30 seconds in the graphing engine. Then save that image from your browser onto your drive. Open that image up in Paint (or more likely, Photoshop). Then rearrange the bars so that they're in the positions you desire. Don't mess up the text or the spacing of the bars. When you're done, save the file, upload it back to the server, and then modify the HTML to reference the appropriate file. Yeehaw! I'd guess more like 5 minutes. Now do that for every graph you want to modify.
I'll make a note to our engine guy that sorting of multi-series charts doesn't work. Then hopefully we can get that fixed for the future. Having done manual creation of charts in the past, though, I can tell you that it isn't even remotely fun. In fact, the old graphing engine was seriously one of my least liked parts of writing articles. The new engine is worlds better, but it isn't perfect.
It's testament to the quality of anandtech's site that they check throughput on various levels of emotional content in films. No other tech sites offer this service. I for one am looking forward to finding out if some stuttering occurs during the Shawshank Redemption, but not, for instance, in Attack of the Clones.
If you're somewhat technical, just pick up a pair of compatible wireless devices and load them with DD-WRT, then set one of them up in bridge mode.
I have a pair of 5 year old Linksys WRT54Gs that I have doing exactly this. Throughput isn't spectacular by ethernet standards (averages about 30 mbps) but it's more than enough to stream 720p Netflix to my PS3. The devices are about 50 feet apart and cost me about $300... 5 years ago. They can certainly be found for less now. Bonus with DD-WRT is that you can basically "overclock" the wireless radios and operate them with a higher signal strength (though be careful; heat quickly becomes an issue and the case on one of my devices is warped from high heat output in a poorly ventilated area.)
I'm sure this solution is easier to set up, but honestly, it's a set-it-and-forget-it solution. Any self-respecting tech nerd should be able to set this up in an hour or two and enjoy the fruits for years. That said, wireless links can be finicky and a pain in the ass to diagnose when things go wrong, so wired is always preferable even when speed isn't a factor (it doesn't get screwed up by using the microwave.)
I've asked this before. Aren't we just reinventing the wheel? Why are we trying to come up with wireless HDMI when a wireless format for broadcasting HD-quality video and audio already exists, and nearly every HDTV out there already has a receiver for it?
All we need is for the FCC to allocate a few DTV channels for private use and regulate the maximum transmit power like they did the 2.4 GHz spectrum. Then the manufacturers can get busy building low-wattage OTA ATSC transmitters. You just plug it into the video out of your camera, Blu-ray player, HTPC, or computer, and it'll transmit the video and audio wirelessly. Tune the HDTV into the appropriate channel and you're done.
Yeah, it's not going to be perfect like uncompressed HDMI. But it's video. Are you really going to notice the slight imperfections? Especially if your source signal is already a compressed format like a camera, Blu-ray, or DVR?
Problem with that is you run into the same issue you do in apartment buildings: you're suddenly in range of 30 other peoples' wireless access. You need some way to secure that so only you can watch it (otherwise you'd end up with some dude watching hardcore porn over a wireless link while someone elses' kid is flipping through the channels...)
Also, signal turns to crap the higher density you have... wireless is a bidirectional communication protocol so both sides can correct for it, but that's not possible with broadcast transmission.
It's nice to see some 4x4 MIMO equipment finally available but I believe that the throughput cap you hit was due to a slow CPU. From my experience with 3rd party firmwares on wireless routers, I would guess that it has a ~300MHz mips CPU inside that can't keep up with the incredible bandwidth that 4x4 MIMO radios offer. Wireless routers have this same problem getting bandwidth capped because the CPU can't keep up, but their radios are mostly all 2x2 MIMO so the problem isn't nearly as severe.
Does anyone know the FCC ID or know the CPU inside these?
Good point - I saw a price of $170 for the XAVB5004, which is quite a bit cheaper that this wireless solution, and looks to offer much better performance. I'm in need of something like this
The LiveWire has been reviewed by us before. It is a good unit for getting net access where wireless is not very effective, but I wouldn't recommend it for HD video streaming.
