Wireless router question

[BUTCH1]

Hello all and good afternoon, a quick question, I currently running a Netgear "B" router, but have "g" rated cards in the 2 systems I use with it. When watching HD content on Hulu I get some studdering/hiccups, will moving to a "G" router help with this?. Signal strength is max on both systems so that's not an issue. Thanks in advance for help/suggestions

 

[Blain]

Isn't an "N' router the latest?

 

[Madwand1]

Dual-band draft-n, and these are often specifically marketed for HD video streaming within a LAN, where not even standard-g has enough bandwidth, and 2.4 GHz might not have enough usable bandwidth in crowded areas.

But the OP's talking about online video streaming, where the first bottleneck is his Internet service and associated hardware. Hulu technically works over 3 Mb/s Internet service (or even lower), so in theory wireless-b has enough bandwidth. But wireless performance varies with distance, obstructions, interference, and crowding, so it's never easy to say how well it'll actually perform. This is why wired is pretty much always better, except for the wires.

OP, it's hard to say. But if you want a reason to upgrade, here's one maybe: 802.11b generally has poor security. WEP was broken long ago, and WPA2 is the in thing.

Edit: On second thought, it really doesn't look like a simple bandwidth issue. If you had a bandwidth problem, you'd know that by long "buffing" pauses, etc. -- occasional hiccups would be caused by other factors, and not necessarily go away with a bandwidth/wireless upgrade. Motion problems however could be an issue with the nature of the original signal and attempts to reduce the Internet bandwidth requirements.

http://www.hulu.com/support/streaming

 

[BUTCH1]

Originally posted by: Madwand1
Dual-band draft-n, and these are often specifically marketed for HD video streaming within a LAN, where not even standard-g has enough bandwidth, and 2.4 GHz might not have enough usable bandwidth in crowded areas.

But the OP's talking about online video streaming, where the first bottleneck is his Internet service and associated hardware. Hulu technically works over 3 Mb/s Internet service (or even lower), so in theory wireless-b has enough bandwidth. But wireless performance varies with distance, obstructions, interference, and crowding, so it's never easy to say how well it'll actually perform. This is why wired is pretty much always better, except for the wires.

OP, it's hard to say. But if you want a reason to upgrade, here's one maybe: 802.11b generally has poor security. WEP was broken long ago, and WPA2 is the in thing.

Edit: On second thought, it really doesn't look like a simple bandwidth issue. If you had a bandwidth problem, you'd know that by long "buffing" pauses, etc. -- occasional hiccups would be caused by other factors, and not necessarily go away with a bandwidth/wireless upgrade. Motion problems however could be an issue with the nature of the original signal and attempts to reduce the Internet bandwidth requirements.

http://www.hulu.com/support/streaming

Thanks for the input, I will probably try a G router first as they are cheap, I would imagine that going to a "N" would mean changing both the wireless PCI cards as well. If I pause the video for a minute or so it will play smoothly for a few minutes until (I guess) the buffer runs out. viewing system is a 3Ghz dual core 4 gig machine w 512K 4830 ATI card so it should be able to handle any video streaming w/ no problems. Thanks again for the input and have a great afternoon..

 

[Madwand1]

Originally posted by: BUTCH1
I will probably try a G router first as they are cheap, I would imagine that going to a "N" would mean changing both the wireless PCI cards as well. If I pause the video for a minute or so it will play smoothly for a few minutes until (I guess) the buffer runs out.

Now that sounds like a bandwidth problem. You could try a wired connection (e.g. move the computer or router, etc., if you can, or run a long cable temporarily) to check whether or not it's the wireless for sure. If it's not the wireless, you might need to talk with your ISP about your service speed/quality.

 

[videogames101]

G has way more bandwidth than streaming video could ever use, but the moment you add distance from the router, you lose bandwidth.

 

[JackMDS]

I like computer talking when No real data is involved.

First try a wire and make sure that it is Not the Internet connection.

As far as 802.11b goes, measure the actual bandwidth Strong Signal is meaningless ( http://www.ezlan.net/wbars.html )

Many older 802.11b do not provide stable bandwidth larger than 2-3Mb/sec. which might not be enough for HD.

In any case if you want the best 802.11g - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16833162134

Excellent 802.11g - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16833320023

 

[BUTCH1]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
I like computer talking when No real data is involved.

First try a wire and make sure that it is Not the Internet connection.

As far as 802.11b goes, measure the actual bandwidth Strong Signal is meaningless ( http://www.ezlan.net/wbars.html )

Many older 802.11b do not provide stable bandwidth larger than 2-3Mb/sec. which might not be enough for HD.

In any case if you want the best 802.11g - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16833162134

Excellent 802.11g - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16833320023

Hmm, that Asus if only $35 AR with free shipping...

 

[Madwand1]

How fast is your Internet service supposed to be, and have you tested it with something like http://speedtest.net while wired and wireless?

 

[BUTCH1]

Originally posted by: Madwand1
How fast is your Internet service supposed to be, and have you tested it with something like http://speedtest.net while wired and wireless?

5683/down 489/up