Cisco-Linksys WGA11B Wireless-B Game Adapter Review

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(More customer reviews)Okay, first of all I'm hot on linksys (see my other reviews). I used to do network stuff for a living - don't anymore, but I have always been impressed with Linksys (compared to Netgear, DLink and Microsoft) for the consumer market. Their stuff is by and large (prosumer) - it has some good pro features without having to be a rocket scientist to configure the thing. Now that Cisco owns them - it's even a better deal as Cisco has been putting some nice features into all of linksys's products. While the tech support guys at linksys all need an attitude adjustment (they are a surley bunch) - the products often don't require tech support... so I suppose it is a good-news, bad-news, kind of thing...
But this sucker was PLUG AND PLAY for all intensive purposes. There are a few things, however, I think people should know in order to set this up:
a) You probably want to turn off all WEP and MAC filters. You can turn them back on once you get the sucker id'ed on the network and talking... but for now, leave it off.
b) You probably want to turn ON your SSID (again, makes it easier for the thing to install out of the box.)
c) You probably want to know what your broadcast frequency is on your WAP. If you are using a linksys WAP it is found on the admin screen regarding security. You need to look for the broadcast ID channel (default is six). That is the channel you want to tune the WGA11B. However, what I really recommend that people do is avoid "ad hoc" mode entirely and set the WGA to In mode (looks kind of like 1n on the WGA display) - this is infrastructure mode. Infrastructure mode is what you want to use if you are using a broadcasting router/switch/bridge access point (like the linksys Wireless-B, G, WAP11, etc.)
d) Make sure you know what type of cable you are using to connect it. The cable that comes with the broadcast bridge unit (the WGA) is actually a CROSSOVER cable. This was a bit surprising to me (not that they are hard to make, just, you rarely ever get one from someone - you always wind up making them). You'll know you have the switch in the right position when the WAN light (the little symbol that looks like a circle with two lines in it) lights up GREEN.
e) If you are not already, I'd set up DHCP for the moment. The bridge is default configured to try and connect via DHCP. If you don't have DHCP configured, I don't know what it is going to try to do default IP static (probably 192.176.1.1 if it is like other linksys products). Save yourself the headache and do DHCP.
Okay - otherwise, this sucker is easy as pie to set up. Plug it in to your LAN adapter (I have PS2 so it is a little box on the back of the game thing - don't know about Xbox). Then plug the cord into the WGA. Turn the WGA on and set it to the channel of your WAP. It should start talking IMMEDIATELY. If not - you have done something wrong.
The CD for the PC is interesting. Like most linksys products - it looks nice and is full featured. You won't need the CD for configuring the WGA unless you plan on using WEP.
The infrastucture mode is really fast. I must say that I play online alot.... and this connection point on PS2 shows virtually no lag. I don't know what Sony did via their gaming networks - but this sucker runs QUICK. Like I said, virtually no lag.
The real bummer is that about 99% of the games out there are not multiplayer yet. The ones that are, however, are really fun to play. I play MOH:RS, Desert II, and a few others online. The games are quick paced. To really take advantage of it, however, you might want to go "full bore" and invest in a USB headphone/mic set so you can "talk to people". Also, the USB keyboard might be a nice feature too... although I don't have that...
I've seen quite a few game adapters out there (do a search on Amazon - you will see). This is the best one I've seen for the money.
One last thing - I'd forget "Wireless G" adapaters. Again, unless your connection is like a T3 line straight to the house (which 99% of most people do not have) - you're only as fast as your smallest connection - which is likely to be the ADSL/Cable router connection. Comcast is 3MB - which I NEVER get (even burst inside Comcast's net). So B is MORE than enough bandwidth. I heard some guy at Best Buy trying to talk up a Wireless-G adapter saying he would get "better performance" - and while that is true.. it's like putting brand new wheels on a car with an underpowered engine... yeah, it will look better... but it won't go faster.
See you out there...

