NetGear Powerline AV500 Adapter Kit Video Review

[admin]

It seems these days everything requires an Internet connection - at least for anything having to do with home theater. So what do you do if you don't have your house wired for Internet? What if you want to stream movies and your wireless connection can't quite cut it? Well the HomePlug Powerline Alliance got together a ton of companies and created a standard for networking over powerlines. You can use your home's existing electrical system - the regular power outlets you have all over the place - and transmit networked audio, video and data. And it's not expensive to do. Devices like Netgear's Powerline AV500 Kit are set to revolutionize the way we connect our homes and our gear. You should check it out, because our testing shows that it beats wireless hands-down - it just may forever change the way you look at networking.

Discuss "NetGear Powerline AV500 Adapter Kit Video Review" here. Read the article.

 

[Sugarbear]

I have a set of these and they work great.

Be careful, though. - AirPlay doesn't work over them.

I'm waiting for NetGear to issue a firmware update to address.

 

[Lulimet]

Some models won't work if they aren't in the same circuit.

 

[Cruise Missile]

This is now on my short list of things to get. I've been running a wireless bridge to get internet to the theater.

Needless to say, the performance has been sub-par. An in-home increase of network speed would prevent me from having to put the server in the theater (loud). Thanks guys!

 

[GoFastr]

Maybe this model is better but don't get your hopes up too high.

I bought the NETGEAR Home Theater Internet Connection Kit last year and have stopped using it. My AVR is about 25 feet from my DSL modem but with a doorway between them and concrete block walls on the outside. No way to run wires in the walls. I tried to use the NetGear product by plugging it into the electrical wall outlet by the DSL modem and the receiver in the electrical wall outlet by the AVR. I did get a connection but it was still VERY slow. Remember the days of green screens and graphics/text that you could actually watch line by line as the page loaded! It took forever to load my collection of picture albums and music folders onto the TV screen so I gave up and just ran a cable on the floor directly between them until I finally got someone over to go up in the roof and run the cable right.

Good luck with it!

 

[scott911]

consider running a real cat 5e or 6 cable... unless you live in an apartment, etc... find a buddy with the basic know how, get a six pack, and go to it!

A wired connection will be able to handle huge amounts of data compared to wireless, it doesn't need athentication, rebooting, power, handshaking, passwords, etc...

I do use wireless for alot of stuff where I can't be bothered... like wii in the kid's room.

But for the ever growing demands of Home theater and straming, it was worth it to get a solid connection.

Although not ideal, remeber your can run ourside house - especially if you have siding, you can snake your cable under a run of siding to get between floors, etc...

 

[GoFastr]

Maybe this model is better but don't get your hopes up too high.

I bought the NETGEAR Home Theater Internet Connection Kit last year and have stopped using it. My AVR is about 25 feet from my DSL modem but with a doorway between them and concrete block walls on the outside. No way to run wires in the walls. I tried to use the NetGear product by plugging it into the electrical wall outlet by the DSL modem and the receiver in the electrical wall outlet by the AVR. I did get a connection but it was still VERY slow. Remember the days of green screens and graphics/text that you could actually watch line by line as the page loaded! It took forever to load my collection of picture albums and music folders onto the TV screen so I gave up and just ran a cable on the floor directly between them until I finally got someone over to go up in the roof and run the cable right.

Good luck with it!

I just want to point out that some of my troubles may have to do with the electrical outlets I chose to use. My kitchen outlet where the DSL modem was and my family room outlet where the AVR was are definately not on the same circuit and most likely the home run back to the panel box way on the opposite side of the house is a long trek.

I may give the device another try by trying to find outlets on the same circuit and see if response times improve. They must work for some people otherwise they wouldn't be selling as many as they have been.

 

[Opteron1944]

Netgear Network over AC power lines

I have been using an earlier version of this unit for several years with great success in a house with several 50 year-old wired circuits. There is no need for the units to be on the same circuit.

Indeed, the only physical issue is that the units must be plugged directly into the wall - no power strips or other filters of any kind are permitted. This is because the filters in most power strips and conditioners will block the frequencies these units depend on.

If there is a noticeable drop in speed or failure to connect, it can be indicative of a incompatible configuration setting for the NIC or software firewall.

Should FIOS ever make its way to my home, I'll quickly upgrade to these latest units.

 

[Fedaykin]

I have the 200Mbps version of these. Tests show I get about 180Mbps actual, which is pretty good. I'll be upgrading to the 500's soon. So much better than wireless -- but it's rather hit or miss depending on the quality of the wiring in your house.

Buy local so you can easily return (this is why I only have the 200 -- no local dealers had the 500)

Just remember when you test the speed that it's actually possible that your computer, blueray player, etc. is the bottleneck not the connection itself. A lot of gear still only have 100mbps adapters and once you get around 500mbps hard drives in laptops and older computers can't keep up with that speed.

The best way to test your speed is with network benchmarking software and two computers with a 1Gbps capability!