Home Plugs - Are They Really Practical ?

Bint Box said:
Ah, OK, I have been getting confused with the actual method. My thoughts were that the LAN connection was to send the instructions re programming and that the Freesat streamed the pictures. However it is the reverse of this. Thx for pointing this out.

It is still theoretical for me at the moment as I do not think Panasonic have updated the Freesat integrated tuner in the TV with the ability to use the technology. The proposed deadline for 2009 TV's was the end of July, perhaps this evening....................


Rgds
Binty
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You need to check if the TV Lan output really will repeat the iplayer image. If it is that easy then great but its such an easy way to copy HD content that it seems likely to have been shut off.

HD iplayer output is good but not as good as freesat broadcast quality
 
errata said:
HD iplayer output is good but not as good as freesat broadcast quality
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Yeah, I know, however, iPlayer is good for historic programming that I may have missed, Freesat has no options for that unless the programme is repeated.

If it's live broadcast I have various HD options but if I miss a program from BBC then this is just a way of viewing that program, nothing else, and not fussed if it's HD or SD


Rgds
Binty
 
errata said:
yupp legal
youtube 'evidence' haha
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Excellent post,

Now if you want to discuss it properly I am happy to explain further and if you had bothered to look at all the links you would see that the final one is from ofcom... have you even bothered to look at any of the links or are you trying to be cool like those in GD when they see a daily mail link.

I look forward to your response ;)
 
stigggeh said:
Excellent post,

Now if you want to discuss it properly I am happy to explain further and if you had bothered to look at all the links you would see that the final one is from ofcom... have you even bothered to look at any of the links or are you trying to be cool like those in GD when they see a daily mail link.

I look forward to your response ;)
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What has Ofcom found?
On the evidence, Ofcom has not so far found that there is a breach of the EMC essential requirements. Ofcom has therefore decided against taking further enforcement action at this time. Ofcom is working together with Comtrend and BT to reduce any negative effects in individual cases and we support them in doing so.
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And that is in reference to the original BT models which were suspect!
 
stigggeh said:
Excellent post,

Now if you want to discuss it properly I am happy to explain further and if you had bothered to look at all the links you would see that the final one is from ofcom... have you even bothered to look at any of the links or are you trying to be cool like those in GD when they see a daily mail link.

I look forward to your response ;)
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Your jumping to conclusions, only the ofcom report has any real technical merit, it does not support your contention on legality, I dont think your open to debate on this given your stance!
 
I've had mixed results to be honest. My first set was a cisco one which plugged directly into the wall socket. Had no connection problems with these at all, must have had it for over a year. Unfortunately one of them died due to an electrical fault. Got a replacement from cisco, which connected to teh wall socket via a kettle lead, and had problem after problem with them. They'd lose sync at least twice a week, and the throughput didn't seem as good.
 
I have used Netgear and Zyxcel home plugs both work well, just remember you will achieve about 1/4 of stated max speed, the 200mbs ones are the ones to get.
 
What has Ofcom found?
On the evidence, Ofcom has not so far found that there is a breach of the EMC essential requirements. Ofcom has therefore decided against taking further enforcement action at this time. Ofcom is working together with Comtrend and BT to reduce any negative effects in individual cases and we support them in doing so.
Click to expand...

And that is in reference to the original BT models which were suspect!
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Hi, I am a little busy today so please excuse the bitty and fragmented response.


Yes Comtrend are the worst culprits, but the youtube video's show the new Belkin adaptors that operate at U/VHF causing a total wipe out to DAB so they are not great.

@ errata, I have never said they are illegal, just that we should be discussing (and challenging) the legality of devices. There are a few journal articles available online with some interesting points on CE marking along with some independent testing. I am open to debate and would welcome any information that you can provide.


[Tin foil hat] I wonder what would happen if they did ban these devices, considering so many are already on the market at quite a substantial cost, this along with the push for 'Digital Britain' are two reason why I believe they will do their best to keep those affected quiet [/tin foil hat]
Last year Sweden removed some PLT devices from the market due to non conformity. http://www.ero.dk/37D6714E-27DF-42D7-AF4B-D790B0083183?frames=no& If you look around the net, independant testing makes for some interesting reading.