The problem with powerline adapters is that it is not easy to guarantee QoS. Imagine watching a movie streamed over powerline, and suddenly, someone switches on the hair dryer or a fluoroscent bulb. The throughput goes kaput. Depending on the powerline adapter, it can recover, but the time taken is too long to guarantee real time HD video streaming.
That said, we also run powerline reviews concurrently. So, look out for our Ixia Chariot tests on those. (The Netgear 500 Mbps kit is up next, but it will be reviewed sometime next month).
I use the wusbn600 from the test with my wdtv live and it works fine for me. But I don't stream bluray quality stuff. This might be useful if you have multiple devices like a wdtv, an xbox, maybe soemthing else in your living room.
80Mb != 80MB. It's actually 10MB/s. As a comparison, uncompressed each frame of a 1366x768 display would be 4MB. Of course, with highly compressed JPG images, it would be down to around 75KB per frame, so you could potentially do 1366x768 (or 1280x720) over a 10MB/s connection.
As an interesting corollary, OnLive! is doing something like this with remote servers. I think they're sending 720p (probably at 30FPS) and the bandwidth requirement is under 1MB/s. The games sort of look like crap (low to medium at best details), but it's better than not running at all on older Intel IGPs.
If I spend any money today on network gear I'd like to know if it is IP v6 capable.
And at this price point, I think it would have been wise to actually include Gigabit ports, because it does increase its utility. Because stable throughput is a good thing not only for Video streaming, but for all sorts of network bridging. http://gettys.wordpress.com/bufferbloat-faq/
Great :) Nice to see a powerline success story. But, do you stream HD videos across? Is the throughput sustained? We will be using Ixia Chariot in our future powerline reviews.
I just bought two Netgear WNR3500L v2 Rangemax routers to accomplish exactly this. They look identical to these. Would be nice to know what the difference is. The price on these has dropped below $100 depending on the discount so you can save quite a bit (Newegg WNR3500L = $70 x 2 = $140 vs. $215 for this package).
By "price on these" I meant the WNR3500L units. Also the WNR3500L have gigabit ports so I use one as my main switch/firewall and the other for my home theatre components.
WNR3500L's are 2x2 MIMO 2.4GHz wireless routers (that can be used as bridges) whereas these are 4x4 MIMO 5 GHz wireless bridges. The WNR3500L has a 480MHz CPU so it should have better throughput at close range, and higher maximum range because it's on the 2.4GHz band, but worse performance at mid-range than these.
The 4x4 MIMO on these should give much better throughput than the tests showed but I believe that these have a slow CPU that is inhibiting them as I explained above.
Why would anyone pay $220 when a cable costs $3? I guess that's a rhetorical question... the real question is why would you want to pay $220 for yet another carcinogenic box. Just go down to the corner store and buy a pack of smokes. I feel sorry for the children of the yuppies who buy crap like this. To be born and raised in a microwave laden world...
Because logistcs often precludes the use of a cable. but you would already know that if you bothered reading the article. As for microwaves, why don't you just strand yourself on a desert island and eat bananas and talk to coconuts rather than trolling the internet? rhetorical.
I've always enjoyed Anandtech for the reason that it has articles on interesting new products or topics (unlike the article about Apple upgrading their MBP line).
I have a few comments though: 1) What about distances more than 1 house apart? 2) You need comparative pricing on the other products you mentioned. 3) You need a percentile minimum throughput chart. (ie. the throughput was at least 5.3 mbps 40% of the time). 4) You need to run the interference test on the other products mentioned. 5) Some comments about the difficulty of setup on the other products mentioned would be nice.
For 3 months last year I went through a dozen routers trying to be able to perfectly stream and playback high bitrate blu-ray and mkv files (30GB + files)... I think I'm on my Local Fry's Electronics watch list now due to all the returns...because I have yet been able to sustain 30Mbps + streaming using wireless-N streaming to my media players to playback on my HDTV...
Can these devices be connected in something other than pairs? Could I have three of them, one connected to the ADSL modem and the other two on different floors and all connected to each other, or would I need to buy two pairs and use them in pairs?
