Tag: wireless router n

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Connect Xbox 360 / PS3 / TiVo / Slingbox / Dish DVR / Directv DVR with Wireless N cheaply

d-link dap-1522 wireless n bridge dealCouple of years ago I wrote the same article. This is an update to the same article with wireless n.
To connect your Xbox 360, PS3, TiVo, Slingbox, Dish DVR, Directv DVR etc. with wireless N you need to buy a wireless N router which supports bridge option or a wireless N bridge with 4 ports. This way you will able to connect up to 4 devices with less than cost of one proprietary wireless adapter, e.g. just Xbox 360 wirelss N adapter alone cost $100. Also you can expand this option to allow more than 4 devices by connecting one port with a cheap LAN switch.
Don’t buy following bridge/adapter, these are expensive bridge and has only one port:

Bottom line stay away from the wireless n bridge which has only one port.

Right now the best available wirless n bridge is D-Link DAP1522 which is dual band also and allow up to 4 devices to connect. You can use as a access point also, meaning connect to a wired router and you have wireless n network.

D-Link DAP1522 Xtreme 4-Port GigaBit Selectable Dual Band Draft 802.11n N Duo Wireless Bridge/Access Point

  • The Wireless Bridge feature of the DAP-1522 allows you to easily connect up to 4 Ethernet-enabled devices in your entertainment center to your wireless network
  • Create a new wireless network using the Access Point feature by connecting the DAP-1522 to an existing wired network
  • 5GHz is ideal for wirelessly streaming multiple HD videos across your network. It helps avoid interference by providing a clearer wireless band for HD signals than existing 2.4GHz products.
  • Use the Xtreme N Duo Wireless Bridge / Access Point (DAP-1522) to connect up to 4 Ethernet-enabled
  • Connect the DAP-1522 to an existing wired network and easily enable wireless connectivity in your home. Use your new wireless network to stream HD multimedia content, play multiplayer games, or make Internet phone calls (VoIP).

Product Description

The D-Link Xtreme N Duo Wireless Bridge/Access Point is designed for users looking to create a wireless network or to connect multiple wired devices to an existing wireless network. Xtreme N Duo is the latest addition to the award-winning Xtreme N product family. Duo means the DAP-1522 works with next generation dual band (2.4GHz or 5GHz)2 802.11n wireless devices as well as legacy 802.11g products.

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Wireless Router N buying guide

WNDR3700 n netgear router dealIf you are looking to upgrade you existing wireless g router to a wirless n router then you came to the right place. I have researched a lot and finally I came up with following features a new wireless n router should have:

  1. Dual Band: Wireless N router must support dual band. Dual band supports 2.4Ghz and the newer, less busy 5Ghz frequencies.
  2. Gigabit switch: It must have gigabit switch for wired networking.
  3. A USB port to connect my hard drive over the network for sharing and backup.
  4. WPA2 encryption, denial-of-service (DoS) and stateful packet inspetion (SPI) features in Firewall.

After researching I found following three routers in the order which fits above criteria and I liked them:

  1. Netgear Rangemax WNDR3700 Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router
    • Dual-band Wireless-N router provides outstanding speed and performance for serious gamers, enthusiasts, and small businesses
    • Simultaneous operation on 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz frequencies for combined 600 Mbps speed
    • Powerful 680 MHz 32-bit processor
    • Four Gigabit Ethernet ports; USB 2.0 port for adding external storage
    • Device measures 8.8 x 1.2 x 6.0 inches (WxHxD)

    Product Description

    The NETGEAR RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router delivers the ultimate in wireless performance for home and small business networking. With twice the available bandwidth, separate wireless-N access points for media and data, and four Gigabit Ethernet ports, you enjoy more reliable connections, faster wireless, and maximum wired speeds- ideal for connecting multiple computers running multiple applications. The Dual Band Gigabit Router manages network traffic too, so there’s less lag in streaming, VoIP, and other critical tasks. Centralizing an external storage device and file sharing is easy. Just connect your USB storage device to the router, and every computer on your network can easily exchange media, documents, music, and more.

  2. Linksys WRT610N Simultaneous Dual-N Band Wireless Router
    • Internet-sharing Router and 4-port Gigabit Switch, with a built-in, dual-band, speed and range enhanced Wireless Access Point
    • Two simultaneous, separate, radio bands double your available bandwidth
    • MIMO technology uses multiple radios per band to create robust signals for maximum range and speed, with reduced dead spots
    • Connect a hard drive or flash-based USB storage device to allow access to your music, video, or data files from within your network

    Product Description

    Linksys Ultra RangePlus, Simultaneous Dual-N Band Wireless Router The Dual-Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router is really four devices in one box. First, there’s the dual-band Wireless Access Point, which lets you connect to the network without wires. There’s also a built-in 4-port full-duplex 10/100/1000 Switch to connect your wired-Ethernet devices together at up to gigabit speeds. The Router function ties it all together and lets your whole network share a high-speed cable or DSL Internet connection. We’ve also included a Storage Link that lets you easily add gigabytes of storage space onto your network using readily available USB 2.0 hard drives — or plug in a USB flash disk for a convenient way to access your portable data files. The built-in Media Server streams music, video, and photos from the attached storage device to any UPnP compatible media adapter. And you can get to your files from anywhere in the world through the Internet. The Access Point built into the Router uses a dual-band version of the very latest wireless networking technology, Wireless-N (draft 802.11n). By overlaying the signals of multiple radios for each band, Wireless-N’s “Multiple In, Multiple Out” (MIMO) technology multiplies the effective data rate. Unlike ordinary wireless networking technologies that are confused by signal reflections, MIMO actually uses these reflections to increase the range and reduce “dead spots” in the wireless coverage area. The robust signals travel farther, maintaining wireless connections much farther than standard Wireless-G.

  3. D-Link DIR-855 Xtreme N Duo Dual Band Draft 802.11n Media Router
    • With some routers, all wired and wireless traffic, including Voice over IP (VoIP), Video Streaming, Online Gaming, and Web browsing
    • The DIR-855 utilizes MediaBand (5GHz), which is the best technology available for wirelessly streaming multiple HD videos across your network
    • Delivering best-in-class performance, network security, and coverage, the Xtreme N Duo Media Router (DIR-855)
    • Create a dualband wireless network to share high-speed Internet access with computers, game consoles, or media players
    • Intelligent QoS technology prioritizes Internet traffic as well as wired and wireless network traffic

All the three routers support the features which I want but I liked WNDR3700 most. The USB port on WNDR3700 supports DLNA so I don’t need a pc to stream content on my PS3 Slim. Also Dlink DIR-855 is super expensive so don’t buy that unless you find super cheap deal.