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Bought two RT-N66U s thought they have media bridge mode but they don't need advice

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bk_RS4

Occasional Visitor
Hey guys. Great site. I made my purchase decision based on this site. Did some googling on the RT-N66U thinking that the firmware had a bridge option:

http://support.asus.com/FAQ/Detail....29F7-D0C7-6E04-BA444E44B750&m=RT-N66U (VER.B1)

Note that the support FAQ is for the RT-N66U, I have updated to the latest firmware but the only options I get are Wireless Router mode and AP mode, I have no option for media bridge mode as the FAQ would suggest. I assume this means that it's only available for the AC66U's firmware and the FAQ referring to the RT-N66U is a mistake on Asus' part.

SO.. my question is this: What 3rd party firmware that supports wireless bridging should I use for the second router? I've got the whole TV/DVD/TiVo setup they all need networking and I'm currently using an ancient DD-WRT with a linksys 54g router under the tv which really sucks, and why I bought the RT-N66Us based on the reviews here.

I figured I'd post the question before I go eat lunch here and see what you guys think.
 
Hey guys. Great site. I made my purchase decision based on this site. Did some googling on the RT-N66U thinking that the firmware had a bridge option:

http://support.asus.com/FAQ/Detail....29F7-D0C7-6E04-BA444E44B750&m=RT-N66U (VER.B1)

Note that the support FAQ is for the RT-N66U, I have updated to the latest firmware but the only options I get are Wireless Router mode and AP mode, I have no option for media bridge mode as the FAQ would suggest. I assume this means that it's only available for the AC66U's firmware and the FAQ referring to the RT-N66U is a mistake on Asus' part.

SO.. my question is this: What 3rd party firmware that supports wireless bridging should I use for the second router? I've got the whole TV/DVD/TiVo setup they all need networking and I'm currently using an ancient DD-WRT with a linksys 54g router under the tv which really sucks, and why I bought the RT-N66Us based on the reviews here.

I figured I'd post the question before I go eat lunch here and see what you guys think.

There are settings under Advanced Settings - Wireless > Bridge that allow you to discriminate your connection to other routers using the MAC address. I am not sure exactly how the bridging options there differ from "Media Bridge mode"...maybe a difference in throughput?... There are numerous options in the RT-N66U worth trying to achieve your objective and they should be much better than the Linksys WRT-54G equipment that you have been using. Meanwhile you could contact Asus to answer additional questions and ask whether there will be a future firmware solution for the RT-N66U.

I use a Trendnet TEW-680MB as a media bridge...streaming HD movies, online gaming, etc... but if there is an advantage to the RT-AC66U firmware for an improved "Media Bridge" mode and you still are within the return product window of your purchase then you could consider returning the RT-N66Us for the RT-AC66Us based on the premise that the features you expected did not exist in the product you received.
 
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I'll take a look at the bridge tab. Perhaps I just missed the config option because it's slightly different. I was also considering loading a 3rd party firmware like DD-WRT or whatever else I can find.

Ok so it looks like the bridge tab only does WDS or wireless repeating. Where you can connect clients to the AP, then it forwards packets to the other AP. It seems like in this mode it won't actually act as a bridge in the sense of what I'm looking for where i have four wired devices connected, and this wireless router acts as a bridge to my wireless network.

If that makes sense
 
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On second thought I'm just going to try and return them even though they're open now. I'll get the AC model instead since it has the "media bridge" feature. At this point I'm too old and lazy to mess with custom firmware. I'd rather just have it work fine out of the box.
 
I'll take a look at the bridge tab. Perhaps I just missed the config option because it's slightly different. I was also considering loading a 3rd party firmware like DD-WRT or whatever else I can find.

Ok so it looks like the bridge tab only does WDS or wireless repeating. Where you can connect clients to the AP, then it forwards packets to the other AP. It seems like in this mode it won't actually act as a bridge in the sense of what I'm looking for where i have four wired devices connected, and this wireless router acts as a bridge to my wireless network.

If that makes sense

You may want to try Merlin's Firmware that is based in the stock firmware and has cool added features.

I have a spare Linksys running DDWRT and using it as a bridge easy peasy to service a stereo receiver.

I have not tried to use the RT-N66U as a bridge as I have no need for it.

I would suggest you stick with Merlin's software or a Tomato based firmware such as Shibby Tomato.
 
On second thought I'm just going to try and return them even though they're open now. I'll get the AC model instead since it has the "media bridge" feature. At this point I'm too old and lazy to mess with custom firmware. I'd rather just have it work fine out of the box.

There is single point to point bridge mode and there is also multi-point bridge mode which is what the RT-N66U wireless bridge mode settings appear to allow.

http://compnetworking.about.com/cs/wirelessproducts/f/apbridgingmode.htm

I haven't heard about "media bridge mode" before. That option in the RT-AC66U firmware may just simplify and optimize the bridge connection between two RT-AC66Us compared to using normal bridge mode settings in other routers like the RT-N66U. If you plan on using two RT-AC66Us in bridge mode...and want to maximize the wireless AC throughput between them... and do not plan on using the wireless connection for any other devices then that media bridge mode option probably gives you the best possible wireless performance between two RT-AC66Us.

As I mentioned before I have my RT-N66U in normal wireless mode with the 5Ghz radio connection...and I can stream HD movies and do latency sensitive gaming between that and a $80 TEW-680MB media bridge with rock solid reliability (with the 2.4Ghz radio being used to connect with all other devices at the same time). Two RT-N66Us in bridge mode should be able to offer similar or a bit better performance but greater range because of their external antennas. If you are looking for better wireless throughput then two RT-AC66Us would offer maximum throughput similar to a gigabit wired connection (when using 5Ghz ac wireless radios in ac mode). I'm not sure if you need that kind of throughput but that would be an advantage of using two RT-AC66Us and if you don't mind paying the difference in cost then that would provide you current state of the art throughput speed and reliability for your home media connection.
 
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