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The LINKSYS WGA11B Wireless-B Game Adapter gives any wired Ethernet equipped game console wireless connection capability. If you have an existing home wireless network with a cable or DSL Internet connection, the Game Adapter lets your PlayStation, XBOX, or GameCube attach to the network so you can get into online games without running wires to the game room. Or, you can use a pair of Game Adapters to form a "cable-less cable" between two game consoles for head-to-head gaming -- in the same room, or all the way across the house!

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NETGEAR FA311 10/100Mbps PCI Ethernet Interface Card Review

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(More customer reviews)To keep my small business network running, I've always tried to reduce costs where possible. Unfortunately, when it comes to network cards, using the lowest possible priced Ethernet card can be false economy.
The Netgear FA311 is one of the only cards I've come across where oddball compatibility issues don't arise. With others, there's always an issue or two, however minor they may be. A D-Link card that prevents a home automation package from working. A Linksys card that conflicts with an online streaming video technology. I could go on. The Netgear costs just a few dollars more than these others, but is still well under the price of brands such as 3Com in most cases.
For me, on all the machines I've tried, the FA311 installs quickly and easily, and works marvelously.
I have only one caution: Windows 2000 users should download and have ready the latest drivers from the Netgear web site. Across two FA311 purchases, the drivers delivered on the packaged floppy had various problems (e.g., major packet loss). I'm used to doing that as a matter of course for the majority of driver-dependent computer goodies, so I didn't find it to be a hassle in this case.

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Netgear's FA311 Ethernet network card connects your PC to other networked computers, printers, Zip drives, routers, network storage, and the Internet. Providing high-speed data transfer, the FA311 provides 10/100 Mbps auto-sensing capability, eliminating the need for manual switching. Compatible with all major PC operating systems, the FA311 ensures your readiness for the future, providing both 5-volt and 3.3-volt PCI capability. Three LEDs on the front panel for 100 Mbps, 10 Mbps, and activity offer intuitive feedback on network status and performance.
Getting started is simple: open your PC, plug in the card, start your PC, and install the driver from the floppy diskette. The FA311 Ethernet network card comes with a limited lifetime warranty.

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Western Digital WD Livewire Powerline AV Network Kit Review

