Customer Reviews

NETGEAR HDX101 Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I've been looking for a way to avoid running network cabling around my entire home. I tried the wireless route, and did not find the technology quite there yet for VoIP, Online Gaming and HD Streaming. When I stumbled upon the new PowerLine HD products. While this technology has been around for a while, this was the first time it looked mature enough to be "acceptable" in my network. After a little research I settled on the NetGear HDX101's.

This product has performed marvelously. I am using them to bridge various local LANs (PC/Gaming, 360/Entertainment Center)I have in my home to the broadband router. At each HDX101 I am getting at least 100Mbs tx and rx. I then use a switch for each local network to connect all of the networked devices at that location. VoIP, online gaming and normal web surfing all going on at the same time worked great. Streaming media to the 360 from the PC, flawless.

I heartily recommend this product to anyone who wants a fast network and doesn't want to bother running cable through the house.

I have been using Wireless-G for my home network for the last 2 years. As far as connecting to the Internet, Wireless-G works great (including playing online games like World of Warcraft). However, the weakness of wireless started being apparent when I bought a SlingBox so that I could watch my Digital TV on my computer. Wireless-G was alright for this, but I could not use some of the more sophisticated features because of the bandwidth.

The real problem occurred when I recently bought my XBox 360 Elite. I was all excited about the XBox 360 because you can watch things from your Media Center PC on your XBox 360. From the moment I tried to run Media Center from the XBox 360, I noticed that performance was horrible. Media Center itself ran sluggish. When I tried to watch a program I recorded on my Media Center PC, I noticed the picture was fuzzy and that often the sound and picture were out of synch. Sometimes, the picture froze for a moment. When I ran the performance tuning utility on Media Center, I was only getting 2 bars which was way below what was needed to stream standard TV.

I started to look for solutions. At first, I considered Wireless-N, but dismissed it since I could not find any Wireless-N to Ethernet Bridge products available. I noticed the Netgear HDX101 Powerline HD at the store. It claimed that it could possibly reach 200Mbps. That rate intrigued me, but I knew that I probably would not get that (my Wireless-G with Speedboost never got beyond 54Mbps even though both the router and the card in my computer from the same company had that feature). I checked online to see reviews. They were mixed. I was especially concerned since I live in a home built in the 1930s with older wiring. I decided to try the Netgear product figuring I could return it if it didn't meet my needs.

Installation couldn't have been simpler. Plug the adapters in a power outlet. One adapter I connected to my router. The other adapter I connected to my XBox 360. When I went into Media Center, I noticed that it worked normally (no sluggishness). I watched the video and it played back perfectly. The picture was much better. I was even able to watch Live TV from Media Center and it worked perfectly (something I couldn't get to work when I was using Wireless-G). When I run the performance utility now, I get all the bars which mean I can even stream HD videos. Now that I get such excellent bandwidth in my house, I really enjoy using Media Center on my XBox 360.

Also, I am now able to use all the fancy video feature on my SlingBox. It looks great!!!

An added bonus to this solution is that I do not have to worry about security like I did with wireless. My Wireless-G to Ethernet bridge supported only WEP security (which I don't trust anymore since I read an article that said WEP can be hacked in minutes). Only people inside my house can connect to my network now.

I am so very pleased with this product. Thank you Netgear for making a product that is easy to install and works right out the box. I would highly recommend this to anyone who does a lot of streaming inside their home network.

I would give this product 4 stars if it weren't for Netgear's abysmal customer support.

I get 20 - 30 mbps from one side of my house to another (across circuits), which is much better than I get using wireless routers, and plenty of bandwidth to stream standard def video. I would NOT count on these to stream HD content!

The routers defintely get HOT. I would make sure there's some air-space around them.

Finally, the Tech Support. I had a technical question regarding the ability of these devices to support half duplex operation. Netgear's response was to "elevate it to Level 2 Tech Support, please wait 24 - 48 hours for a level 2 Tech."
Bottom line, never got to a Level 2. Submitted 4 responses over 4 weeks, and each time was told "Sorry, let's try again."

I gave up.

If these routers were offered by any other company, I'd avoid Netgear at all costs. (I hear D-Link is coming out with their own version soon - get those). If at this time, Netgear is your only choice, then yeah, go ahead.

