QUOTE
Hybrid Routers Review: Get Wi-Fi and Powerline Networks in One Device
The D-Link DHP-1320 and Netgear WNXR2000 routers support Wi-Fi and HomePlug AV powerline networks in the same device. Although both products could be better, D-Link's offering is more appealing.
By Yardena Arar, PCWorld Oct 4, 2011 3:00 am
For some time, PCWorld has advocated hybrid networks that support both Wi-Fi (for laptops, cell phones, and anything else you might want to use untethered to a power source) and a wired technology for streaming media to fixed-location devices. Ethernet is the best wired-network technology, but using it typically involves stringing cables through walls; if that isn't feasible, a HomePlug AV powerline network, which uses existing electrical circuits, can be a great alternative.
Previously, in setting up a hybrid network, you could operate a Wi-Fi router in another room only by purchasing a separate HomePlug AV adapter and plugging the powerline device into an ethernet port on the router as well as into a free wall outlet (a precious commodity in the wired world). Now, however, you have other options: New routers from D-Link and Netgear deliver both Wi-Fi and HomePlug AV network technologies in a single product that costs about $90 at this writing--less than you'd pay for equivalent gear purchased separately.
But while getting both technologies in a single device is a good idea, these first examples aren't without flaws--most notably, poor documentation and some corner-cutting in features. The Netgear product also suffers from poor design, which isn't surprising since in essence it merely packages one of the company's existing Wi-Fi routers with a HomePlug AV adapter.
More about this technic:
http://www.pcworld.c...e.html#tk.hp_fv
The D-Link DHP-1320 and Netgear WNXR2000 routers support Wi-Fi and HomePlug AV powerline networks in the same device. Although both products could be better, D-Link's offering is more appealing.
By Yardena Arar, PCWorld Oct 4, 2011 3:00 am
For some time, PCWorld has advocated hybrid networks that support both Wi-Fi (for laptops, cell phones, and anything else you might want to use untethered to a power source) and a wired technology for streaming media to fixed-location devices. Ethernet is the best wired-network technology, but using it typically involves stringing cables through walls; if that isn't feasible, a HomePlug AV powerline network, which uses existing electrical circuits, can be a great alternative.
Previously, in setting up a hybrid network, you could operate a Wi-Fi router in another room only by purchasing a separate HomePlug AV adapter and plugging the powerline device into an ethernet port on the router as well as into a free wall outlet (a precious commodity in the wired world). Now, however, you have other options: New routers from D-Link and Netgear deliver both Wi-Fi and HomePlug AV network technologies in a single product that costs about $90 at this writing--less than you'd pay for equivalent gear purchased separately.
But while getting both technologies in a single device is a good idea, these first examples aren't without flaws--most notably, poor documentation and some corner-cutting in features. The Netgear product also suffers from poor design, which isn't surprising since in essence it merely packages one of the company's existing Wi-Fi routers with a HomePlug AV adapter.
More about this technic:
http://www.pcworld.c...e.html#tk.hp_fv