Journal Articles below... a few snippets

These measurements lead to the unavoidable conclusion that
the Comtrend PG902 adaptor exceeds the allowable limits in
CISPR 22/EN 55022 by a factor of 30dB, continuously, over
the majority of the frequency range. Any reputable manufacturer
of electronic equipment would not market such a device until
it had been redesigned and brought into compliance
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It is the case that some
PLT modems are already on the market in Europe
and are CE Marked, which means that their
manufacturers believe that they meet the essential
requirements of the EMC Directive. But there are no
standards specifically for such devices and for now,
no such device could actually meet the general
standard for RF emissions from IT equipment [6].
This is because the level of RF voltage that is put
onto the mains connection is far in excess of the
levels which are allowed for conducted emissions
from all such products.
If these products can't comply with their applicable
standards, how could they be CE marked?
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http://www.compliance-club.com/PLT/Tim Williams EMCJ Issue 82.pdf
http://www.elmac.co.uk/pdfs/Why_PLT_is_bad_for_EMC_V5_final.pdf
http://www.compliance-club.com/PLT/Richard Marshall Issue 87.PDF
 
Last edited:
Hi,

I finally got the Netgear home plugs installed and working and they are OK. I am getting between 50mbps and 90 mbps which is OK for my data needs.

Thx for all the feedback in the topic, it was very useful.


Rgds
Binty
 
I was asked about the best way of connecting a Freesat TV to BT Homehub 2, and all I could think of was homeplugs.

So have they improved since this thread was active? Or any wireless alternatives worth considering.

Edit: And are homeplugs save to leave connected to wall sockets when iPlayer isn't being used?
 
I have a pair of the 85Mbps ones. From the switch in the study to behind my TV for the xbox.

While they report at syncing at 60Mbps (I was more than happy with that) the through put was awful. Bandwidth testing and it was a little over 7Mbps. Fine for the xbox for day to day xbox live but straming HD to the xbox and it just not enough. A 10Gb WMV HD needs about 9Mbps. I'm now running a ethernet cable down.

From research the advertised speed, sync speed and then real world throughput do differ considerably. Perhaps the newer models offer enough bandwidth, but mine certainly do not.
 
Expect them to last 12 months tops. They get very warm/hot, dread to think how much electric they consume. Mate of mine got through many sets of them over several years...

Practical? Yes. False economy? Yes.
 
Oddly enough I've got a few sets that have lasted a few years, I won't disagree they get hot though, and you're right, I'm sure they're probably far more power consuming than LAN/WiFi, but they're very very useful in circumstances where wifi and LAN aren't suitable for one reason or another :)

Your mate may have been unlucky though, I've seen a few fail, but my family have a ton of the things, I've got a few, and I've got some friends with them, and the failure rates haven't been massive, got plenty over 2 years old still working.
 
I ran three 200Mbps Netgear ones from when they came out for a long time and they worked reasonably well. End of last year I replaced them with normal network cabling.

My Parents now have them in their house as the layout means that it wouldn't be practical to run normal cabling or use wifi .... this works fine without any issues and has for the last year.
 
I've got a pair of the 200Mb D-Links that OCUK stock. Some of the cheapest I could find at £40 for the pair but they sync at almost 200Mb across my house (~40M) and I get 80-90Mb actual throughput each way, with a stable 2-3ms latency across the bridge. They were plug and play and have worked flawlessly for connecting up my lounge (have a switch in there providing connectivity for a wireless AP, Wii, Xbox, HTPC, and Blu-Ray player)
 
Bint Box said:
Hi,

I am thinking of getting some home plugs to pipe the broadband around the house. However, in practice, do they really allow good quality video streaming considering all the gadgets that are plugged into power sockets in a normal house.

Do you have to go round and unplug all the stuff that is supposed to cause interference such as phone chargers, microwaves, dildos etc? If all the stuff has to be unplugged in order to get a signal good enough to smoothly stream video then to me its not a practical solution.


Rgds
Binty
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I use one to stream videos, including HD to my tv and it works great with a homeplug. It probably does make a difference with your house wiring though.

Personally I would just order one from online and try it. If it doesnt work then send it back. Simples :D
 
I thought about getting a pair, I am in the basement & router main floor. A move of the router would cause probs. & they all go across circuits now right? I only get 1 bar, sometimes 2 down here now.
 
I have the same home hub and the supplied bt homeplugs. They are ugly as sin but I stream 1080p h264 flawlessly from my main pc to my laptop.
 
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