The wireless 3DHD seems like an interesting concept. I wonder if it's something I could try out in my home theater system. I wonder if it will interfere with the system I had installed by a <a href="http://www.creativesound.info/audio-video.html&quo... video company phoenix</a>. I don't know the intricacies of the system they put in.
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ChronoReverse - Friday, February 25, 2011 - link
Why do the positions of the tested devices vary across each chart? It would be much better if the NETGEAR 3DHD was always the first one in each graph.JarredWalton - Friday, February 25, 2011 - link
It's a glitch with the multibar charts in our engine. Sorry.Slash3 - Saturday, February 26, 2011 - link
30 seconds in MS Paint's cut/paste can reverse the positions. :)JarredWalton - Saturday, February 26, 2011 - link
30 seconds in the graphing engine. Then save that image from your browser onto your drive. Open that image up in Paint (or more likely, Photoshop). Then rearrange the bars so that they're in the positions you desire. Don't mess up the text or the spacing of the bars. When you're done, save the file, upload it back to the server, and then modify the HTML to reference the appropriate file. Yeehaw! I'd guess more like 5 minutes. Now do that for every graph you want to modify.I'll make a note to our engine guy that sorting of multi-series charts doesn't work. Then hopefully we can get that fixed for the future. Having done manual creation of charts in the past, though, I can tell you that it isn't even remotely fun. In fact, the old graphing engine was seriously one of my least liked parts of writing articles. The new engine is worlds better, but it isn't perfect.
LeftSide - Friday, February 25, 2011 - link
Wow, I wireless device that is reliable, has consistent throughput, and is easy to set up. This is a first.danjw - Friday, February 25, 2011 - link
You mention that for short range there were lower priced options that performed just as well for wireless HDMI, so which ones are those?nubie - Friday, February 25, 2011 - link
I think he meant that the other devices it was compared to, not HDMI links.If you needed to go one room over, or through one wall or floor, the other devices reviewed were faster.
Kyser Soze - Friday, February 25, 2011 - link
It's testament to the quality of anandtech's site that they check throughput on various levels of emotional content in films. No other tech sites offer this service. I for one am looking forward to finding out if some stuttering occurs during the Shawshank Redemption, but not, for instance, in Attack of the Clones.Can my old netgear handle romantic comedies?
queequeg99 - Friday, February 25, 2011 - link
This is a pretty funny comment. Did the author intend to refer to a detailed scene with lots of movement?Exelius - Friday, February 25, 2011 - link
If you're somewhat technical, just pick up a pair of compatible wireless devices and load them with DD-WRT, then set one of them up in bridge mode.I have a pair of 5 year old Linksys WRT54Gs that I have doing exactly this. Throughput isn't spectacular by ethernet standards (averages about 30 mbps) but it's more than enough to stream 720p Netflix to my PS3. The devices are about 50 feet apart and cost me about $300... 5 years ago. They can certainly be found for less now. Bonus with DD-WRT is that you can basically "overclock" the wireless radios and operate them with a higher signal strength (though be careful; heat quickly becomes an issue and the case on one of my devices is warped from high heat output in a poorly ventilated area.)
I'm sure this solution is easier to set up, but honestly, it's a set-it-and-forget-it solution. Any self-respecting tech nerd should be able to set this up in an hour or two and enjoy the fruits for years. That said, wireless links can be finicky and a pain in the ass to diagnose when things go wrong, so wired is always preferable even when speed isn't a factor (it doesn't get screwed up by using the microwave.)
Solandri - Friday, February 25, 2011 - link
I've asked this before. Aren't we just reinventing the wheel? Why are we trying to come up with wireless HDMI when a wireless format for broadcasting HD-quality video and audio already exists, and nearly every HDTV out there already has a receiver for it?All we need is for the FCC to allocate a few DTV channels for private use and regulate the maximum transmit power like they did the 2.4 GHz spectrum. Then the manufacturers can get busy building low-wattage OTA ATSC transmitters. You just plug it into the video out of your camera, Blu-ray player, HTPC, or computer, and it'll transmit the video and audio wirelessly. Tune the HDTV into the appropriate channel and you're done.
