Need a good bridge

[pawnslinger]

I currently own a ASUS RT-N66U router, and I am very happy with it. I have several old D-Link Ap/Bridges around the house, and for the most part, they continue to give good service (even years after I thought they would die or go completely out-of-date. But one of them, the one on my HTPC in the living room, is beginning to go bad. Already one socket is dead and it is acting a little flaky even on the good sockets. So I am looking for a good replacement.

I see a bunch of them for sale on Amazon, but I can't seem to find any good reviews. Does SNB review media bridges? If so, how can I locate them? If not, can anyone here recommend some good ones that I should consider? For example, there are several AC bridges that have hit the market, from some big names, like Netgear and WD to name two. Do they work well with an older router like mine? I'd like to buy the best technology I can, even if I don't have an AC router at the moment (one is probably in my future though).

Any ideas or suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

 

[chris431]

(1) Asus EA-N66 (attached to a switch)
(2) Asus AC66 has a bridge mode
(3) Belkin Universal Wireless HDTV Adapter (it's really just a bridge marketed to a different segment)

All of these offer both 2.4ghz & 5ghz band support.

I have used 1 & 2 as a bridge that connects to an HTPC that streams live TV from an HDHomerun (a constant 1-2MB/s; I tested 3 streams at once (>6MB/s with no issues), as well as stream media, and serves 4 or 5 other devices including a laptop that I frequently am using while watching TV. The EA-N66 was rock solid. The AC66 delivers great throughput (excessive for uses other than file transfers; avg. 31MB/s file transfer; highs in the 40MB/s; alas this is an AC66 to an AC66) but has been much more flaky than the EA-N66 and requires intermittent reboots. The bridges were 60ft from the router. The wireless signal passed through several walls due to its location (straight shot was through a closet & front/back of bathroom walls) although given reflections some of the signal may go through a straight path bouncing down an open hall. The AC66 has an older firmware (3004374130) that allowed it to serve as a bridge and an AP (using the other band not connected to the router). I'm not sure why they took that out.

I have used #3 as a bridge to connect to an xbox 360 as a media center extender to watch live tv & stream media (I needed to use 5ghz band due to the large # of 2.4ghz routers in the area & xbox 360's native wireless is 2.4ghz only). They are 10ft apart. It has been rock solid.

The EA-N66 has been heavily discounted lately. The Belkin was once on sale for $20 (a great buy for a 5ghz bridge). I'm sure good deals can be had on ebay for these 2.

I would avoid considering the AC68 for now (it also has a bridge mode). There seem to be serious firmware/performance problems at the moment.

 

[stevech]

Buffalo's bridges have been good in the past.

 

[thiggins]

I see a bunch of them for sale on Amazon, but I can't seem to find any good reviews. Does SNB review media bridges? If so, how can I locate them?

We haven't done a lot of bridge reviews. But you can use the Wireless Finder and filter for Bridge to find the products we have reviewed.

I'd stick to N bridges for now. AC bridges won't give you any better performance and you can have compatibility problems.

Here are some reviews:
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...reless-n900-gigabit-ethernet-adapter-reviewed
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...dual-band-wireless-n-hd-media-bridge-reviewed
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...ertainment-bridge-with-4-port-switch-reviewed

 

[stevech]

I haven't used it but this might be worth a try
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...E16833124484&gclid=COjx-_6svboCFco9QgodtFIAMw

There are many others, equivalent. Sometimes sold as a bridge, or a game adapter, or media adapter.
They all are a client device on the WiFi network and convert that to Ethernet. And vice-versa.