Review: Devolo AV 200 Powerline

[Ray]

Hands up anyone who has tried (and failed) to move video from their PC to the TV using wireless? Not great is it?

And unless you're living in a very compact space, you're unlikely to have a cable from the computer to the television.

So in this brave new world of high quality video (AKA really big files) how do you sensibly move video around the home?

Come on down powerline technology. For about 6 months now I've been using a Devolo AV 200 starter pack that I picked up at PC World for about £120. You can add on individual adapters for about £60 each and the cost of the technology is already coming down.

How does it work? This is really simple - even I managed it first time.

1. Plug adapter A into a 3 pin power socket near your TV
2. Link whichever device you use for getting video files onto the TV (Apple TV, Xbox, PS3) to the adapter via ethernet (you can't get this wrong - the only port on the adapter is an ethernet one).
3. Plug adapter B into a 3 pin power socket near your computer and link them via ethernet too.
4. er...
5. That's about it.

It really is that simple. And although the pack a came with software, I didn't need it to link my system up. Just turned off wireless and enabled ethernet in network connections.

Another bonus for me is that my broadband comes in downstairs near the TV. Thanks to powerline I've now got screaming internet speed upstairs on my PC from the router as well as a fat pipe to send video back down to the TV.

A couple of things to keep in mind. First, your mileage will vary depending on the quality and age of the wiring in your home and secondly if you're worried about people somehow hacking into the system, do read the manual and set up the security.

This is a fantastic system. I now only use wireless for checking my email on my laptop. As far as I can see there are no downsides at all and while the speed is nothing like the 200Mbs claimed by the makers, it's fast enough that you really won't know or care.

Click here for the Devolo UK homepage

[mjt]

Is that there are a couple of incompatible systems. So firstly, don't try and mix up adapters from different manufacturers as it probably won't work. And secondly, make sure that you are buying compatible adapters from the same manufacturer as I think both Devolo and Netgear have upgraded their technology to increase file transfer speeds and old adapters aren't compatible with new ones.

Having said all that, I'm also using this system and I've found it fantastic. I've also bought an extra adapter for a backbedroom that the wireless never reached. So if we have friends to stay they can also have network connection.

[x0x0x0x]

I have had a look at getting these in the past. I was actually planning on using them (with a slingbox http://www.slingmedia.com/) to send video from our Sky box to another room in the house. The reasons I didn't go for them in the end was because the quality of our wiring but I may be tempted to give them a try now... especially with the increased speeds they offer.

Its a shame wireless is far to slow for video. Has anyone tried 802.11n with video?

[ChunkyMonkey]

Even with close proximity and line of sight (all the reasons you would normally use a cable rather than wireless) I still found 802.11n not beefy enough to handle video. I also went with powerline because wireless couldn't cut it.

Other than the cost I can't understand why more video nuts down use it.