Need help to improve current setup

[werich44]

I have AT&T uVerse using their 2WIRE 3801HGV gateway. I have had a lot of trouble with the wireless portion continually disconnecting. A uVerse tech came out 2 days ago and setup a Cisco E1000 router to run behind the gateway. This has cured my wireless disconnect problem. My question is this, I know very little about networking and routers and if this question is silly please excuse my ignorance. Would a better router such as a Netgear 3700 or a Cisco E4200 give me better streaming performance than what I am currently using. I would like to improve primarily my streaming Netflix HD movies. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and have a great day!

 

[darkknight]

Wireless AP

I have ATT uVerse with the 2wire as well so I have some experience with the wireless dropping out. I've always had better luck when separating the router from the access point, I find spreading the power across 2 devices results in better performance.

Now as far as being able to stream HD movies, what kind of device are you trying to stream them to? A laptop? A TV? I know that any way you look at it, you'll always have better performance from a wired connection then a wireless. I'm not sure about full HD, and as far as I know it's still not capable of pulling off true 1080p continuously. For example, I'm able to move data across my network to my NAS at 2.5MB/s on my wireless Cisco 1131ag, but at 35MB/s on my wired network. Perhaps if the Netflix scaled down from HD you might be able to pull it off over wireless.

I'd recommend testing the capabilities of the wireless access point ATT gave you before investing in a new device. Even better, if it's possible to use wired for said device, like a TV, that would be your best bet for true HD streaming without having to buffer every 2 minutes.

Hope this helps!

 

[stevech]

I doubt that AT&T's IP service is adequate for streaming Netflix. Netflix HD is not like the 13Mbps of real 1080 HD, it's much less, more compressed. But still, AT&T struggles to do more than 2Mbps on average, for most users.
Generally, too, no matter the provider, you should use a wired LAN connection for streaming video. WiFi will always disappoint.

If/when you can get out of that AT&T contract, there are much better services to be had.

 

[DaveMcLain]

I have a Netflix account and HD streaming works flawlessly over about a 6Mbs DSL connection here at my house. It would work with less, probably about 3.5Mbs on a nice steady connection but while streaming an HD movie that's ALL you'll be able to do except for maybe checking your e-mail.

The Netflix streams are quite compressed when compared to other HD sources as Steve said and this makes them have a much easier time streaming across a wifi connection. I use Netflix via a Roku box that's connected wirelessly to my router and it works great. But with any wireless technology, your mileage may vary!

 

[werich44]

Thanks very much for all of the excellent advice I have received from my post. I believe that I will leave the system alone for right now as I am enjoying for the first time being able to maintain a wireless connection without having to reset the gateway several times a day.
Have a great day to all and again thanks very much for sharing your knowledge with me.

 

[stevech]

I've read many times that the 2-wire WiFi routers that AT&T uses have very poor range/reliability. I've helped two neighbors that have them. One had a laptop on the same desktop as the 2-wire. I finally determined that the 2-wire was overloaded by the laptop; moving the router 3 ft. cured his problem. Most report poor range, perhaps due to the crappy design and inadequate internal antenna.