- Sep 24, 2015
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Where WIFI and powerline networking just can’t cut it.
I’ve recently moved to a new location and the builder was nice to enough to place CAT5 outlet in every room leading to a central location into the electrical room which greatly helps with future network expansions.
Unfortunately there was no CAT5 outlet in the living room which is where my HTPC, IPTV box (cut the cord many years ago) and Xiaomi TV box reside and the only option is to either use wireless, powerline networking or MoCA. My HTPC is used to play uncompressed videos and the viewing of my large (1.2TB) collection of family and travel photos over my FreeNAS server. A fast network performance is quintessential for a smooth user experience especially my other two devices (IPTV box and Xiaomi TV box) are also very bandwidth intensive.
When I first moved into the new house late last year, MoCA 2.0 adapters were not widely available for sale as they are undergoing final certifications and I had to first settle for wireless with very unsatisfactory result. My HTPC, IPTV box and Xiaomi TV box support 802.11n and 802.11c but with many WIFI devices operating in proximity and loading large amount uncompressed files proved to be a very painful and sluggish experience. My WIFI network at home is very robust utilizing two Meraki MR18 in mesh mode but they are still not suited for latency sensitive and bandwidth intensive applications like HD media playback/streaming. Powerline networking is completely out of the question because there are no available sockets in the electrical room. Even with available outlet, there is no way to estimate the performance since they are on a different floor and there are too many unknown variables at play. Running additional Ethernet cables is also unfeasible because my basement is finished and it will cost thousands of dollars to break apart the walls and fish additional cables.
Below is my network topology:
With a Coax outlet nearby, MOCA networking is the best alternative to achieve a wired near-Ethernet experience. I first had to settle for Actiontec’s MoCA 1.1 adapters (ECB2500C) that delivered the full advertised speed of 100 mbps while I eagerly await for the release of MoCA 2.0 adapters. After a few months of waiting, they finally became available last week through B&H and I immediately ordered a pair of ECB6200 with free shipping to Canada. These adapters came in a neatly packaged OEM brown box and even includes a pair of high quality Coax cable:
The adapters themselves are very well built and is encased in a matte plastic shell (thank goodness it’s not glossy). The Ethernet and coax port feels sturdy and exhibit zero flex when attaching cables. There are two LEDs on the front showing power and Coax connectivity.
Picture below shows the ECB6200 installed in their respective locations:
I’ve recently moved to a new location and the builder was nice to enough to place CAT5 outlet in every room leading to a central location into the electrical room which greatly helps with future network expansions.
Unfortunately there was no CAT5 outlet in the living room which is where my HTPC, IPTV box (cut the cord many years ago) and Xiaomi TV box reside and the only option is to either use wireless, powerline networking or MoCA. My HTPC is used to play uncompressed videos and the viewing of my large (1.2TB) collection of family and travel photos over my FreeNAS server. A fast network performance is quintessential for a smooth user experience especially my other two devices (IPTV box and Xiaomi TV box) are also very bandwidth intensive.
When I first moved into the new house late last year, MoCA 2.0 adapters were not widely available for sale as they are undergoing final certifications and I had to first settle for wireless with very unsatisfactory result. My HTPC, IPTV box and Xiaomi TV box support 802.11n and 802.11c but with many WIFI devices operating in proximity and loading large amount uncompressed files proved to be a very painful and sluggish experience. My WIFI network at home is very robust utilizing two Meraki MR18 in mesh mode but they are still not suited for latency sensitive and bandwidth intensive applications like HD media playback/streaming. Powerline networking is completely out of the question because there are no available sockets in the electrical room. Even with available outlet, there is no way to estimate the performance since they are on a different floor and there are too many unknown variables at play. Running additional Ethernet cables is also unfeasible because my basement is finished and it will cost thousands of dollars to break apart the walls and fish additional cables.
Below is my network topology:

With a Coax outlet nearby, MOCA networking is the best alternative to achieve a wired near-Ethernet experience. I first had to settle for Actiontec’s MoCA 1.1 adapters (ECB2500C) that delivered the full advertised speed of 100 mbps while I eagerly await for the release of MoCA 2.0 adapters. After a few months of waiting, they finally became available last week through B&H and I immediately ordered a pair of ECB6200 with free shipping to Canada. These adapters came in a neatly packaged OEM brown box and even includes a pair of high quality Coax cable:



The adapters themselves are very well built and is encased in a matte plastic shell (thank goodness it’s not glossy). The Ethernet and coax port feels sturdy and exhibit zero flex when attaching cables. There are two LEDs on the front showing power and Coax connectivity.



Picture below shows the ECB6200 installed in their respective locations:


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