Better Router for HD Streaming than DIR655

[barjantoz]

Friends,

I've a specific setup at home as per diagram below:

My main requirement is internet access for few devices and HD streaming from NAS to media player wirelessly.
Have tried many different setup for my DLINK DIR655. Now using FW 1.34WW Beta 2 - courtesy of dlinkedrouter.org.
Have also recently add Wireless N Access Point configured as bridge to replace media player's wireless N adapter which initially I suspect as culprit.

My main issue is HD streaming could freeze multiple times during the play. There were some good days when I watch my favorite movies without problem. But there are many times that the setup has disappointed me.

In general my DIR655 works ok for everything else. I'm also still observing if the new FW solve the intermittent router hang problem.

But the new FW - surely - doesn't solve the HD Streaming hiccups issues.

From dlinkedrouter.org I've seen plenty of issues on DIR655 that yet to be solved. DLINK seems cannot keep up in improving their FW for so many products - esp. on Wireless N - that they have.

This what I feel is the issue with the industry: Too much hype on the product that the support and R&D couldn't keep up with the marketing promises.

Also a feedback to SmallNetBuilder Review Team - as I made my decision to buy DIR655 after read your review - you probably need to do stability test (e.g. continuous HD streaming) on top of usual throughput test. Speed is important but it is not the most important things people expect from Wireless N router.

So far I've seen yet strong recommendation on specifc brand / model Wireless N router that stable enough for streaming HD content continuously.

If you have any please share it with me.

THANKS in advance!!

 

[DaveMcLain]

According to your diagram you have both 801.11g as well as n clients using the AP. What you'll find is that while they seem to inter-operate just fine when the G clients are transferring data at the same time as the N clients those N clients will drop down to G speeds. The best thing to try might be to simply add another AP that will handle your G clients and use the AP in the DIR-655 strictly to handle your N(streaming) client. It might be worth a try.

In my own personal experience I've not had good results from the DIR-655 as a reliable router but it seems to work great as a wireless AP.

 

[thiggins]

There is no 802.11n product that will guarantee flawless HD streaming. Even with short distances, 802.11n's high throughput variation will tend to cause problems.
I don't generally bother doing application-level testing.

A look at the IxChariot throughput plots will tell you something about the throughput stability of a product. But using different clients will produce different results.

Your best chance for trouble-free wireless HD streaming is to use a player that has a large and intelligent buffer and use 720p content with an efficient, low bit rate encoding.

 

[barjantoz]

Thanks for all the feedback.

@ DaveMcLain: Tried to run "N only mode" does not improve the situation.

@ Tim: any suggestions for the media player that fit the criteria you mentioned? I'm using PlayOnHD at the moment.

 

[thiggins]

The only media player I've seen that uses "intelligent" buffering is the NETGEAR EVA9150. But the design is now dated.

There are many players that allow local drives to be added, though. So you could just copy files from server to player and play from the local file. It's a bit of a pain, but the most trouble-free way if your player has only a wireless connection.

 

[stevech]

HD TV and WiFi: Incompatible.
Close, but just not enough.

Better to use cat5 or MoCa.

 

[tipstir]

You know you got a good setup there. I have a question for you? How are those DLINK IP Wireless Cam or Wired? I need a couple of them here. HD streaming of 5GB 1080p is really pushing the wireless frontier in 802.11n without chopping experience. DIR-655 isn't up for that task nor is the ESR-9850, they're made for other purposes. TEW-673GRU @ 5GHz or @ 2.4GHz more suited.

 

[barjantoz]

@ Tim: thanks for the suggestion. I've portable 1.5 TB HDD which could be used for "copy & walk" method. But prefer to have a neat & efficient solution.

@ stevech: Wish I could tear down the wall and ceiling at my house to install the Cat5 cable. But that is not an option.

@ tipstir: DCS 2121 is a wireless IP Camera. Thanks for the suggestion. Are you using TEW-673GRU at the moment for HD streaming?

 

[thiggins]

@ Tim: thanks for the suggestion. I've portable 1.5 TB HDD which could be used for "copy & walk" method. But prefer to have a neat & efficient solution.

Can't you add a drive to the PlayOn HD box?

