Which HomePlug kit?

[Parm]

Getting broadband at the new apartment on Friday, hurrah!

Now I need a way to get the broadband from room to room. My PC and router (Netgear DG834N) will be in the office, and my laptop will roam using the router's Wi-Fi.

What I need next is a good connection in the living room, and I think I'll be going with a HomePlug solution. I've never used a HomePlug device before, but I'll be hooking up an Xbox 360 so I need a solid connection for gaming AND streaming media from Vista Media Center to the console.

Any recommendations on which HomePlug kit I should go for? They all seem to offer similar specs, so I'll most likely go by user recommendation. At present I'm leaning toward the Netgear options, but that's just because I've used Netgear kit in the past and found it does the job.

I may at a later stage need to hook up another device in the living room, too. So a homeplug with a built-in switch could be handy. Any suggestions?

[s_kinton]

The most cost effective was to get homeplugs would be to buy a set of Comtrends from eBay.

They're 200mbps and are being sold off by people who have BT vision. I paid £33 for a pair
recently, which for 200mbps and a passthrough socket is very good value compared to etailor prices.

Performance is excellent and more can be added to the network.

[Parm]

Crikey, I just had a look on eBay and they really are cheap!

Do the Comtrend units have any disadvantages, or are they just going cheap because people want to get rid of them?

[dangel]

Those ebay ones look like great value!

If you want retail, then this is a pretty good deal:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Max-Value-20...YG4J2H81B0KXSB

Homeplug 1.1 compliant, 200 mbps, free del for 60 notes. I bought those as bidding on ebay went over that (inc del) and of course you get a warranty too.. Funny enough they look to be exactly the same as these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NEWLINK-200-...202621&sr=1-19

Which cost more

[Parm]

Do any Comtrend kits come with a built-in switch? It'd be handy to have two or more outputs so I can hook up the 360 and a PS3.

[Parm]

Just had a quick Google and this seems a good deal: http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/596840...searchsource=0

£69.99 for a kit with a four-port switch, doesn't seem too bad! It is as 85Mbps model, though, rather than 200Mbps.

*edit* and they're doing an offer of another free adapter when you buy the kit: http://www.netgear.co.uk/powerlineoffer.php

[dangel]

Low bandwidth is prolly ok if you don't want to stream HD or transfer massive files. For 'net it's fine i'd hazard.

[Parm]

I'll be wanting to stream movies from my Vista PC to the 360, so more bandwidth might be better.

Is there a 200Mbps kit with a built-in switch?

[BerZerk]

I'm using homeplug 85 for my home network. They work great.
Streaming HD x264 fine. Max out around 1MB/s

[Parm]

Right, the deed has been done. I've ordered the Netgear XEB1004 from Play.com for £69.99, seemed a good deal for a kit that's priced around £100 elsewhere.

Will put it to the test next week.

[DR]

I would get one which is integrated in to the router rather than having extra homeplug units which you can avoid...

[s_kinton]

Crikey, I just had a look on eBay and they really are cheap!

Do the Comtrend units have any disadvantages, or are they just going cheap because people want to get rid of them?

No disadvantages I know of. The price is cheap because there are so many on eBay, people are just getting rid of them because they have no use for them.

Do any Comtrend kits come with a built-in switch? It'd be handy to have two or more outputs so I can hook up the 360 and a PS3.

No. You could just add a cheap switch though, wouldn't cost much at all.

[Mossy]

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?W...lusive+Price+*

Cant fault these about the best around

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=14720&page=1