Extend wireless: wndr3700-ethernet-wndr3700

[tul9033]

Need to get stronger wireless signals downstairs for all of the wireless blurays, wii, DS, phones, cameras, etc.
I have a single wired ethernet run downstairs. My plan is to connect the 3700's through that wired ethernet (ethernet port to port), turn off DHCP on the downstairs router, assign different channels to each wireless, turn off any routing functions on the downstairs router, and assign the downstairs 3700 a static IP.
Should I use a different SSID for the downstairs router?
I'm using the wireless Blurays to stream movies from a media server and getting stuttering. The wireless blurays are not N capable. The wired bluerays run fine. Running ethernet to each bluray player (5 total) is not feasible.
Am I missing anything? Is this the ideal way to accomplish the task at hand?
Thank you very any ideas and suggestions.

 

[thiggins]

I would use a different SSID for the downstairs network. That way you can make sure that devices associate with it and not the upstairs AP.

Getting full Blu-ray bandwidth via wireless is difficult to do, if not impossible if you're not using 802.11n.

 

[rhombus]

Yes, you had exactly the right way of doing it. You might want to temporarily move your existing 3700 to the downstairs location in order to first test whether this setup is capable of accomplishing your goals. (or do you have two 3700's already?)

 

[tul9033]

Thanks for replies. I have a V2 3700 on the way. I misspoke about the Blurays not being N capable, they are just not 5 Ghz. I also have a Dlink AV500 on order to link to the main TV. I sure hope it doesn't cover both outlets, I've heard conflicting reports. From the test results I read that the Dlink out performs the Netgear by a decent margin.
If that works OK I'll get another starter kit to link to the 2 other TV's. I may not need it with the added wireless capability. I plan to use 2 SSID's and assign the closest device to the closest 3700. I have a few wireless security cameras that are bandwith hogs.
I'm actually streaming MKV's from a media server that are Bluray backups, they average about 5 GB per movie.

 

[rhombus]

In my 500Mbps Homeplug Shootout (UK-based), the Netgears were head and shoulders the best. Not just in peformance, but all other aspects too actually.

Due to how thorough and repeated testing needs to be for Powerline products (I did hundreds of tests, plugging in back and forth) I do not personally have faith in the validity of the Smallnetbuilder Roundup conclusions. For example, if you put the original results from the Netgear review into the roundup, it would come top in all locations except the same room - and would beat its nearest competitor at the furthest location by 36%!

The other thread I think confirmed that the Trendnet did not block the other socket, but I guess you have your reasons in opting for the D-Link.

Best of luck, sounds a busy time you'll be having enjoying downstairs!

 

[tul9033]

I actually ended up buying the Netgear set last night. Amazon had them for $93 and the DLinks were $120 so I canceled the DLink order.
I was a bit confused in the 2 reviews. Originallly the Netgear review from Feb showed it to be great then the review from Nov showed it to be near the bottom. One thing I liked about the Netgear was there seemed to be plenty of ventilation (heatsink/cooling slots). I saw several posts saying the DLink got very hot.
Thanks again.

 

[JoelKatz]

If you use the same SSID and encryption mode, clients will automatically associate with whichever signal is stronger and change APs, if needed, when they're moved. You lose the ability to choose which AP they associate with, but most likely you don't need it.

 

[bilboSNB]

If you use the same SSID and encryption mode, clients will automatically associate with whichever signal is stronger and change APs, if needed, when they're moved. You lose the ability to choose which AP they associate with, but most likely you don't need it.

Is this true, I have just set up a DGND3700 and WNDR3700 WNDR as an access point one either side of my house but have noticed my laptop seems to stay latched on to the original ap it connected to if I move to other side of the house.