Customer Reviews

Cisco-Linksys PLK300 PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapter Kit

5 star:		(170)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

These units work as documented. You should not expect all pairs of devices to achieve the full nominal bandwidth (200Mbps) in all locations, and you should expect the bandwidth actually available to the user to be considerably less than the nominal bandwidth. (The same statements are true of WiFi as well - you don't really get 54Mbps out of 802.11g.) Still, PowerLine AV is LOT faster than previous generations of powerline Ethernet.

If you live in an apartment and don't want to share your network with neighbors (unlikely but possible), you probably want to turn on the secure (encrypted) mode. Many people report problems with this. Contrary to what some have suggested, you don't need new firmware or additional administration software. It should work out of the box.

(1) As with any powerline Ethernet system, you should first find two power sockets through which you can first establish and test a good connection WITHOUT security/encryption. Don't take shortcuts here - do this test. Start with two sockets that are close to each other so you can see both units at the same time. Not all pairs of sockets in your house will necessarily be wired to talk to each other, and sockets on surge-protectors will not work. (GFCI sockets should not be a problem.)

(2) Verify that the units will work on the sockets you actually want to connect (which are presumably not close to each other). If this fails, return the kit to the store as this solution apparently isn't going to solve your problem...

(3) Bring the units back to your test location (where you can have them physically close). Now, just follow the instructions to turn on security. Seriously. Put both units into "security" mode by holding the button on each AT LEAST 10 seconds. Put one unit into "sharing password" mode by holding the button for EXACTLY 2 seconds and quickly releasing the button. And then immediately put the other unit into "sharing password" mode by holding the button for EXACTLY 2 seconds and quickly releasing the button. This is just what the instructions tell you to do (I've skipped describing some of the steps here), but they don't emphasize how finicky the "2 seconds" part is. I can't tell you how many times I failed to enter the "sharing password" mode because I figured it was "at least" 2 seconds and wasn't releasing the button fast enough - now I can do it quite consistently, just counting "one thousand one one thousand two."

(4) Now you can return the units to the desired final locations.

Really, Linksys should have just used two buttons instead of creating this usability problem with the button timing. But there it is. And once it's set up, you don't have to think about it again.

To begin with I want to say that I did some serious researching before purchasing this product. I actually thought about it for about 2-weeks before making my decision. Since I have relied heavily on so many different customer product reviews, I decided it was time that I contributed by writing about this product.

My situation:

I've had a wireless network for a while now. The problem was that the Wireless Router was located upstairs and my PS3 was located downstairs. For some odd reason, my laptops seemed to work fine all over the house but the PS3 was hit and miss. It worked OK but when I attempted to play games that required more bandwidth, it would always drop the connection. So I needed an alternative to wireless. In addition, I have a DirecTV DVR connected to the same TV as the PS3. DirecTV now offers OnDemand programming but it requires an internet connection via an Ethernet wire. I needed a solution for both systems and chose the PLK300.

I now have my PS3 and DirecTV connected to the PLK300. They both work great! My PS3 no longer drops the internet connection when playing games that require a great amount of bandwidth such as Resistance 2 (in two player online mode). My DirecTV on Demand downloads programs very fast. I hit the download button, wait about 2-mins and then begin viewing my programing. I even tested it with a High Definition download and it worked flawlessly.

I highly recommend this product!

I had problems getting decent download speeds using a wireless network here. So instead i installed this powerline-kit and i am very happy with it.

Pros: Speed is great, very easy to install, the units don't need to sit directly on the outlet (like the others) but they come with powercables. One side has 1 ethernet-port (which goes into your router or cable-modem) and the other side has 4 ethernet-ports for your computers. It bridges the network between the two units.

Cons: When i tried to setup security on it, it took me 4 tries until i succeeded. The problem could have been that the units need some time to 'see' each other after they are plugged in. And funny: if you reverse the polarity of the AC-plug (!) it takes about 10 seconds before they see each other again.

I bought these hoping to link my entertainment center (PS3, Mac Mini, DVR) to my NAS upstairs on the second floor at a rate fast enough to stream home 1080p videos. If they would of achieved anywhere close to the advertised 200Mbps, or even half, they would have been keepers. Unfortunately, the best they could do was maybe 48Mbps (when plugged into the same power socket) in real world testing. I tested by downloading the same 1GB video file from my NAS to my MacBook via Ethernet (100 and 1000Mbps), wireless N and these Powerline AV devices. Ethernet 100 came very close to 100Mbps, Ethernet 1000 a little over half, wireless N about 80Mbps and Powerline AV about 32Mbps.