Yeah, it's not going to be perfect like uncompressed HDMI. But it's video. Are you really going to notice the slight imperfections? Especially if your source signal is already a compressed format like a camera, Blu-ray, or DVR?
Exelius - Friday, February 25, 2011 - link
Problem with that is you run into the same issue you do in apartment buildings: you're suddenly in range of 30 other peoples' wireless access. You need some way to secure that so only you can watch it (otherwise you'd end up with some dude watching hardcore porn over a wireless link while someone elses' kid is flipping through the channels...)Also, signal turns to crap the higher density you have... wireless is a bidirectional communication protocol so both sides can correct for it, but that's not possible with broadcast transmission.
phuzi0n - Friday, February 25, 2011 - link
It's nice to see some 4x4 MIMO equipment finally available but I believe that the throughput cap you hit was due to a slow CPU. From my experience with 3rd party firmwares on wireless routers, I would guess that it has a ~300MHz mips CPU inside that can't keep up with the incredible bandwidth that 4x4 MIMO radios offer. Wireless routers have this same problem getting bandwidth capped because the CPU can't keep up, but their radios are mostly all 2x2 MIMO so the problem isn't nearly as severe.Does anyone know the FCC ID or know the CPU inside these?
VeauX - Friday, February 25, 2011 - link
why not adding one to the test?dartblazer - Saturday, February 26, 2011 - link
Agreed. I'd like to see a comparison with something like the "NETGEAR Powerline AV 500 Adapter Kit".mados123 - Saturday, February 26, 2011 - link
Exactly. The XAVB5004 is nice because is has a Gigabit switch on the Home Theater side with 4 ports & QoS packet prioritization.kmmatney - Saturday, February 26, 2011 - link
Good point - I saw a price of $170 for the XAVB5004, which is quite a bit cheaper that this wireless solution, and looks to offer much better performance. I'm in need of something like thiskmmatney - Saturday, February 26, 2011 - link
This looks like a good solution - lots of good reviews, and only $95.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
kmmatney - Sunday, February 27, 2011 - link
Wow - this sold out already. I found a Western Digital unit also for $95:http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Livewire-Pow...
Its even better as it has 4 ports on each end.
ganeshts - Sunday, February 27, 2011 - link
The LiveWire has been reviewed by us before. It is a good unit for getting net access where wireless is not very effective, but I wouldn't recommend it for HD video streaming.ganeshts - Sunday, February 27, 2011 - link
The problem with powerline adapters is that it is not easy to guarantee QoS. Imagine watching a movie streamed over powerline, and suddenly, someone switches on the hair dryer or a fluoroscent bulb. The throughput goes kaput. Depending on the powerline adapter, it can recover, but the time taken is too long to guarantee real time HD video streaming.That said, we also run powerline reviews concurrently. So, look out for our Ixia Chariot tests on those. (The Netgear 500 Mbps kit is up next, but it will be reviewed sometime next month).
beginner99 - Saturday, February 26, 2011 - link
I use the wusbn600 from the test with my wdtv live and it works fine for me. But I don't stream bluray quality stuff.This might be useful if you have multiple devices like a wdtv, an xbox, maybe soemthing else in your living room.
astroidea - Saturday, February 26, 2011 - link
Does this enable remote desktop gaming? 80MB/s is incredible.It would be awesome to play Crysis on my $100 used laptop from ebay via RDP.
JarredWalton - Sunday, February 27, 2011 - link
80Mb != 80MB. It's actually 10MB/s. As a comparison, uncompressed each frame of a 1366x768 display would be 4MB. Of course, with highly compressed JPG images, it would be down to around 75KB per frame, so you could potentially do 1366x768 (or 1280x720) over a 10MB/s connection.As an interesting corollary, OnLive! is doing something like this with remote servers. I think they're sending 720p (probably at 30FPS) and the bandwidth requirement is under 1MB/s. The games sort of look like crap (low to medium at best details), but it's better than not running at all on older Intel IGPs.
