More Wifi questions

[davelepka 4]

I need some tech advice with regards to Wifi, TVs and DVD players. Currently I have a TV (not Wifi enabled, no cable/satellite/DVR), a DVD player (not Wifi) and a computer with a modem (no router). What I want to do is set up a Wifi network and use it to beam Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, Vimeo, etc to my TV.

The main reason for the Wifi is that both of my kids now have smart phones (me too) and want the Wifi for browsing while at home. At the same time, I recently bought a friend a Blu-ray player as a house warming gift, and it turns out that it's Netflix friendly, and she's been using it to watch Netflix on her TV, and that's pretty cool.

There is no way to run a wire from the computer to the TV, so it has to be over Wifi. I woulnd't mind a Blu-ray player, but it's not a requirement.

So what are my options here? I wish I cared more about this stuff to really research and learn, but I just don't. I'm really only interested in the finished product, so if anyone with more info about this than me (just about everyone) can point me in the right direction, that would be great. Furthermore, if it's all stuff I can buy locally at Bestbuy (or similar) that would be cool too, I;m looking to set this up tomorrow (the weather doesn't look great for jumping).

[beowulf 1]

Just so I can understand you situation better, are you saying your internet service is dial up?

[davelepka 4]

Oh, no. It's a high speed deal, DSL maybe? They provided a modem that connects directly to my computer, no router currently installed. I do recall dial up days, what a shit deal that was

[beowulf 1]

You will need to buy a wireless router.

You can either get a new TV or Blu Ray disk player that supports the applications you want to use that has WiFi capabilities. The Blu Ray disk player will be cheaper. That is the route I took.

Both are available at Best Buy. I generally go with Linksys for the wireless router. I always get one that also supports wired connection.

[theonlyski 3]

Quote

Oh, no. It's a high speed deal, DSL maybe? They provided a modem that connects directly to my computer, no router currently installed. I do recall dial up days, what a shit deal that was

What kind of wires come from the wall to the modem? If it's a phone line, it's DSL. If it's a coax cable, it's cable.


I got a Sony Bluray player that I believe does wifi, but have it plugged into the router direct for faster streaming. Shouldn't be an issue for you though.

Any of the wireless routers on the market right now are going to do the job fine. You're probably using PPPoE (point to point protocol over ethernet) for the DSL so make sure the router supports it (it will most likely say PPPoE on the box).

Once you get that, there is a tad of a set up required to connect it to the DSL (slightly moreso than connecting to cable internet modems). If you need any help with that, PM me and I can help you out pretty easily. The most important part is you need your DSL username and password. That's the most forgotten part and causes the longest hangups with setting up a router on the DSL.


Also, you may be interested in looking at a Roku or AppleTV. They can do wireless and are very small and unobtrusive. I have a Roku and have absolutely no issues with it that I didn't expect. I use it to stream movies from my network storage server to my TV. I use my BD player for the occasional Netflix.

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[TheCaptain 2]

I have 3 of these Sony I have a net gear wirless router and they all work great for hooking up to Netflix in fact there is even a netflx button on the remote. The only problem I have come across is if for some reason you internet goes down they loss the abilty to play blu ray disks, they will play DVD's fine but not blu ray without the internet

Kirk
He's dead Jim

[regulator 0]

I would suggest getting Wireles N technology. The range is much more broad and can transmit a signal around 1000-1500 feet depending on a few factors.

[WickedWingsuits 0]

Quote

Oh, no. It's a high speed deal, DSL maybe? They provided a modem that connects directly to my computer, no router currently installed. I do recall dial up days, what a shit deal that was

When did you get the service and modem? A lot of the newer ones are already wifi so you might want to see if they can switch it out for you.

Summer Rental special, 5 weeks for the price of 4! That is $160 a month.

Try before You Buy with Wicked Wingsuits - WingsuitRental.com

[billvon 2,392]

OK some basics. You need:

-Internet service. DSL or cable are your two options. Generally DSL is provided by phone company and cable is provided by cable. (not surprisingly) Once you have this run something like speedtest or speakeasy to see how fast your service is; this will determine the quality of video you can get.

-A wireless router. Your options here are 802.11b (older, 11mbps) 802.11g (54mbps) 802.11n(72mbps.) Everything should be within about 50 feet for maximum speed, although you'll probably get a few hundred feet total range.

