88keyz
Occasional Visitor
Recently grabbed the new D-Link HD Media Router 2000 (DIR-827) and thus far my experience has been simply fantastic! This is what the DIR-825 should have been. I have always been a fan of the D-Link line of routers going back to my hardwired DI-604 (which was traded up to a DI-614 and so on). Quite simply this is the best one yet. Over the years I have owned the DI-604, DI-614, DI-624, DIR-655 rev.A3, DIR-655 rev.A4, DIR-655 rev.B1 and DIR-825 rev.B1. The DIR-655 was a night and day difference in performance from my DI-624. Everything about it was better. When I gave my A3 revision to my in-laws and bought the A4 it afforded me the same familiar performance as my A3. I briefly tried the DIR-825 but found the distance lacking and I wasn't a fan of the new open source firmware so back to the DIR-655 I went (eventually moving to the rev.B1 which in itself was a step backward from the A3 and A4 other than the support for IPv6).
The DIR-827 has a fresh new firmware setup but doesn't deviate from the classic D-Link firmware interface. Navigation is crisp and the customization options for the device are almost limitless. Performance wise the DIR-827 takes the DIR-655 to school. LAN transfers over gigabit seem faster, I haven't done any formal data collection but everything seems to happen quicker. Wireless range over 2.4GHz is better to the tune of an 8db increase from my second floor to my basement. As with the DIR-825 this router supports true dual-band connectivity as well as supporting guest networks on both bands. For the 2.4G band you also have the option to turn the good neighbour policy on or off under the advanced networking options. A nice addition after the horribly restrictive good neighbour policy on the DIR-655 rev.B1. However the good neighbour policy operates more like the DIR-655 rev.Ax series so turning enforcement on or off isn't really necessary.
Some new features include a USB 3.0 SharePort Plus port on the back and a SD card slot on the front. The SharePort Plus technology allows you to share printers and removable storage on your network by simply plugging it into the router. You can turn any USB storage device into network attached storage. SharePort Plus also adds DLNA streaming to the mix allowing you to stream video and audio files to a network ready media player (ie. PS3, WDTV, Boxee Box, Blu-ray player, etc).
The one downside for me so far has been my inability to connect to my ISP's IPv6 service. The router will make a connection but doesn't properly pass the protocol over the network which results in web browser timeouts. (This did work properly on the DIR-655 B1 but only with firmware 2.01, it was broken in firmware 2.03) However this is a minor complaint since this router is likely to see many more firmware updates in the future and I'm sure one of them will resolve this issue.
Overall I am completely blown away by the DIR-827. My go to suggestion for people over the last 4 years has been the DIR-655 (and with it now half the price it was when I bought my first one it was a no brainer to recommend) but going forward I think my recommendation will be changing to the DIR-827. Sure it's more money but you certainly get your money's worth.
I look forward to a professional review of this product to see what you think of it and to find out more about the internals as I am reluctant to take apart my $160 router.
I would be interested to hear about other peoples experiences with this new router.
The DIR-827 has a fresh new firmware setup but doesn't deviate from the classic D-Link firmware interface. Navigation is crisp and the customization options for the device are almost limitless. Performance wise the DIR-827 takes the DIR-655 to school. LAN transfers over gigabit seem faster, I haven't done any formal data collection but everything seems to happen quicker. Wireless range over 2.4GHz is better to the tune of an 8db increase from my second floor to my basement. As with the DIR-825 this router supports true dual-band connectivity as well as supporting guest networks on both bands. For the 2.4G band you also have the option to turn the good neighbour policy on or off under the advanced networking options. A nice addition after the horribly restrictive good neighbour policy on the DIR-655 rev.B1. However the good neighbour policy operates more like the DIR-655 rev.Ax series so turning enforcement on or off isn't really necessary.
Some new features include a USB 3.0 SharePort Plus port on the back and a SD card slot on the front. The SharePort Plus technology allows you to share printers and removable storage on your network by simply plugging it into the router. You can turn any USB storage device into network attached storage. SharePort Plus also adds DLNA streaming to the mix allowing you to stream video and audio files to a network ready media player (ie. PS3, WDTV, Boxee Box, Blu-ray player, etc).
The one downside for me so far has been my inability to connect to my ISP's IPv6 service. The router will make a connection but doesn't properly pass the protocol over the network which results in web browser timeouts. (This did work properly on the DIR-655 B1 but only with firmware 2.01, it was broken in firmware 2.03) However this is a minor complaint since this router is likely to see many more firmware updates in the future and I'm sure one of them will resolve this issue.
Overall I am completely blown away by the DIR-827. My go to suggestion for people over the last 4 years has been the DIR-655 (and with it now half the price it was when I bought my first one it was a no brainer to recommend) but going forward I think my recommendation will be changing to the DIR-827. Sure it's more money but you certainly get your money's worth.
I look forward to a professional review of this product to see what you think of it and to find out more about the internals as I am reluctant to take apart my $160 router.
I would be interested to hear about other peoples experiences with this new router.