I tried a 200 Mbps powerline kit at home and the 'real-world' transfer rate I received was 3Mbps!! The existing 15 year-old BNC cable was faster than that!
I'll always be wary of these things because they are so dependant on the quality and configuration of your wiring, which can be a bit hit-and-miss.
@Chris - seriously, is it even safe to plug stuff into your wall sockets at home? if you got wiring from 1896 then what do you expect? Sure, you won't ever get the rated speeds on any of this stuff, at least not unless you're running proper Ethernet cabling in your home. But 3Mbps... did you go from wall socket to wall socket or did you use extension leads?
If Belkin delivers half the speed they claim, then this could be a seriously interesting alternative to WiFi for stationary devices in the home that needs to be connected to the internet. You could even hook up a switch to one of these and still get decent speed on most devices on the network. Now how about some Gigabit speed internet connections :D
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I have a 200mbit one and it's fast enough to stream HD content already from my server to my PS3, but like they say, you can never have enough speed! As modern life means in a victorian terrace street, I can see about a dozen wireless signals (some with their address as the SSID - doh!), this is starting to become a decent viable alternative.
My experience anything Belkin, works good when it works.. I've had 2 devices from them now, first one worked for a year and then just died, the second was dead on arrival. Belkin really need to up there reliability before I'd buy anything from them again. I suppose they do have lifetime warranty on network products, so if you do buy, make sure you keep the receipt somewhere safe. Personally I'd rather not have the hassle and will avoid.
@Swede: No extensions, surge protectors or anything like that. I'm not the only one either. I've read a few forum posts from people with similar problems. I think it has more to do with how your wiring, circuit breakers and fuses are set up than the actual quality or age of the wires. My house has multiple mains loops and some ancient circuit breakers.
I'm sure these things are great for >90% of the population, but the rest would be wasting their money (like me ;'( ).
Even an imperfect powerline 1G setup is impressive. The old 200mbps powerline delivered 30-90mbps in most circumstances so if this version delivers 5x that you're getting 150 to 450MBPS. Everybody talks about gaming and video but if commercial enterprises are able to send anything like these numbers over their powerlines thats a game changer. Belkin talks about a mesh effect from using more than 2 devices without explanation.An explanation would be nice.
I've used a Belkin N1 WIFI router and a pair of Linksys PLC Homeplugs in a 110 year old house with some old wiring (including tube n knob) and both have worked decently.
I've used a few of the 200mbit Devolo devices for a while now and they are superb. Much more reliable than wireless. However, I would like to see these devices released with a wireless access point attached as an extra - that would solve a lot of problems by giving the user a choice.
I've been a long term user of powerline networking kit, originally through living in a house where wireless available at the time just *would not* work (18inch walls, water pipes all around the only room that had the master phone socket etc).
I had 14mbps adaptors, then 85 - both of which were absolutely flawless and more than fast enough for sharing the couple of meg connection BT were able to provide us.
Now live in a new property, utilising the 200mbps homeplug adaptors and again absolutely flawless - I could not be happier with them (these are Zyxel i believe) - I was toying with the idea of laying gigabit cabling to each room (you can never have too much speed, right?) but maybe this technology will save me that gargantuan effort!
And yes i have tried 802.11N - and it's still no where near as good as 200mbps powerline - 1gbps will blow it out of the water!
We are stumbling towards a scenario where a 1GBPS powerline will provide the backbone for a myriad of HAN wireless services as well as bandwidth intensive consumer services.
@jc: These devices are aimed squarely at home users. Unfortunately the power wiring in an average office doesn't lend itself to this technology (too many devices, mains loops and long distances). Some small offices may benefit, but even then the manufacturers wouldn't support these devices for office use.
This brand has kicked off different views in many forums and seems to be good for exploring the subject of Power-line Home Networking.
This industry, the Power-line Home-networking, may find a new friend in PLC-CLLI, which is also a Lightning Isolator that seems to have overcome all inherent problems associated with PLC-adapters!
Try google with key words: PLC-CLLI or go to www.cal-lab.com
Help this inventor find a global partner, if you can!
@PLC-LI - I've just checked out your website. My only advice would be don't mix religion and business. I wasn't sure if you are trying to sell powerline adapters or spiritual guidance...?
I have no intention in influencing anyone on what I do or believe in. You probably have clicked on the wrong page to explore my many interests and community services.
I am basically an inventor looking for global partners to launch a series of products that, I believe, will help push PLC-adapters to bring out their best in performance.
My comment was made as genuine advice to help you in your aim of finding a business partner.
I would recommend having a website dedicated solely to your products, and a very separate website for your other community interests. It helps investors focus on what they are investing in.
I would love to see your products on the wider market if they meet the specs you state.
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