Advice on Media Streaming - Powerline / Wireless

Puzzled · 2 Feb 2014 at 01:08

I'm looking to run a plex media server and could do with some advice in regards to streaming blu ray quality video.

Currently I have a wireless G router and AV200 powerline adaptors, both of which are useless for the task required.

So couple of questions:

1. Do the new powerline adaptors work more efficiently on an electrical line with interference compared to the older models, as my current ones struggle to reach anywhere near the advertised speeds.

2. Is wireless AC fast enough for bluray quality streaming (or even N?). The server would only be about 18 metres away but several walls are in the way.

I know the perfect solution would be to run a cable but its a rented property and I see no way around it.

cavemanoc · 20 Feb 2014 at 21:02

Same question for me - are there any reasonably priced power line adapters capable of HD streaming?

Spudgun · 20 Feb 2014 at 22:50

I stream 1080p video to my WDTV from my PC using AV200 homeplugs with no issue at all.

This shows that the quality of electrical wiring in your property plays a crucial role here. You might want to try some of the newer AV2600 homeplugs and see if they cope better, but if your electrical wiring is poor then they might not be any better.

ci_newman · 21 Feb 2014 at 09:53

As above, I have a set of AV200 and I have no problem getting 100Mbps over them. Your internal wiring is the most likely culprit.

In theory a decent wireless-N network would manage it fine but 18m is actually quite a long distance inside a house.

cavemanoc · 21 Feb 2014 at 18:40

I have just taken the plunge and gone for some 2nd generation plugs:

TP-Link TL-PA551KIT AV500+ Gigabit Powerline Adapter with AC Pass Through Starter Kit

Will post some stats when they arrive - I'm in a new build with about 5m between the machine - hoping to get some strong numbers.

cavemanoc · 22 Feb 2014 at 15:02

It's not going to set the world alight (apart from maybe if the overheating issue is and issue

) but I think it is good enough for HD streaming!

Will give it a go with something substantial later.

Slightly better run:

bremen1874 · 22 Feb 2014 at 17:03

Those results are actually pretty poor. Even with AV200 adapters you'd expect 40Mbps+ both ways if they're working correctly.

Is your connection really that slow, or is the 'server' a low end NAS that hasn't got much bandwidth?