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(More customer reviews)WD's Livewire Powerline little boxes allow for high-speed data flow over your residence's electrical wiring with ZERO setup - something that would have been viewed as a miracle or an impossibility only a few years ago. Anyone (such as myself) who currently relies on 'wireless' to connect various devices could use Livewire Powerline for those networked appliances that either can't connect wirelessly (many Bluray players and TV sets) or a high bandwidth channel is needed to stream HD content.
Before making a 'buy' decision, it is important to understand that Livewire will NOT significantly improve 'Internet' performance unless your ISP provides you with a very large bandwidth. If your Wi-Fi router supports 802.11g, you will get an average throughput of 22 Mbit/s which is more than most ISP can provide for Internet bandwidth. In other words, your Wi-Fi router should usually handle whatever the Internet may throw at you with some room to spare and whether you get your ISP's 10 Mbit/s data stream over at 22 Mbit/s from Wi-Fi or at 200 Mbit/s from Livewire Powerline it's still... 10 Mbit/s or close. On the other hand, streaming form your media server at will make all the difference in the world when compared with your Wi-Fi throughput.WHO NEEDS IT?
To summarize, you will BENEFIT from Liverwire Powerline when:
- You stream from YOUR media server
- Have some Internet-ready device that does not support Wi-Fi and your home is not 'wired' for Ethernet
- You have a big house or for whatever reason Wi-Fi can't reach some specific device or the reception is poor
- You have a VERY HIGH bandwidth Internet connection
You will NOT BENEFIT from Liverwire Powerline to connect to the Internet via a 'normal' broadband link and, of course, if your house is already wired for Ethernet.MY EXPERIENCE
To evaluate WD's Livewire Powerline I decided that I will first try it without reading the manual (a .pdf) or installing whatever software came on CD. To my surprise, I was able to set it all up and get it running in a few minutes. Still haven't looked at the CD.
In the box you find the 2 little (literally) identical Liverwire Powerline boxes, 2 power cords and 2 short (too short) Ethernet wires. And... yes a CD that should have some software that you COULD install and use if you had trouble setting things up. The boxes have 4 RJ-45 (not phone jacks) ports, an On/Off switch set to On by default (no need to ever set it to off) and some little lights that blink whenever there is data traffic.My setup and installation proceeded as follows:
- I connected the power cords to the boxes
- On each of the 2 boxes I connected one end of the Ethernet wires to one port on the box
- I placed one of the boxes near my router in the basement and connected the other end of the Ethernet wire to one of the router's ports
- I plugged the power cord into a wall outlet - must NOT plug it into a power strip or surge protector, it MUST go directly into the wall outlet
- I attached the Ethernet wire of the other box to my PS3 upstairs
- I plugged this box's power cord into the wall outlet
Once the above was done, I turned on my PS3 and set it to use the 'wired' connection. It recognized it within seconds and I was pleased to see the Internet test indicating an 8.2 Mbit/s, better than the 5.6 Mbit/s I had over the Wi-Fi. But that was not all. The big improvement was when I played a video off the media server located in the basement: flawlessly playing our 720p home videos over the new connection vs. choppy before over Wi-Fi.
As expected, the PS3 benefited but only to a small degree when it came to the Internet stream - it did benefit because the Wi-Fi signal strength was only 63% - and it benefited tremendously when media streaming was between in-house devices.
With 4 RJ-45 ports available, I am considering now getting a dedicated Blu-ray player and will not have to specifically seek one that had Wi-Fi built-in.MY EVALUATION
As far as I am concerned (see my experience notes above) Livewire Powerline is in many ways the perfect gadget. It does its magic, it does it well and 'the rest of us' don't need to bother with manuals or spend hours on hold with tech support - WD does provide a tech support phone number and a Web site if you get yourself into trouble.
I do not expect not think about this device again until I get my Blu-ray player. Like my Linksys router, I expect it to sit there, largely forgotten and gathering dust behind the entertainment center and do its job without me worrying about it at all. Which makes it perfect. And the price is not that bad either.
_________________________________
NOTE: WD claims that this will allow you to stream HD on your home network. This is true but be aware that not all HDs are equal. You will NOT be able to stream Blu-ray quality 1080p with 7.1 uncompressed sound - you will need 'Gigabit Ethernet' for that. You should have no problem streaming 720p with 2 channel stereo sound, which is what you are likely to produce as a 'home' video.
NOTE 2: I only tested with 2 boxes but I know of at least one person (my boss actually) who has 4 such boxes (an older model) in his house and happens to be very happy with the setup.
NOTE 3: See a discussion on my statement that "you will NOT be able to stream Blu-ray quality 1080p with 7.1 uncompressed sound" in the 'comments' sections of this review.

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Wd livewire powerline av network kit extends the internet to any room using your home's electrical outlets. stream the highest quality hd video, play games, and transfer files within the home or over the internet using secure and reliable high-speed connections. get the performance of a wired network without running wires.

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Monster PowerNet 200 Powerline Network Adapter Starter Kit Review

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(More customer reviews)With my new Samsung Blueray, not only can I pop in a Blueray disk but my model has Netflix, Pandora, You Tube, and Blockbuster download and play capability via wireless connection. Problem was my router is upstairs on one end of the house and the Blueray is downstairs on the other end of the house, some 60+ feet distance; and not even a linksys WRT610N would send enough signal to get better than a 10% success rate on the download. Most of the time, it just chugged and chugged and then timed out. Solution: Monster Powernet 200 which sends the signal through your electrical wiring. It takes 2 units of equipment to get started - thus it's called a starter kit. You just plug one into a wall outlet at your PC and connect an ethernet cable from the Powernet to the router. Plug the other Powernet unit into a wall outlet at your Blueray and connect an ethernet cable from it to your Blueray player. Then go into setting on your Blueray and change the connection type from wireless to cable. Now the movies download in about 10 seconds. Another plus is now that the first 2 units are installed, I can add additional units in another room of the house where I have an ethernet ready TV. My only word of caution is that the Powernet unit plugs into both sockets of a typical wall outlet, then compensates by having an outlet on both sides of the unit; but not all plugs may fit into it because of angled plug shapes.