yottabit - Saturday, February 26, 2011 - link
"I encoutnered only one instance during an exceptionally detailed and scene with a lot of movement where the video playback stuttered.":(
Conficio - Sunday, February 27, 2011 - link
If I spend any money today on network gear I'd like to know if it is IP v6 capable.And at this price point, I think it would have been wise to actually include Gigabit ports, because it does increase its utility. Because stable throughput is a good thing not only for Video streaming, but for all sorts of network bridging. http://gettys.wordpress.com/bufferbloat-faq/
ol1bit - Sunday, February 27, 2011 - link
I use powerline adapters for my 2 story 2500 foot house and could not be happier!What this review needs to to compare tech, powerline versus 3DHD wireless.
ganeshts - Sunday, February 27, 2011 - link
Great :) Nice to see a powerline success story. But, do you stream HD videos across? Is the throughput sustained? We will be using Ixia Chariot in our future powerline reviews.GTVic - Sunday, February 27, 2011 - link
I just bought two Netgear WNR3500L v2 Rangemax routers to accomplish exactly this. They look identical to these. Would be nice to know what the difference is. The price on these has dropped below $100 depending on the discount so you can save quite a bit (Newegg WNR3500L = $70 x 2 = $140 vs. $215 for this package).GTVic - Sunday, February 27, 2011 - link
By "price on these" I meant the WNR3500L units. Also the WNR3500L have gigabit ports so I use one as my main switch/firewall and the other for my home theatre components.phuzi0n - Monday, February 28, 2011 - link
WNR3500L's are 2x2 MIMO 2.4GHz wireless routers (that can be used as bridges) whereas these are 4x4 MIMO 5 GHz wireless bridges. The WNR3500L has a 480MHz CPU so it should have better throughput at close range, and higher maximum range because it's on the 2.4GHz band, but worse performance at mid-range than these.The 4x4 MIMO on these should give much better throughput than the tests showed but I believe that these have a slow CPU that is inhibiting them as I explained above.
Shadowmaster625 - Monday, February 28, 2011 - link
Why would anyone pay $220 when a cable costs $3? I guess that's a rhetorical question... the real question is why would you want to pay $220 for yet another carcinogenic box. Just go down to the corner store and buy a pack of smokes. I feel sorry for the children of the yuppies who buy crap like this. To be born and raised in a microwave laden world...Quidam67 - Monday, February 28, 2011 - link
Because logistcs often precludes the use of a cable. but you would already know that if you bothered reading the article. As for microwaves, why don't you just strand yourself on a desert island and eat bananas and talk to coconuts rather than trolling the internet? rhetorical.shamans33 - Monday, February 28, 2011 - link
I've always enjoyed Anandtech for the reason that it has articles on interesting new products or topics (unlike the article about Apple upgrading their MBP line).I have a few comments though:
1) What about distances more than 1 house apart?
2) You need comparative pricing on the other products you mentioned.
3) You need a percentile minimum throughput chart. (ie. the throughput was at least 5.3 mbps 40% of the time).
4) You need to run the interference test on the other products mentioned.
5) Some comments about the difficulty of setup on the other products mentioned would be nice.
Discombobulated28 - Friday, March 4, 2011 - link
For 3 months last year I went through a dozen routers trying to be able to perfectly stream and playback high bitrate blu-ray and mkv files (30GB + files)... I think I'm on my Local Fry's Electronics watch list now due to all the returns...because I have yet been able to sustain 30Mbps + streaming using wireless-N streaming to my media players to playback on my HDTV...valhar2000 - Monday, March 21, 2011 - link
Can these devices be connected in something other than pairs? Could I have three of them, one connected to the ADSL modem and the other two on different floors and all connected to each other, or would I need to buy two pairs and use them in pairs?kcc651 - Thursday, June 23, 2011 - link
The wireless 3DHD seems like an interesting concept. I wonder if it's something I could try out in my home theater system. I wonder if it will interfere with the system I had installed by a <a href="http://www.creativesound.info/audio-video.html&quo... video company phoenix</a>. I don't know the intricacies of the system they put in.