The Good: They are very easy to install and have very low network latency ideal for playing games online.

The Bad: Much slower than any other solution in my house. Do not come anywhere close to 200Mbps in real world testing. Not good for streaming 1080p videos. My house is about 12 years old and all tested sockets are on the same circuit.

We recently purchased a new TV and Blu-Ray player and we knew that both of them were capable of accessing the internet if we could figure out how to get the signal to them. We already have a wireless network in our home that was not set up by us and I was worried about how hard it might be to get everything to work with the new devices. After reading lots of other reviews, I took a chance and purchsed the Linksys PLK300 Powerline AV ethernet adapter kit. It seemed easier than trying to figure out a bridge.
There is a quick set up guide in the box and the directions are incredibly simple and not at all intimidating. You really do just plug one end of the ethernet cord into your router and the other into the adapter, attach the power cord and plug it into the wall. Then you take the other adapter to your TV, Blu-Ray, whatever and plug one end of the ethernet cable into the link and one into your device. Again, attach the power cord and plug it into your outlet. That's it. Really! It could not have been simpler. The hardest part was finding room for more wires behind my computer and TV.
I highly recommend this to anyone who is venturing into the world of Blu-Ray and has no idea how to take advantage of things like BD Live and video downloads/rentals on demand. I suspect there are a lot of folks who just use their players to play their disks because they think it will be too complicated to get hooked up to the internet. With this product, it is quick and easy. You need not be a techie to do it.

I purchased 2 kits, since I have numerous rooms, upstairs and downstairs that need internet access. Initially I just wanted a solution for my sons Xbox 360, we tried the wireless route (adapter is expensive and only usable for Xbox), when the wireless connection kept failing and I kept hearing my son yelling that he just got cut off his game I finally strung a Cat5e cable from his room to my office so he would have wired access. This, of course, worked, but I had a cable running along the floor down a hall between the two rooms. Not a solution! I have also been using my laptop to stream video to my TVs scattered throughout my house. I came across this, did some research and decided to give it a try and I like it! It worked great! Best of all no more wires and no more worries regarding wireless lag. Installation was extremely easy, I plugged the single adapter into my router, plugged the 4 port into my son's Xbox and that was it, he was up and running, no need to run the software or do anything else. I did not set up security as I live in the middle of nowhere, so I can't comment on that. But it is definitely plug and play. My network setup is all linksys, so that may be why everything works together seamlessly. We are adding DirectTV to our house, so I'm anxious to see how that works with these adapters. I will update the review later regarding DirectTV.

I'm using it to stream Netflix and Pandora to a samsung blueray player.
Same quality as the wireless connection I previously used. But, now I don't have the connection drop issues I was having with wireless.

After reading many reviews from multiple websites I fully expected this product to work well in some parts of my house and perhaps not so well in others. What I found is that it worked in every outlet in my house (>4000 sq ft) including my garages. What really amazed me is that it also worked when I plugged it into an outlet strip and not directly into the wall. Even the system manual says that probably won't work. My son and I can now play our gaming systems in different parts of the house at the same time with no apparent system degradation in throughput. We also signed up for Netflix streaming through the XBOX 360 and it works really well. My friend recommended this product when I told him I was about to run wire throughout my house (lots of fun :0). I couldn't be happier.

The PLK300 PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapter Kit was easy to install and it's a great option for equipment that stays in one location and needs network access. Just plug each unit into a wall socket and the two devices establish a connection that delivers network connectivity. I use the PLK300 to provide internet access to the cabinet that houses my home theater system where I need connectivity for a DirecTV DVR and three other devices.

I had one significant issue: I have two electrical sub-panels, (because I have a generator that provides stand-by electricity to certain sockets in my house), the units didn't "see" each other - I think each wall socket must have been wired to separate electrical sub-panels. If you experience that problem, do not assume that the devices aren't working correctly. Find a pair of electrical outlets that allows the units to connect.

Great gadget overall - it works as advertised and was easy to install, it took may be 10 minutes, including unboxing and figuring out what is what, to get everything hooked up and internet delivered to the playstation that just couldn't get the wireless signal.

I picked this over less expensive models mostly because the adapters don't sit directly over the electrical outlets and thus allow for discreet installation in tight spots.

It is also nice that the receiving adapter provides four Ethernet ports, allowing to split the internet between range of devices without any additional chaining.