Ethernet over power - what transfer speeds can I expect and what should I buy?

TenLeftFingers

I have a Raspberry Pi and I'm learning that Wifi isn't good enough for streaming HD video from my NAS.

Can I expect speeds as good as the powered USB drive I have connected? Also, can someone recommend a product that's reliable?

Many thanks,
Ten

You never know how well they will perform until you try them in your own home. Wiring, circuit breakers, electrical noise from other appliances, distance etc all play a huge factor.

Ive never seen anybody get higher than 100Mbps over typical distances and the reality is that I mostly see people getting <50Mbps. Some review sites cheat by plugging both units into the same powerstrip. Obviously there are several different classes of products and new ones are just hitting the market now (AV2 SISO)

What kind of HD media are you streaming? Full BD is much more difficult to stream than 1080p or 720p rips.

Lu Tze

I bought a set of these, copying large files i get a sustained speed above 11MB/s

TenLeftFingers

[Deleted User] wrote: »

You never know how well they will perform until you try them in your own home. Wiring, circuit breakers, electrical noise from other appliances, distance etc all play a huge factor.

Ive never seen anybody get higher than 100Mbps over typical distances and the reality is that I mostly see people getting <50Mbps. Some review sites cheat by plugging both units into the same powerstrip. Obviously there are several different classes of products and new ones are just hitting the market now (AV2 SISO)

What kind of HD media are you streaming? Full BD is much more difficult to stream than 1080p or 720p rips.

Thanks IKYS & Lu. I Kill You Scum!, the one that's giving trouble was Blu Ray (about 5.5GB). The others seem okay actually. So a 2 1/2 hour movie at 5.5 GB means I need a minimum of 0.6 MB per second. Surely that shouldn't be any problem, but the fact is that the video freezes every five or ten seconds for about two or three seconds. I guess I'll just have to try like you say.

Lu, what model did you buy?

Lu Tze

TenLeftFingers wrote: »

Thanks IKYS & Lu. I Kill You Scum!, the one that's giving trouble was Blu Ray (about 5.5GB). The others seem okay actually. So a 2 1/2 hour movie at 5.5 GB means I need a minimum of 0.6 MB per second. Surely that shouldn't be any problem, but the fact is that the video freezes every five or ten seconds for about two or three seconds. I guess I'll just have to try like you say.

Lu, what model did you buy?

These are the ones i bought

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-TL-PA411KIT-500Mbps-Powerline-Adaptor/dp/B0088MQ1AK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1375701702&sr=8-2&keywords=TP-Link+AV500+TL-PA411KIT

These seem to be the same ones for cheaper
http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-PA411KIT-AV500-Powerline-Adapter/dp/B0084Y9N3O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375701702&sr=8-1&keywords=TP-Link+AV500+TL-PA411KIT

The main difference over the wireless is not the speed, but there is less interference and drop outs in the signal, it almost constant speed. This is probably more important for streaming

TenLeftFingers

TenLeftFingers wrote: »

the one that's giving trouble was Blu Ray (about 5.5GB). The others seem okay actually. So a 2 1/2 hour movie at 5.5 GB means I need a minimum of 0.6 MB per second. Surely that shouldn't be any problem, but the fact is that the video freezes every five or ten seconds for about two or three seconds. I guess I'll just have to try like you say.

If you had something that was 5.5GB, it is likely just a 720p rip. They are usually 4-8Mbps average bitrate. (we always talk about throughput in Mbit/s)

That's pretty easy to stream, I don't imagine you'll have a problem even with the slowest homeplugs. It should be possible even over basic wifi but obviously you are having some issue if it buffers every few seconds.

Llike I said, you need to try them in your own house to know if they will work at all. I would buy from somewhere with a good return policy. Good luck with it anyhow.

TenLeftFingers

Lu Tze, thanks. They're around the same spec that the guy in Maplin has (I'm just off the phone with him). IKYS!, he is also encouraging me to get a Megabit switch because he thinks the UPC router is probably slowing things down.

Does that sound right?

Lu Tze

TenLeftFingers wrote: »

Lu Tze, thanks. They're around the same spec that the guy in Maplin has (I'm just off the phone with him). IKYS!, he is also encouraging me to get a Megabit switch because he thinks the UPC router is probably slowing things down.

Does that sound right?

Gigabit switch maybe? I wouldnt bother, even if the UPC router isnt gigabit, it will still do 100 megabits/secound so 8-9 MB/s.

You can always pick it up after if its causing an issue. If you are buying in a bricks and morter shop, argos also stock some homeplugs

http://www.argos.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10152&catalogId=14551&langId=111&searchTerms=homeplug&authToken=

TenLeftFingers

Yes, Gigabit switch. I picked up the adapters and the difference is astonishing. Thanks very much for the help, Lu Tze & I Kill You Scum!