Decent wireless router for HD video streaming

[MR_AWESOME55]

I recently decided to buy a Synology DS-212j NAS, and my next order of business was to upgrade my router. My current router is a D-Link DL-604, and when I get this NAS, there won't be enough LAN ports on it to support everything in my network (the DL-604 is wired only).

My home network consists of a Samsung PN51D550 Plasma TV, 2 wired computers (both have Wireless-N capability) and a PlayStation 3. I also currently have a printer with Wireless capability which I'd like to add to my network.

The router I am currently thinking of getting is the TP-LINK TL-WR1043ND Ultimate Wireless N Gigabit Router. It has very good reviews, it is very cheap, and it doesn't sound like it has a lot of bloatware that I don't need.

My first question is will this be a good router to get if I am planning on streaming HD video from my NAS to my TV? My TV is DLNA certified (it was able to stream media from my laptop while wired) and so is the NAS, and both the TV and the NAS will be connected via the ethernet port rather than wirelessly.

Another thing I'd like to know is that my laptop is wireless-N capable, and if I were to get this router, the two would be about 1 meter apart with virtually no obstructions. Will this give me acceptable speeds for online gaming on the computer?

Lastly, do you have any other, better suggestions for my situation? The only real speed I am concerned about regarding the NAS is the streaming ability; the speed for writing to the drive is not an issue as I will only be doing that every month or so.

Thanks for any help!

EDIT: The only thing that will be using the wireless connection is the printer. I decided that I will disconnect the HDTV from the network so that I will have the PS3, 2 computers, and the NAS attached via ethernet. I will use the PS3 as the media player and I will stream the content from the NAS.

In this case, should I find a router that has better ethernet speeds, or will the one I indicated above suffice?

 

[RealBeast]

First question: yes that router is fine to stream high quality HD wired to your TV, while most decent N wireless routers can stream YouTube compressed HD, high quality HD from an NAS needs a wired connection, anyone that says otherwise has no clue and has not tried to stream ripped blu-ray disks to a TV. I've found nothing (powerline, N wireless, etc.) other than wired gigabit that can actually stream minimally compressed HD.

Second question: when reasonably close the gaming connection will be excellent.

Bottom line: that is a very good router and will do everything that you need.

 

[MR_AWESOME55]

Alright, very last question. I don't currently have it, but I was thinking of getting something like 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound. Would the streaming suffer much if the video file also had surround sound capabilities?

 

[RealBeast]

Not over gigabit wired -- I stream full bluray disk images, including the HD sound, with no issues. Neither wireless N or powerline 500mbps will work, but gigabit Ethernet handles it with ease.

 

[MR_AWESOME55]

Excellent! Thank you very much for your help!

 

[MR_AWESOME55]

Best answer selected by MR_AWESOME55.

 

[MR_AWESOME55]

Actually, one very very last question. Will heavy internet use (ie. 2 computers downloading torrents) severely lag video streaming, or should it have only a small effect, and would the converse also be true (video streaming taking a toll on internet speed)?

 

[RealBeast]

Over gigabit Ethernet you should not see one activity impact the other -- for example when streaming bluray disks over my network, my Internet still performs at 50mbps down, 2.5mbps up according to speedtest.net from each computer.

 

[MR_AWESOME55]

Alright, great. Thank you for the very quick and replies!

 

[Judith27]

Neither wireless N or powerline 500mbps will work, but gigabit Ethernet handles it with ease.

 

[RealBeast]

Neither wireless N or powerline 500mbps will work, but gigabit Ethernet handles it with ease.

That is correct Judith.

I have run many tests on every sort of network for very high bandwidth applications, like full HD bluray streaming -- not the highly compressed stuff like YouTube videos, which are quite small.