 

[barjantoz]

Can't you add a drive to the PlayOn HD box?

Yes I could. Tried before.

Few things I don't like about using internal HDD in the media player:
1) Heat generated by the HDD - might affect the component of the media player in the long run since the player is quite compact.
2) It could only hold 1 HDD. I still have to selectively transfer the content from the NAS into 'tiny' 1.5 TB. Extra works for juggling the right content in the HDD.
3) Noise generated by the HDD affects the watching experience.

 

[thiggins]

A 2.5 in SATA drive should be very quiet and not throw much heat.

The local drive is only for temporary storage and playback. Not intended as primary store.

Transfer before play is a pain. But will provide trouble-free HD play, where wireless will not.

 

[enzolt]

Would the WZR-HP-G300NH provide a more stable connection? I am in the same boat as the OP and would like to stream from my NAS to my media player via wifi-N. I was also looking at the ESR-9850 but Tipstir said it wouldn't be adequate.

 

[stevech]

Would the WZR-HP-G300NH provide a more stable connection? I am in the same boat as the OP and would like to stream from my NAS to my media player via wifi-N. I was also looking at the ESR-9850 but Tipstir said it wouldn't be adequate.

Evaluate using MoCa (Netgear, D-Link, others) instead of WiFi.

 

[enzolt]

Evaluate using MoCa (Netgear, D-Link, others) instead of WiFi.

I currently have Dish Network. I've read somewhere that MoCa wouldn't work with my setup. One of the reasons I ruled out MoCa.

Regardless, I just bought a couple of the Asus RT-N16 as they had a pretty good price at Newegg. I realized my media player isn't that far from where my router is currently situated anyways (after a small remodeling ofcourse).

 

[stevech]

I currently have Dish Network. I've read somewhere that MoCa wouldn't work with my setup. One of the reasons I ruled out MoCa.

Regardless, I just bought a couple of the Asus RT-N16 as they had a pretty good price at Newegg. I realized my media player isn't that far from where my router is currently situated anyways (after a small remodeling ofcourse).

The MoCa I have says it can find, and/or you can select, frequencies on the cable that allow MoCa and satellite to coexist. That's if you put the satellite RF and the MoCa on the same cable, of course. Guys on sage's forum (http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/) talk of doing MoCa and satellite on same cable.

 

[enzolt]

The MoCa I have says it can find, and/or you can select, frequencies on the cable that allow MoCa and satellite to coexist. That's if you put the satellite RF and the MoCa on the same cable, of course. Guys on sage's forum (http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/) talk of doing MoCa and satellite on same cable.

Hmm, will definitely look at this. Thank you.

 

[barjantoz]

The MoCa I have says it can find, and/or you can select, frequencies on the cable that allow MoCa and satellite to coexist. That's if you put the satellite RF and the MoCa on the same cable, of course. Guys on sage's forum (http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/) talk of doing MoCa and satellite on same cable.

Hi Steve,

Sorry I misunderstood your suggestion a week ago when you 1st suggested MoCa. Thought you were referring to another form of Cat cable.

Since I've Coax socket near the TV in the living room and the NAS. This might the solution.

I've tried Ethernet over power line solution before. It didn't work as advertised [i.e. 200 Mbps]. The actual speed was far cry [i.e. < 4 Mbps]. Wonder if the MoCa would perform better.

Rgds,
Boedi

 

[barjantoz]

Solved the HD streaming freeze / stuttering problem by:
- enabling the uPnP streaming at the QNAP NAS and
- use uPnP @ ACRyan Media Player
for playing the 720 & 1080p content.

 

[kamaran]

I have a very similar setup to yours, I solved the same problem by using 200mps homeplugs inbetween the router and the streamer (instead of wireless bridge). Works very well now.

 

[RogerSC]

I'm using MoCA, and find that it works very well, about 85Mb/s reliably. Plenty of bandwidth for streaming video. The reviews that I've seen mention that the total bandwidth goes up as you have more concurrent connections, which is also interesting. Here, I'm using it for both video streaming from the internet and also for internet for a desktop computer in a bedroom that's wired for cable TV, but not for ethernet. Does both really well.