Blue Ray Internet Connect? Cat5 or wi fi or home wiring? (1 Viewer)

[TheSnowman]

I am new to the world of HD and I am putting together my first home theater. I have tried searching the boards but have not found any answers to my question.

I have a Samsug Blue Ray player with the opportunity to connect to the internet and Netflicks, Pandora, etc. I can run an ethernet cable to connect to my router, however my home theater room would require a run of about 200' pf cat5.

The Samsung allows for a wireless conncetion through a dongle connected by on of the 2 USB connections on the Blue Ray Player. On my laptop the signal is very strong and reliable in the area where the Blue Ray will be setup.

Is wireless my best option?
Would a home wiring system ethernet connection be a better option?
Do I bote the bullett and runn 200 feet of cat5 through my attic and down the walls?

 

[Robert_J]

I always run wires whenever I can. I don't want to share the wireless bandwidth with my laptop.

 

[druben999]

I also have a Samsung BD player (the 1600). I have read on some threads that it was actually harder to get connected when wired than wireless. I'm not sure why, but I have seen a number of people make that complaint. Before you start snaking wires, you may want to just run it directly from the player to your router to see if you can get it to work.

I generally used to prefer wired connections since I was skeptical of the reliability and speed of wireless, however, I connected my Samsung with their wireless dongle and it was incredibly easy to set up and has worked flawlessly. Just for reference, my set-up: I have a D-Link DIR-615 n router and my cable download speed is advertised at 20 Mbps, though when I test it it is generally 8-10.

The only issue I have is that I generally need to refresh my router once a day, but that has nothing to do with the BD connection. I had to do it before and all of my wired and wireless connections are affected, so either way the Netflix would not work until I refresh. That issue aside, I have been totally amazed by the ease of use and quality of the streams using the wireless connection. The HD movies actually look as good as most of the HD from my cable provider.

By the way, if you don't want to pay $80 retail for the dongle, you can buy one used from the Best Buy Outlet store on eBay. They are auctions only, but seem to be selling between $40-$50. There are also a few online stores offering them new for less than the typical $80 retail price.

Good luck!