-A set top box. We have a Sony SMP-N100; this lets you browse Internet content and play it on TV. Whatever you get make sure it supports the services (Amazon, Google, Netflix etc) that you want.

[chutem 0]

We have been pretty happy with Roku.

[normiss 622]

Testing internet speed beyond your ISP is just silly.
Also wildly inaccurate.

Use your provider's speed test servers.
JFGI to find them.

[labrys 0]

Hey Dave,

I highly recommend hard wiring whatever you buy to your Internet connection. Netflix has a fairly funky method of determining how fast your connection is, and usually errs on the conservative side when it decides what resolution to send to you. A hard connection, from my experience, usually gets a better resolution.

Do you have any plans to get an game console in the near future? If so, Sony PlayStation has built in blu ray and netflix support, plus other streaming video.

Options without blu ray - If you have or plan to have lots of video in itunes, the appletv is a great choice. If you don't care about itunes, then roku is cheaper and great quality.

I know you're not much interested in research, but this is a short, pretty concise explanation:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20025670-1/which-streaming-media-device-is-right-for-you/

Edit for clarity: You can still add wireless to this mix.

Owned by Remi #?

[billvon 2,392]

>Use your provider's speed test servers.

That will give you a great sense of your local connection speed. Thinking that that has any meaning for a site beyond the provider's intranet is silly, though.

When you connect to a service like Amazon Instant Video, the available speed will be a combination of your local speed, the backbone's speed and the speed of the server providing the video. Thus from least accurate to most accurate you have:

-Local provider tests
-Tests to a server in the same geographic area as the desired server
-Tests on the server itself. (Most video servers support this including Amazon.)

[Zenister 0]

While correct, there isnt alot of point in testing beyond your ISP as you will have no control or ability to influence the results and they can vary wildly from test to test depending on usage by all parties unknown also connecting through every node past your ISP.

if your ISP connection is slow you can call and complain until it is addressed, if its slow anywhere past that you just have to suck it up.

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[theonlyski 3]

Quote

When you connect to a service like Amazon Instant Video, the available speed will be a combination of your local speed, the backbone's speed and the speed of the server providing the video. Thus from least accurate to most accurate you have:

I don't know if I would call that a 'combination'... More like the lowest speed determines it.

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[normiss 622]

Yes, what I said.

If you call an ISP and complain about any speed test outside their network, they place the call on mute, laugh, then un-mute and provide you with their own servers.
It's unpossible for an ISP to be held accountable for internet performance.

[billvon 2,392]

>If you call an ISP and complain about any speed test outside their network,
>they place the call on mute, laugh, then un-mute and provide you with their
>own servers.

Exactly. Which is why an Internet speed test is useful to see what speed you will ACTUALLY get from a server like the Amazon server. Not fast enough? Choose a different server in a different area, or go with a lower resolution/frame rate.

[Mr_Polite 0]

Buy a Roku box for the netflix and streaming stuff.
http://www.roku.com/

[zen_mtn_climber 0]

Quote

We have been pretty happy with Roku.

+1

My gf has a similar setup. She had a standard TV + DVD player. 5mb cable internet connection. We got her a wireless router and Roku box.

Cable modem, wireless router and Roku box are all by the TV. Cable modem goes into wireless router. Roku plugs into wireless router and she has her PC hardwired in to the router. With a wireless card in the PC, this could have been wireless too. Both roku and DVD plug into her TV (probably 6-7yr old TV with decent input and output capabilities but nothing too fancy).

Roku enables pandora or netflix via TV. We don't mess with Hulu or youtube so I can't vouch for them. Pretty sure Roku does Hulu but not sure about watching youtube.

Wireless router was required so both computer and roku could access the cable modem but side benefit was the smartphones and other laptops can use the wifi now as well. DVD is still usable when we want.

Once we set it up, haven't touched it since. Pretty simple so long as your TV has enough inputs to keep all your devices connected.

I'm sure there is a way to redirect all the computer output to the TV, which would be more flexible than the roku, which only streams certain services, like Pandora/netflix. Roku's advantage though was that it was easy and simple and we don't have to touch it.

ZMC

[normiss 622]

Not fast enough? Choose a different server in a different area, or go with a lower resolution/frame rate.


That's funny right there.

[davelepka 4]

Thanks to all for the info. The bad news is that the weather is shit today, so I'm going to venture out to the Best Buy and see what I can see.