Need networking info

[ivseenbetter]

My wireless router crapped out.

I know this is an audio forum so I am hoping you guys can point me in the right direction. If I can get the info I seek here than that would be great (as I am sure the majority of you are pretty tech savvy across the board). But, I will be happy with info that is pointing me to the right place to ask my question if I can’t get the info here.

Basically, I have been wirelessly streaming video and music from my PC to my Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii using TVersity and the wireless network provided by my router. It wasn’t the most ideal set up but convenience was the key. Well, now that the router has died, I am wondering if there is a better solution? I could just buy a new router and keep pressing with how I was doing things before…and if I do, is there a particular router that I should look into that performs better than others in this way? Or, is there a better way, where I can store and access what I want and I can get it to the different audio/video equipment in all the different rooms in my house without using the gaming systems (I really want to put all my gaming systems onto one screen but I can’t if I keep on using them to stream data to different TVs)?

 

[PeterWhite]

My wireless router crapped out.

I know this is an audio forum so I am hoping you guys can point me in the right direction. If I can get the info I seek here than that would be great (as I am sure the majority of you are pretty tech savvy across the board). But, I will be happy with info that is pointing me to the right place to ask my question if I can’t get the info here.

Basically, I have been wirelessly streaming video and music from my PC to my Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii using TVersity and the wireless network provided by my router. It wasn’t the most ideal set up but convenience was the key. Well, now that the router has died, I am wondering if there is a better solution? I could just buy a new router and keep pressing with how I was doing things before…and if I do, is there a particular router that I should look into that performs better than others in this way? Or, is there a better way, where I can store and access what I want and I can get it to the different audio/video equipment in all the different rooms in my house without using the gaming systems (I really want to put all my gaming systems onto one screen but I can’t if I keep on using them to stream data to different TVs)?

The Apple Airport Extreme works well for me. I have PCs and Macs all happily working together.

 

[Midcow2]

Any 802.11 router will work

My wireless router crapped out.

I know this is an audio forum so I am hoping you guys can point me in the right direction. If I can get the info I seek here than that would be great (as I am sure the majority of you are pretty tech savvy across the board). But, I will be happy with info that is pointing me to the right place to ask my question if I can’t get the info here.

Basically, I have been wirelessly streaming video and music from my PC to my Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii using TVersity and the wireless network provided by my router. It wasn’t the most ideal set up but convenience was the key. Well, now that the router has died, I am wondering if there is a better solution? I could just buy a new router and keep pressing with how I was doing things before…and if I do, is there a particular router that I should look into that performs better than others in this way? Or, is there a better way, where I can store and access what I want and I can get it to the different audio/video equipment in all the different rooms in my house without using the gaming systems (I really want to put all my gaming systems onto one screen but I can’t if I keep on using them to stream data to different TVs)?

Any 802.11 router will work. The AirPort Express is fine, but At level 3 in the ISO stack, they are all the same You can connect a MAC or IBM or Wii or Xbox360 to the same router

Be sure and secure your router : WPA is best, but WEP is okay also. Once you have connected all of your devices you can go into the router and turn SSID broadcast off, then any new devices or hackers in the area won't see you router's Access Control Point.

You can get faster versions of the O2.11 standard. The current n is a draft stanard that will eventually support up to 600Mbits/second. However, right now 802.11g is the best spep and is backward compatible with 802.11a and 802.11b and extends the raw rate to 54 Mbits/second. However, you real speed will be limited to the speed of your broadband or DSL connection.

The speed in futher limited to the performance of the URL you are accessing. A good test URL is ww.audioholics.com/forums/ It is fast and also very informative

 

[fmw]

A new router would be the cheapest thing to do. I did what you've been doing. I found it a hassle to have a computer connected to the audio system and finally replaced it with a Squeezebox. It was a hassle because we didn't do anything with it other than stream audio and it meant getting out the wireless keyboard and wireless mouse and booting Windows. Since then, I've even bought a second Squeezebox. It is nice because you control the squeezbox right from the audio system with your remote. There is no need to control anything from the computer itself.

Note, however, that the squeezebox or other audio streamer will still need a connection to the a computer so you will probably need a new router anyway.

 

[ivseenbetter]

So basically, any router will do...and from there I should pretty much just continue along the same line I was before. Ok. I guess I just need to find the cheapest router. Thanks for the info.

 

[gus6464]

I have tried so many routers over the years and I always go back to Linksys. Their WRT54G is still IMO one of the best routers ever for it's ability to upgrade the antennas and firmware options. It sucks that the new WRT54G2 now has internal antennas though. I do a lot of file transferring between a lot of computers and devices in my home network and the linksys hasn't had a single problem. I had a netgear rangemax router crap on me after 2 months of heavy usage as well a the cheaper d-link and belkin.

 

[ivseenbetter]

I have had a belkin and a Netgear crap out on me...which is why I was kinda looking for other solutions. I will look into getting Linksys. I have a friend who also says good things about them.

 

[GlocksRock]

I've had great luck with my D-link, but I have heard of and seen netgear routers crap out, and I've heard a lot of Linksys routers crap out too. I guess it's all just the luck of the draw. But check out buy.com for good deals on wireless routers, if you look hard enough you can find a brand new wireless router for $30 or less, and sometimes cheaper if you get one with a mail in rebate. Also newegg.com is a great place to shop for all hardware.

 

[ivseenbetter]

What about this one?

http://www.buy.com/prod/trendnet-tew-452brp-108mbps-wireless-super-g-broadband-router-trendnet/q/loc/101/201683113.html

 

[GlocksRock]

That is the same router I reccomended to two of my friends and so far neither one of them has reported any issues with it. I have one of their wireless PCI cards in one of my desktops, but don't use it since my room is wired now, but when I did use it, it worked great. For what it will cost you, you can't really go wrong, and with free shipping it's that much better of a deal. I know CompUSA and newegg also sells that brand, check their website too to see if they have it at a better price.

edit: I don't think they have the super G router, with 108 mpbs. but they have the 54 mbps. one, but I think the quality would still be the same.

 

[patnshan]

I have two routers in my house, one linksys and one belkin. Both work fine.
I do plan to acquire an airport express however, to be about to stream music to my stereo and control it with the iphone

Pat

 

[GlocksRock]

I had a guy at work give me a linksys WRT54G since the wireless quit working on it, and I needed a 4 port switch, so it worked out. Then I got the rest of my house networked and didn't need it anymore, so I decided to mess with the router to see if I could get the wireless to work, since I could connect to the wireless, but not get on the net with it. So all I did was upgrade to the latest firmware and it worked fine after that, so I sold it and made profit! Linksys would still probably be what I would use if I had to replace my current d-link.