Home Plugs dropping bandwidth, I need something better...WIFI

[SBD]

I have been using some BT homeplugs to stream media around the house but they are very temperamental. Sometimes they work and sometimes when playing video's it feels like it is trying to buffer, this can happen with both HD and SD.

Is it possible to get a very good wireless router which can produce and good constant signal around my house? I will spend as much as I need to. I really want this to work. My house has thick walls, it's two floors, maybe putting a wifi router in the roof would be an idea?

If someone can give me a list of routers to check out that would be great as there are so many out there. The only thing I seem to know is that Cisco Linksys is a safe bet.

 

[a1ex2001]

Generally speaking homeplugs should be better than Wi-Fi but obviously the condition of your home wiring could be making a difference, is your property desperately in need of a re-wire?

Failing that before ditching the homeplugs I'd try a few things to speed them up, firstly take the front plate of every mains socket in your house and tighten up all the screws that hold the wires in place this can make a noticeable difference to speed, I would also do the same where the cables enter your consumer board (don't forget to turn the mains off first for saftey!). Secondly I'd try a different brand of homeplugs if memory serves the BT ones use a different protocol to most of the others on the market, this could make a difference.

Finally if you do decide homeplugs are not good enough I would consider getting some cat6 buried in the walls before going to a wireless solution, to get good reliable high speed wireless through out your home will be a right pain and probably cost as much as a small number of cable runs. Wi Fi is great for surfing the web but can really start to struggle once you get to streaming content especially if you have multiple devices conecting and using the band width.

 

[SBD]

Cheers a1ex2001 I will have a look at the face plates. I really wish I could put cat6 all over but this is my parents house and for my Dad it would be a big No No. The house is a fairly new build about 10-15 years so I don't think a re-wire is on the cards.

I have looked at the Linksys E3000 if what it says on the box is true then it should be ideal as it goes on about HD streaming, has increased range and it's dual band. Would be nice if someone had one and could give me a genuine opinion

I don't want to buy more Home plugs as they can be £40-50 a pop so spending £100-150 on a wifi router could save me money in the long run but I will have to take into consideration extra WIFI cards.