The fastest 500mbps powerline that I can achieve on the same circuit less than 10 feet apart is 103mbps (from SSD to SSD with CAT 6 cables). The same cables and computers with SSDs hit 883mbps using wired gigabit, which is pretty much the limit accounting for network overhead. Wireless N also maxes out at 120mbps very close to an access point. At any distance, both powerline and wireless speeds fall off dramatically, while wired remains unchanged.

See these two sites for detailed tests on most available products: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-charts/view AND http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/powerline-charts/view

And I'm not anti powerline or wireless at all -- I use both in my networks, the issue is just for real high bandwidth needs they do not suffice.

 

[sandhraj]

I recently decided to buy a Synology DS-212j NAS, and my next order of business was to upgrade my router. My current router is a D-Link DL-604, and when I get this NAS, there won't be enough LAN ports on it to support everything in my network (the DL-604 is wired only).

My home network consists of a Samsung PN51D550 Plasma TV, 2 wired computers (both have Wireless-N capability) and a PlayStation 3. I also currently have a printer with Wireless capability which I'd like to add to my network.

The router I am currently thinking of getting is the TP-LINK TL-WR1043ND Ultimate Wireless N Gigabit Router. It has very good reviews, it is very cheap, and it doesn't sound like it has a lot of bloatware that I don't need.

My first question is will this be a good router to get if I am planning on streaming HD video from my NAS to my TV? My TV is DLNA certified (it was able to stream media from my laptop while wired) and so is the NAS, and both the TV and the NAS will be connected via the ethernet port rather than wirelessly.

Another thing I'd like to know is that my laptop is wireless-N capable, and if I were to get this router, the two would be about 1 meter apart with virtually no obstructions. Will this give me acceptable speeds for online gaming on the computer?

Lastly, do you have any other, better suggestions for my situation? The only real speed I am concerned about regarding the NAS is the streaming ability; the speed for writing to the drive is not an issue as I will only be doing that every month or so.

Thanks for any help!

EDIT: The only thing that will be using the wireless connection is the printer. I decided that I will disconnect the HDTV from the network so that I will have the PS3, 2 computers, and the NAS attached via ethernet. I will use the PS3 as the media player and I will stream the content from the NAS.

In this case, should I find a router that has better ethernet speeds, or will the one I indicated above suffice?

Wow, I have exactly the same set up. Same router and same TV. I have set the TV to N only and tried tinkering around with it a lot but for some reason when I stream 1080p, it keeps buffering the video ( I use the Samsung All share app on my PC to stream downloaded 1080p files to the TV.
Did you have much luck and if so could you please help me with the settings.

Thanks,
Sandy

 

[MR_AWESOME55]

Wow, I have exactly the same set up. Same router and same TV. I have set the TV to N only and tried tinkering around with it a lot but for some reason when I stream 1080p, it keeps buffering the video ( I use the Samsung All share app on my PC to stream downloaded 1080p files to the TV.
Did you have much luck and if so could you please help me with the settings.

Thanks,
Sandy

For my set up, I actually have the LAN cable plugged into the TV rather than using the wireless. For your set up is it going computer > wireless > router > wireless > TV?

 

[sandhraj]

For my set up, I actually have the LAN cable plugged into the TV rather than using the wireless. For your set up is it going computer > wireless > router > wireless > TV?

Yes, So do you have 2 routers? Or is your set up.
TV>LAN>Router > WLAN> PC ?
Also how are you streaming Video is it from your desktop to your TV over Samsung ALL share?

 

[mike673]

For my set up, I actually have the LAN cable plugged into the TV rather than using the wireless. For your set up is it going computer > wireless > router > wireless > TV?

I want to mention one thing, and that is, if you purchase a Gigibit (10/100/1000) modem and router, and get an ISP download speed of at least 20Mb downstream, you can achieve 1080p streaming videos, such as You Tube with no rebuffering or loss.
I have a Motorola SB6120 gigibit modem a Dlink wireless gigibit router, and a gigibit Ethernet pci modem card interface. A little costly, but if you want good video rendering it is worth it.