Oh, and to answer the question below, I'm assuming the claim to 200mbps is because of full-duplex operation, (100mbps each way simlutaneously), which adds up to a 200mbps connection. (Lies, lies, and then there's statistics).

-Dan

I've tried a number of powerline carrier products. None have worked very well for me - likely because the wiring in my house isn't the best. Before climbing into the attic to run three long cat5 drops, I thought I'd try these out. I plugged them in and they immediately worked and they had much better throughput than wireless. I highly recommend the HD models. I don't think I've added anything hi-tech to my house that was easier than these to install... completely exceeded my expectations.

I've used this product in a variety of home applications. It is very good for reaching rooms where Wi-Fi doesn't reach and the self-configuration works as expected. The status lights are helpful. These nodes do not require IP addresses so they are relatively invisible to the routed network. Compared to rewiring my home with Cat 5 or 6, this product offers very good value.

On the other side of the ledger, in my home (built 1990) I'm unable to achieve more than 9 Mbps peak node-node throughput with these products on a WinXP-based LAN. More importantly, average performance is approx. 2-3 Mpbs with high variability. This performance doesn't support the advertised application of watching DVD-quality, let alone HD-quality, video over a PowerLink HD LAN. Music and light file transfer works just fine. The diagnostic tool is very rudimentary and not quite ready for use by anyone without technical background. Seems like more of a released lab tool than an end-user application.

I'm not quite ready to give up trying to make these products work for high quality video over a LAN. If successful, I'll amend this review with the good news.

This NetGear HDX101 Powerline adapter is an excellent alternative to using a wireless network because it requires no configuration. Moreover, you will never get a dropped signal because it uses your homes electrical wiring. Another caveat is it doesn't interfere with your wireless phones like wirless networks do. You simply plug one adapter into an electrical outlet near your router or hub (internet connection). Next you connect this adapter directly to your router or hub with an ethernet cable. Lastly, you connect another adapter to any electrical outlet in your home where you have additional computers; and you plug that adapter to your other computer by an ethernet cable. Do this last step for each additional computer in your home and you are done! Make sure you get the HDX101 Powerline Adapter (up to 200 MB) anything less gives poor performance. I purchased the lower end model (I believe it was 86 MB) and had to return it to the store because web sites froze when I opened more than one web page. The adapters come with auto-encryption of data; this feature is particularly important if you live in an apartment building or if you are a student in a dorm. You don't have to worry about any one eaves dropping or stealing your information. When purchasing for the first time make sure you buy the HDX101B (a set of 2 Adapters) because you need at least 2 adapters to set up a network. You can purchase additional adapters as needed. God bless you in all your endeavors!

This is a "powerline" ethernet adapter, so the actual data transfer rate depends heavily on wiring integrity and noise levels in the host powerline system. I found that the connection and data rate are solid and reliable even over longer, noisier links operating at reduced speeds.

For example, I can get steady 80Mb/s rates from my router room to my family room but have never seen better than about 20Mb/sec from router room to kitchen. I bought two of these adapters and enjoyed so much improvement over WiFi-G that I bought two more to link to the other household sites needing Internet access. The primary advantage is reliable linkage; my Wifi could link up OK but it tended to drop connections and reconect every few minutes (when the microwave fires up, etc), creating headaches for anything more demanding than simple web browsing (like file transfers, etc). "Reliable" and "stable" wins out over "fast," in my view.

Highly recommended for noisy homes.

I've had three of these for about two years now. I specifically bought them to use with my TiVo Series II boxes. They have been working really well. I can watch a show from another Tivo box without any lag. I have also used them in 4 different houses with no issues whatsoever (I take my Tivo with me when I travel).

I bought two of these units to replace an older pair (much slower) home plug devices. The install was a snap and the configuration utility is easy to use.

I am getting reliable 55 - 60 M bps across circuits and completely on the other side of a 2500 sq ft house.

I recommend this product.

The product works. However, you will not experience 200 mbs throughput. The throughput is also a function of proximity between the units. Farther away on your existing wiring, the lower the bandwidth. If you need 100 mbs plus to push or stream HD video... the units need to be close. You will be lucky to get 30 mbs at distances approaching 40 feet. A great alternative to wireless though. They are a functional ethernet alternative and very easy to setup.