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Monster Cable PowerNet DX-PLN-200-2-B Powerline Network Adapter DX-PLN-200-2-B Powerline Network Adapters

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Monster PowerNet 300 Power Line Network Module with Clean Power Review

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(More customer reviews)I loved my network-able Blue-ray player I purchased, but I hated the wireless adapter which left me always praying my Netflix or U-tube content would actually play. Same with my networkable TV, I'd always lose the radio or the news. My PS3 online gaming was a joke wirelessly. I dreaded running a network cable from my livingroom into my bedroom. Such a downer for such great products.
However, I found this little device and AMAZINGLY everything works flawlessly! It's literally plug and play. High-speed networking that's virtually wireless!!! You need one on your router end to plug "wire" a Cat5/ethernet cable into and one for wherever you want to have a "wired" connection for your equipment. You use a Cat5/ethernet cable to "wire" your components into the Monster PowerNet which is plugged into the wall. No cables between rooms, only between your router to PowerNet which plugs into the outlet and one from your components to the PowerNet 200 or 300.
You may have to reset your components from wireless to wired, but after that, it just works! NO more jagged netflix, waiting for info to load, missed songs or slow online gaming. It actually downloads the best quality off netflix. I'm really happy with this. I'm used to wiring and setting up computers, home theatre, and complicated set-ups. I was really amazed at how easy it was.
Good luck and buy it! It really is worth it if you use networkable products, or even if you have a wireless deadspot in your home. I'm glad I found this because it's much cheaper than running network cables through my home which was going to run me ($3,000-$4,500).
BTW the difference between the PowerNet 300 and PowerNet 200 is the PowerNet 300 allows for more than one component (4 ethernet ports) in a room. The PowerNet 200 has only one ethernet connection. The PowerNet 200 & 300 also gives you some surge protection & line conditioning (clean power filtering) which erases some of the "buzz/noise" or interference in your walls to give a faster connection.

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Fewer wires, better reliability -- that's what you get from Monster's PowerNet 300. By utilizing your homes existing electrical wiring to create a home computer network, you can stream movies, music, and photos to your internet enabled devices with the speed of a wired system, but the convenience (and cleanliness) of a Wi-Fi system, using any compatible PowerNet device as a hub.

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Actiontec Ethernet over Coax MoCA Adapter - Single Review

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(More customer reviews)I used this device to connection to my FIOS Actiontec router, and without a few comments from people here, you'd never get this to work properly.
First, the "quick instructions" (the only instructions as it turns out) assume that you are using a pair of these only to create an ethernet bridge over your coax. Thus, using this to connect to your FIOS router, the instructions are nonsensical.
Second, without instructions, you'll conclude you put this in between your coax cable and set top box. This will not work, even though this is apparently the way it's supposed to work. You'll get interference on your TV, things won't work, and you'll be ready to throw it in the box and return it.
In reality, you take the cable from the wall jack and get it into a coax splitter. One split goes to the set top box, the other to the device. You connect the ethernet jack to the device, and you're up and working.
If you go to Actiontec's site, they have no instructions how this will work with an Actiontec's FIOS router, despite the fact that this is probably the best use of the device!.
Anyway, once you get it hooked up, as other have said, you don't configure anything. It just works.
So it's a great product, hampered by no instructions for many people, and no help on the web site.

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Actiontec Ethernet over Coax MoCA Adapter - Single

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RJ45 Ethernet Network Splitter Connector Coupler Plug Review

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(More customer reviews)Read ME! Rated one star for your attention!!! You can't use this product to split the Internet line to connect two separate devices. What you are looking for is a Router or a Switch. Internet signal is a digital signal with a designated IP (Internet Protocol) address. Each Network device has to have a unique IP address and a DHCP server to releases that IP address. This device only splits the signal. It dose not assign IP addresses or act as a DHCP server. Can be used to split security cams into two monitors or feeds.

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NOTE: This Ethernet splitter allows two computers to share one Ethernet line ONE AT A TIME, but it doesn't support both computer to connect onto the internet simultaneously.

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