Netgear WND3700: Bridge options

[evensen007]

I was looking at the D-link 655 Router, but found that the 1522 bridge for it is hard to find and amazon won't have it in stock for 30+ days!

I need a nice N setup for a home server/PS3 media server/Xbox Media serving and my Netgear Powerline adapters aren't cutting it. They average about 20/mb on my house's crappy "copper" wiring. Completely unusable when streaming anything worthwhile.

I am seeing so strange and conflicting options for an N-bridge for the WND3700 setup. I need it to have at least 3 wired ports for my E-center, so a 4-port 1000/mb option is preferable.

I am trying to read as much as I can. My friend told me I needed "dual-band N" and I asked him why if I wasn't going to mix frequencies. He then explained that I could combine the signal for better throughput. I am still trying to read a good article on this to explain it better to me.

Anyhow, my main question is above. Advice on a good N 4-port bridge for my gadgets in the living room.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[DaveMcLain]

802.11n standards don't combine 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands to increase bandwidth. Dual band products do not do this but what the do allow is you to use either 2.5 or 5Ghz to connect wirelessly and thus possibly avoid overcrowding and or interference in one band or the other.

802.11N CAN use a mode where it can combine two channels to increase the bandwidth but this does not require dual band.

Your best bet just might be to get something like a WRT610N and install DD-WRT firmware which allows the router to function as a wireless N bridge with a switch to feed your wired clients(client bridge mode). There is also a mode that allows this to happen along with wireless repeating(repeater bridge) which might also be useful.

 

[evensen007]

Thanks for the information Dave. Unfortunately, I already purchased the WNDR3700 and the DAP-1522. I was able to find the 1522 on newegg for a good price. I will try this combination and see if I can get it to work together. If I can't, I will return them and try your suggestion.

Thanks again,

Chris