer switch you can buy if peace of mind is important. If a good switch doesn't fix your problem, I'd start looking at NIC's and other things.

[sic0048]

Originally Posted by ttiell

thank you. so do you think that a switch off of the router will work. or should i add another nic and run the switch off of the other nic. or will this not make a difference.

You'll still use the router to assign network addresses. You simply take 1 of the normal network output from the router and plug it into 1 of the normal network plugs on the switch. That is all you have to do.

The network devices will still search out the router via the network address. It is simply one device connected to the network switch the same way as all the other network devices.

[barney B.A.]

Another great choice is the Dell Powerconnect 2808

[Apap]

I am very happy with my D-Link DGS-2208.
It is hooked up to my server, 4 extenders and 3 computers, and it hasn't choked yet.

[razrsharpe]

Originally Posted by valnar

...the HP 1400-8G will be the best consumer switch you can buy if peace of mind is important.

+1
I just bought this switch...and wow made such a different over the 3com one i was using before... now i have sustained transfer speeds actually approaching gigabit speed as opposed to the 300-400 Mbps i was getting before

[stevech]

Originally Posted by ttiell

I know this might lead into a large discussion. However, my router doesn't work well with sagetv. I have a netgear wgr614v5. I use it for a wireless laptop, my sagetv server (winxp pro), hd theater client, and one mvp client. I'm also looking to add another hd theater. Every week and sometimes more often, everything slows down and video/audio becomes choppy. It is completely unwatchable at this point. If I restart the router, I then get a double use of IP error (this is my laptop and mvp client). If I restart my server and router, everything is back up and running properly for another week. However, if I'm in the middle of recording, then I have to wait for the recordings to end and then restart. Which means I can't watch any tv until I restart. If this were to happen when I record several shows in a row, then it is down for hours. My main guess is that it is the router. Does anyone know of a good router that I won't have this problem with? In case anyone trys, there isn't a getting around this issue. If I get this problem and I unplug the client, it will not reload sagetv. I just get a black screen. I have left it unpluged for upto 10 minutes and still black screen. When this is happening, I can still go to the server and bring up a sagetv session without any problems. This is why I believe it is the router. I still am able to use internet when having this problem both wired and wireless.

I did streaming of standard def for a very long time, using a Buffalo client bridge connected by ethernet to an MVP, and a Linksys WRH54G router. WEP. Rarely other traffic on that WiFi.

Once a month or so, I had to reboot one end or the other because the MVP would just stop responding.

Now I use a pair of MOCA (D-Link) boxes that go over the TV coax. Flawless and faster. Being dumb layer 2 only, MOCA is the way to go.

[ttiell]

Originally Posted by Apap

I am very happy with my D-Link DGS-2208.
It is hooked up to my server, 4 extenders and 3 computers, and it hasn't choked yet.

I am now using the d-link dgs-2205 now. I have to restart it about once a month. it doesn't completely fail like the router did but it just slows down to the point where you are waiting a second or two after a remote click for something to happen. this improved even more when i bought the hd300 and use that instead of the mediamvp. so it seems these things can help but not take the problem away. it is probably now the xp as a server. but restarting once every month or two isn't enough to even complain about now.