Home setup help

kirving

Right guys, I'm hoping someone can give me some advice on the cheapest/simplist way to sort out the following. I might be as well to ask this in the HE forum, but I figure it's more of a broadband problem.

I'll be getting a (Sony) Smart TV, and I wan't to connect it to the internet, and also be able to stream media from a wi-fi connected PC in another room.

The TV has an internet connection, but doesn't have wi-fi built in, and Sony want €90 for the connector. I could order online, but I'll have to wait for delivery too, so I'm wokring out my options.

I have UPC coming in beside the TV, so I know I can connect the TV straight to the router to access the internet. The UPC Cisco EPC2425 can't stream content from a wired to a wireless connection however. If I want to stream media between two devices, they must either both be connected via ethernet, or via wi-fi as far as I'm aware(multicasting issue). Is this correct?

In addition to the UPC router, I also have a Belkin ADSL router which I previously used with eircom broadband. I believe that I can switch the UPC router to "bridge-mode" and connect it to the Belkin via ethernet.

I would then used the Belkin for wi-fi around the house, and connect the TV to that via ethernet. I believe the Belkin will allow multicasting.

However, if I set up the UPC modem in bridge-mode, apparently the phone will no longer work(from the UPC modem thread).

Could I leave the UPC modm transmitting the wifi around the house, and used the Belkin router to "recieve" the wirless signal and output it over ethernet to the tv? From the UPC modems point of view then, it would only be streaming media over a wireless connection? Can I leave the UPC modem as it is, just connect the Belkin, and set that up to actually handle all the wi-fi streaming?

Can I share the PS3's wi-fi connection via HDMI(with ethernet) to the TV? Probably best to ask this in the HE forum.

Is achieving what I want possible using my current equipment, or will have to buy the Wi-fi dongle?

I'm sorry for the complexity of this post, I know it's very difficult to follow an explanation in english for a physical problem..

I want:
Ethernet only Smart TV to stream media from Wi-Fi PC.

I have:
Cisco EPC2425 (with phone)
Belkin F6D4630-4 v2
Sony HX723 Smart TV
PS3
Wi-Fi connected PC

PogMoThoin

That Belkin isn't a router, it's an adsl modem, therefore it's no use connecting it to the UPC modem in bridge mode, it can't route as it has a dsl port.

Why not take this opportunity to cable your house with cat5e, you will need it in future. Wireless can't and can never be depended upon to stream HD. Just cable to a switch from the UPC modem and cable all devices to there. With cables you can add the Belkin as a second access point anywhere in the house, just login and disable dhcp, firewall and upnp, tape over the dsl port and plug the cat5e into any ethernet port.

kirving

Ideally yes, that would be the best solution, but for the time being, I'm just trying to work with what I have.

The Belkin has an ADSl connection, 4 ethernet ports, and wi-fi. This is a router, no?

Is is possible for this to receive a wireless signal, and output it via ethernet?

PogMoThoin

Kevin Irving wrote: »

Ideally yes, that would be the best solution, but for the time being, I'm just trying to work with what I have.

Cat5e would be cheaper than a new router

Kevin Irving wrote: »

The Belkin has an ADSl connection, 4 ethernet ports, and wi-fi. This is a router, no?

No, it's a modem router. To route in your situation it needs an ethernet wan port instead of a dsl port. Routers route between lan ethernet ports and the wan/dsl port so therefore it cannot route.

Kevin Irving wrote: »

Is is possible for this to receive a wireless signal, and output it via ethernet?

Some routers can do this. Doubt the Belkin does though.

jor el

Forget the Belkin, you cannot use it for what you want, at all. It is not a router in the sense that you need one. It only routes between it's DSL port and the LAN and WLAN ports. It cannot be used to route between the LAN ports and Wifi. It cannot be used as a repeater either.

Also, you may have to forget about Wireless for streaming. Streaming video from wireless to wireless, on a 56M wireless network is going to be very dodgy. Unless the PC and TV are very close together, and both have a strong connection to the router, then your speed is going to be bad. Also, since Wifi network speeds are quoted for one way only, when you stream across it you effectively get half the speed as a max, one half up and one half down. You'll actually get even less than that in practice, and any interference or distance between them is going drop it further. Without testing this out first, that Wifi adapter for the TV could be an expensive waste of money.

Look in the UPC sticky at the top of the forum for ways around some of the issues with that modem. It may require that you buy a new router, and connect it in the DMZ host of the modem. Since you have UPC phone, you cannot switch the modem to bridge mode, as the phone will not longer work.

The right solution is to connect both PC and TV to the router via Ethernet. It's the only solution that is guaranteed to work without problems.

Gargled

Would powerline connectors work in this situation? Looking to do something similar

kirving

I dislike poweline connectors, I dont really know why to be honest!

It might be the best solution as both the PC and TV are on the same side of the house, but at opposide ends downstairs. I'd have to run Cat5e all the way to the attic and back down again which is complicated. A new UPC modem with phone is expensive I suspect, but I'll look into it too.

Thanks,
Kev

jor el

Kevin Irving wrote: »

A new UPC modem with phone is expensive I suspect, but I'll look into it too.

Why would you need a new modem with phone?

Power-line Ethernet adapters might work, but then again they might not. An expensive experiment if it doesn't work for you. My 85Mbps ones never worked over 20Mbps, so you might not get much of a speed boost anyway. Depends on the adapter and what it's rating is, as well as how well it actually works in your location. They are radio transmitters and are subject to interference, as well as causing it themselves.

Drill a hole in the wall and run a cable through it. No need to go up and down the house.

PogMoThoin

Have you actually tried the Smart TV? My Dad has a Samsung and it's pretty shíte if you ask me, has a terrible interface, painfully slow and doesn't play (or even see) any file in an .mkv wich rules it out for most of the HD content in my collection.

kirving

Not getting the TV because its smart as such, it has good picture quality and I can get HD Saorview and UK FreeSat. The streaming features are secondary concern really, hence not wanting to spend much extra on it.

I cant run the cable horizontally across the wass as there are batons, and a structural wall in the way.