need help with ethernet bridges

robbbb1138 · 09-30-2008, 10:01 AM

I am planning to buy my first BluRay player (the S350) in the next day or two, and I've researched the manual online to see how I'll be able to connect to BD Live without connecting an Ethernet cable between the player and my modem (which are on opposite ends of the house). The manual says that I can connect the player to a "Ethernet/wireless LAN media converter", which will then communicate with my wifi router. I've looked for one of these "media converter"s online and I cannot find a product that matches the name. Am I correct in assuming that this is another name for an Ethernet bridge? If so, can anyone recommend which one would be best for carrying video to a BluRay player?

Thank you for your help.

DeanR · 09-30-2008, 11:08 PM

I bought a Linksys WET54G Wireless Ethernet Bridge. I had to call Linksys to help me get it set up properly but it was worth it. It works like a champ with my Denon 3800 receiver that I have on the opposite side of my house from my router/modem. It is pricey at $90 so there probably are cheaper alternatives.

CraigF · 09-30-2008, 11:19 PM

Probably the cheapest way is via a Linksys WRT54GL router flashed with the Tomato firmware (wiki it). There are other cheap ways, but I've found this is the most flexible way, a 54GL/Tomato does just about anything you'd want to do in home routing as long as 4 ports and wireless G is adequate. Including having a wireless bridge mode. (BTW, you are correct, a bridge is what you need to do what you said.) Easy to flash. The WRT54GL are often around $40 in Canada, presumably similar or cheaper in the U.S. This model is not typically found at Best Buy and the like, need to go to a computer store.

Another item that will work is a "wireless gaming adapter". These cost roughly in the middle of WRT and WET, not very flexible, easy to use though.

robbbb1138 · 09-30-2008, 11:38 PM

Thank you both for the feedback. I couldn't find much online with others talking about using this type of setup, so I was nervous about spending $50-100 on something that was going to be completely useless.

CraigF · 10-01-2008, 12:06 AM

You may find more discussion about this by looking under AVRs with Ethernet ports. Wireless bridges are quite popular for streaming content from a PC or the web to the AVR. That is mainly because, until fairly recently, most people haven't needed to connect a BDP to the web continuously, usually only possibly to do firmware updates, and for that the BDP is very easy to move to the router. Or else they have a PS3 with the wireless built in. AVRs OTOH are a royal pain to move...same idea as connecting your BDP up wirelessly.

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Grant H · 10-08-2008, 01:16 AM

Which of these babies has the best range? Devices can be very finnicky in my apartment. Saw a nice looking new wireless bridge, but the fact that it had only internal antennas made me nervous, though my PS3 surprisingly got just as good a signal where my new player will go as it does in the living room.

Paul.S · 10-08-2008, 01:43 PM

I got a "free" co-branded T-Mobile / Linksys WRT54G-TM as part of T-Mo's "HotSpot At Home" program whereby I can make free wifi calls at home. I was excited about maybe using it to get my HD-XA2 online wirelessly. Although I got a wireless network set up for two desktops, a lappy and the CrackBerry, I got headache-inducing amounts of conflicting, messy information online about how to/whether I even can reconfigure the WRT54G router as an access point. I basically gave up, resigned myself to a future purchase of a dedicated access point and ran a long CAT 5 cable from the upstairs router to the XA2 downstairs (yes, all that just for the Transformers HD DVD--I love the movie).

This was last fall. Now that I'm very close to replacing the (non-BD-Live) Pan BD10 with the BD55, I want to revisit the issue. I'll check out the Tomato firmware--thanks, Craig.



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