Would really appreciate experienced input on router/bridge purchase

[Rio Rebel]

This is rather complex, so bear with me. I'll start by explaining my requirements/purchasing factors, and then describe what I have and what I'd like to know (if you have an opinion and don't want to read further, just answer this part: would a WNDR3700 or Cisco E3000 acting as a bridge be just as powerful/stable as a dedicated bridge, like a WNHDE111?)

I need a bridge on the 5ghz frequency. My ultimate goal is to be able to stream blu-ray movies. I already know that wired is better, and MoCa may be a better option for me, but if I am able to achieve this with wireless then I am much more flexible if I need to move things around (and I have a very large house with a complex cable routing with an amplifier, so MoCa may not be straightforward for me.)

But streaming movies isn't my only consideration. My wife and I both have work laptops that need internet/vpn connection (both with built in N adaptors). I have a computer in my daughter's room that needs internet access, and it's a large distance away from my router. My router itself is in a very unfortunate place, but we don't have much choice. It's inside a wooden cabinet on one side of the house. And then I have a theater room on the opposite side of the house, and I have it wired to a TrendNet N router acting as a bridge (WDS) in the middle of the house to shorten the distance of the wireless, and to hook up a PS3. And then my office is also in the basement, with a decent but cheap PCI card N adapter. So here's a clunky schematic:

Top floor..................... xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxComputer (cheap usb N)
Middle floor.................. Router/Cable Modem xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Basement.................... Office PC xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Bridge xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxHTPC

I'm assuming that going through floors is a big hit, which is why I have the router located in the cabinet on the main floor (I also am assuming that moving it might require some work with my cable modem, because of the current signal boost structure.) If I'm wrong, let me know. It's about 60 feet from one end of the house to the other. The worst connection right now is going from the router/modem on one end of the house on the middle floor to the daughter's computer on the other end of the house on the top floor. I could possibly (?) move the main router to the middle of the house in the basement, if you think I'd get better overall reception (which means I'd then be only about 20 feet away in length but down two floors from my daughter's room).

So my questions: Is a router acting as a bridge going to give me the same performance as a dedicated bridge (WNDR3700 vs the WNHDE111?) If so, I'd prefer the extra potential of the router. Also, I have read a lot on the WDS bridge mode, and it seems that it's not the best for sustained throughput. Can a 3700 or E3000 (either natively, or with dd-wrt) act as a repeater, and once again, would that be at a performance hit?

Lot's of info and a bit disjointed, but I'd love some knowledgeable advice. Thanks

 

[Rio Rebel]

One other thing - I already have the wndr3700 as my main router. If I can save some money but get identical performance from something like a wndr3400 or E2000, that's an option. But I want every bit of performance I can get.

 

[stevech]

I've used these. It's outdoor packaged. Perhaps you need an indoor version. Good firmware.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...3168074&cm_re=engenius-_-33-168-074-_-Product

 

[Rio Rebel]

Not sure what problem that would solve, unless you mean to simply boost the signal to the furthest point from the router (yet it's only a G device.)

Not at all what I'm looking for, but thanks for the suggestion.

 

[thiggins]

Whether a bridge (or router acting as a bridge) uses WDS or infrastructure mode (connects like a client) doesn't matter for performance. What matters is its chipset, board design and antenna design.

WNHDE111 is a decent 5 GHz bridge, but getting old.

Anytime you repeat, you lose 50% of throughput.

I would give the latest HomePlug AV adapters a try. Throughput is decent and the 500 Mbps NETGEARs can provide enough steady throughput for HD streaming.

 

[Rio Rebel]

Thanks for the reply! I have read your explanation of wds mode, and it is the best I've seen on the net. I do still have a couple of questions:

My biggest concern is getting maximum throughput from my main router to the htpc. I am trying to allow a media player to be able to play blu-ray from my htpc. The path looks like this, where "____" means wired and "----" means wireless:

HTPC_____bridge router---(wds)---Main Router_____media player


With the bridge router (TrendNET 633gr) acting in wds mode, I do not have the ability to turn off the access point function as some can do (like dd-wrt). Does the fact that the wds bridge still is acting as an access point mean that I am not getting maximum throughput? I am not worried about the throughput of devices that might try to connect to it, I am worried about the main path above - I don't want anything to limit the path between the htpc and the media player.

One more question - what is the best bridge router for me, if I want to improve my connection for that main media path? Are there significant differences in the bridges (or routers that can function as bridges) in terms of the maximum sustained throughput I can get to the wndr3700? I am trying to go through one floor and about 40 feet, so I guess that's somewhat similar to your C area in testing.

Thanks!!!


(Oh, and as for the powerline adapters, thanks for the info. After reading your review a second time, I am seriously considering it. If it works for me, it would be a cheaper option than both MoCa and 3DHD...although the cheapest option would be if I can increase throughput on my current bridge to router connection to a sufficient level.)

 

[thiggins]

Reliable HD streaming is a crapshoot. Unless your player has a large and intelligent buffer, you need very stable throughput, which 802.11n is generally not good at.

To answer your question, you get a throughput drop only when connecting via wireless repeating. If you are connecting to a bridge's Ethernet output, you don't get the 50% throughput hit.

The WNDR3700 is as good as any to try as a repeating partner.

You can also look at the NETGEAR WNHDB3004 3DHD Wireless Home Theater Networking Kit Review

But you'll only get performance capable of supporting 1080p from a strong signal connection.

 

[Rio Rebel]

Sorry I haven't been more clear. I'm not looking to repeat, just establish the strongest and most stable connection from my bridge to the main router (which is where I'm trying to stream HD).

Would there be any noticeable improvement between the 3700 and 3400? I could save quite a bit of money going down to something like that, but don't want to start getting cheap and then not have enough for my HD streaming.

I've read your review on the 3DHD. I have to say, you have a GREAT and informative site here. I really appreciate the information. I researched the WDS technology quite a bit, and you had far more helpful information than anyone on that technology.

 

[Rio Rebel]

Thanks for all of the info. I ended up buying a Cisco WRT400N and flashing it with dd-wrt (I always wanted to try that). I appear to be getting a fairly consistent 19-20 mbps, which is enough to play blu-ray without stuttering.

 

[Rio Rebel]

Spoke too soon. The 2.4 ghz band is inconsistent, with periodic interference. The 5ghz band just can't quite get there (it really is significantly weaker than the 2.4 band at its best - I was disappointed in the performance on this band).

I'm SO close, probably can get there with the right tweaks.