dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
1828

R2
R Not
MVM
join:2000-09-18
Long Beach, CA

3 edits

R2

MVM

Blue Ray player - Wireless to Internet?

I have a new Blue Ray Player that can play Netflix and YouTube video - if you can connect it to the Internet!
»www.amazon.com/dp/B0076R7FFI

I do not want to wire an Ethernet line into that room and I have a wireless network in the the house. I tried to use a small compact wireless Linksys USB Adapter, »www.amazon.com/Cisco-Lin ··· ys+cisco
...But there was no way to run the set up CD (it simply would not play the disc). And without running the set up, it would not work.

What are my options? Would a small adapter like this work:
»www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh ··· =details
That appears to connect via Ethernet port, so that may be better than a USB connection.

Alternatively, I found this from Samsung that perhaps is exactly what I need, but much more costly:
»www.amazon.com/Samsung-W ··· d_cp_e_1

Plus the USB port is in front - so that monster has to stick out in front for the Blue Ray Player - while the Ethernet port is in back...

Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks.
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

1 edit

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

powerline adapters

R2
R Not
MVM
join:2000-09-18
Long Beach, CA

R2

MVM

How is the set up? Do I have to run a CD to make it work? Thanks.
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

No CD needed. Plug one unit in the wall next to your router and run a cat5 cable to it. Plug the other in wall next to your Blu-Ray and run cat5 to it. That's all there is to it. No software to install at all

R2
R Not
MVM
join:2000-09-18
Long Beach, CA

2 edits

R2

MVM

Too good to be true! ;-] Sounds great. Thanks for the advice.
___________

Ah, that is the device that uses your house's electrical wiring as a cable network. I have heard of that before. Does it come with TWO devices in the box?

Is that faster or slower than my wireless connection would be? I want to use this for streaming multimedia.

Thanks.
jcremin
join:2009-12-22
Siren, WI

jcremin

Member

said by R2:

Ah, that is the device that uses your house's electrical wiring as a cable network.

Is that faster or slower than my wireless connection would be? I want to use this for streaming multimedia.

I've never used the powerline stuff, but I've heard mixed reviews on it depending on the distance and quality of your house wiring. I'm guessing it would work fine for what you want to do, but the other option would be to get a wireless ethernet bridge instead.

Something like this: »www.amazon.com/Microcom- ··· =airwire

I believe that would run in the 5ghz frequency, so you'd want to make sure you were only going through 1 or 2 walls. If you have full signal strength on the 2.4ghz, it would probably work, but 5ghz goes through less than a typical router would.

The other option would be to get a 2.4ghz client bridge that could connect to your existing wireless router.

Here's an example: »www.amazon.com/Cisco-Lin ··· s+bridge

You basically plug the device into your computer so you can configure it with your wireless network settings, then you bring it to the device you want to use it with and plug it in.
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned) to R2

Member

to R2
It comes as a kit, two devices. I had problems with my Roku getting a wireless signal through all the walls between my entertainment center and the router. This fixed it.

R2
R Not
MVM
join:2000-09-18
Long Beach, CA

R2

MVM

Thanks to both of you. Is there any benefit to getting a device that calls itself a "Bridge" and an Adapter, or do I just need an Adapter?

Can a "Repeater" be used as an Adapter like this, and give me the benefit of boosting my Wireless signal.
__________________________________________

The room with the Blue Ray Player is directly upstairs from the room that has the Wireless Router. All of our laptops work upstairs, so I am not sure that the walls / floors will be a problem. I may try the Wireless solution first, then I could always fall back on the Powerline solution.
jcremin
join:2009-12-22
Siren, WI

jcremin

Member

A bridge typically means that you have two devices that create either a wireless or wired (over the power lines in the example above) and you don't really have much or anything to configure. It basically can be thought of as a virtual Ethernet cable.

The advantage with the adapter I listed above is that it simply acts like a client on your existing router, and converts that wireless signal to a wired port.

I have a feeling any of the devices that Jim or I have listed would work just fine for what you're doing. I wouldn't bother with the repeater. They usually don't work very well and sometimes cause more problems than you started with.

Jerm
join:2000-04-10
Richland, WA
·Ziply Fiber

Jerm to R2

Member

to R2
Highly recommended:

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 33320095

With almost 100 deployed, I can't complain. Just. Works.
wirelessdog
join:2008-07-15
Queen Anne, MD

wirelessdog to R2

Member

to R2
+1 on a powerline bridge.

