Looking for a reliable Wireless N solution

[bobo]

Hi Folks,
Looking for some suggestions. Looking for a reliable wireless N solution. Need more bandwidth as I tend stream alot now and performance isn't all that great. Plus my laptops now have wireless N cards. Did some testing and only getting < 5 mbps. Right now i have a Cisco 1120 using 802.11b (don't laugh) so it's time to upgrade. But this AP has been solid for 5+ years

Looking for the following features:
-Reliable. Don't want to have to be resetting the unit all the time
-support for guest network with no access to LAN
-bridge support (need to connect my TV upstairs and will connect via bridging with another AP)
-POE
-Vlan support
-Dual band

So I've been reading alot of the reviews (at other sites as well) and have narrowed do the following:
-Netgear WNDR 3700 v2
-Dlink 2553
-Cisco Aironet 1041
-Cisco Aironet 1141

So far the issue with the Netgear is that the wireless guest doesn't work. The dlink issue is that you can't run both bands at the same time. I haven't been able to find much about the cisco products. I feel confident in the reliability of the cisco but they are expensive and for the same price I could get more than two of the other products. What I'd like to do eventually is configure one to be an AP and another in bridge mode to connect to the first AP. My TV upstairs has a net interface and will connect that to a switch and second AP in bridge mode.

Suggestions are welcome

 

[supersoldier]

Do I know you from another forum of a completely unrelated nature?

 

[thiggins]

PoE and VLAN capability are going to limit you to business grade access points. The WNDR3700 doesn't do PoE.

I guess you'd better stick with Ciscos.

 

[bobo]

Do I know you from another forum of a completely unrelated nature?

hmmmm...don't recall... though quite possible.

 

[stevech]

re PoE devices...

You can do quasi-PoE - meaning low voltage feed down cat5, but not IEEE 802.3af PoE 48V. Instead, run the voltage needed by the device plus 2VDC, down the four spare wires. Lots of vendors do this in consumer and SOHO. And with soldering iron skills and an RJ45 connector so can you!

 

[bobo]

So I've narrowed it down to the Dlink 2553 or a HP MSM430 (not on my previous list). The HP has dual radios so I can do both frequencies simultaneously and not as expensive as Cisco.

I might try the DLink first and see how it goes for 30 days and send it back if needed. Wish me luck.