R2
R Not
MVM
join:2000-09-18
Long Beach, CA

R2

MVM

Interesting - "wireless"dog is recommending a wired solution?

I think I'll try wireless first (it appears to me that the wireless transmission rate is higher - IF I am understanding the numbers correctly...). If that fails, I'll fall back on to the Powerline Bridge.

Thanks again to all of the helpful advice.

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
·Metronet

CylonRed to R2

MVM

to R2
We have an older Samsung Blu-Ray and I believe the wireless adapter is proprietary and as you have seen expensive. I think ours was $75 a few years back.

If you update the firmware - be sure to use a thumb drive and not the wireless connection.
phipsi
join:2007-03-10
North Las Vegas, NV

phipsi

Member

I would check out MOCA bridges. I have them set up for my TIVO's. They work great. You would need 2 to get started.

dbarber
join:2000-07-25
West Chester, PA

dbarber to R2

Member

to R2
I recently bought a Samsung BD-D5500 (Ethernet only) BluRay player, similar to yours. I was not about to pay Samsung's outrageous price for a proprietary WiFi adapter. Instead, I bought a couple of Netgear's WNCE2001 Ethernet to WiFi N adapters »www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 33122432 .
I have been very happy with it, and bought several more of them for friends and clients.
If you have any questions, ask away!

SoonerAl
MVM
join:2002-07-23
Norman, OK

SoonerAl to R2

MVM

to R2
From the FWIW department...

I recently bought this ZyXEL PLA4205kit HomePlug AV 500 Mbps Powerline Wall-plug Adapter kit so I could connect my wife'e desktop PC to our router. Works great...

»www.amazon.com/ZyXEL-PLA ··· duct_top

Hall
MVM
join:2000-04-28
Germantown, OH

Hall to R2

MVM

to R2
said by R2:

...But there was no way to run the set up CD (it simply would not play the disc).

You're the first person I've seen who has actually tried to use the (Windows/Mac) setup disc !

Unless your BD player runs Windows or Mac OSX, it's a driver issue.

Jerm
join:2000-04-10
Richland, WA
·Ziply Fiber

Jerm to R2

Member

to R2
said by R2:

Interesting - "wireless"dog is recommending a wired solution?

The full story here is wireless dog runs a wireless ISP, and the last thing he wants is someone chewing up precious 2.4Ghz airtime with video streaming

Since everyone already has a wireless router, generally a wireless client bridge is the simplest solution. IF you have a strong signal, a 54mbps wireless sync can handle up to about 20mbps actual bandwidth transfer and is plenty for the 4-5mbps Netflix HD actually takes up. While N is technically faster, most real-world consumer deployments are lucky to get better than G speeds anyway, as everything has to be backwards compatible and you rarely get channel bonding and MIMO both working.

SimbaSeven
I Void Warranties
join:2003-03-24
Billings, MT

SimbaSeven to R2

Member

to R2
I'd suggest finding an old dd-wrt capable router and flashing it. There's several out there and they work great as wireless bridges/clients.

Just check your local thrift store.

R2
R Not
MVM
join:2000-09-18
Long Beach, CA

1 recommendation

R2

MVM

Follow up. I appreciated all the excellent advice. When I bought the Blue Ray player I never even contemplated using the Internet options, so I did not look at the higher priced models! I just wanted a relatively cheap but decent player. But, since I have a Netflix account and since my daughter likes You Tube, once I got it plugged in I changed my mind!

I am sadly a creature of habit. I have always used Linksys for my wireless connections, and so far I have always been satisfied. So I came across a Linksys Wireless Bridge that caught my attention solely because in the name was: "Gaming and Video Adapter". Since it is an older model, per se, I actually got it for under $50.

»www.amazon.com/Cisco-Lin ··· -+bridge

It required set up - you run a set up CD on your computer and hook up the adapter/bridge to that first. It finds your Network and sets up the bridge with very little input or effort from you. You then move to the Blue Ray player and it was again very easy to plug it in and get it running.

It works perfectly. Video streaming seems to be as flawless as I expect. The picture is perfect. The wireless adapter / transmitter is on the first floor directly below the room that the Blue Ray player is in - but my house has a crawl space between the floors, so that is the equivalent of 2 walls. The connection appear to be quite strong.

I am sure the other wireless adapters would work well also! Thanks to all.