Internet/Ethernet Connection Advice Sought

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I have a Sky+ HD Box and a Blueray Player in my front room - both of which can take advantage of being connected to the internet; unfortunately getting one or more ethernet cables from the broadband router in my back room to the front room would be a real hassle and a mess.

I think I have a solution using my home electric power cabling, but need confirmation or correction of my proposed solution I intend using:

• existing home power sockets and cabling;
• a pair of powerline ethernet adaptors;
• two ethernet splitter connector adaptors;
• six short ethernet cables.

Solution

In Back Room:

1. Plug one powerline ethernet adaptor into a power socket close to my broadband router;
3. Plug an ethernet cable into each of two ethernet sockets on the router (so 2:2);
5. Plug each of the ethernet cable loose ends into the sockets on one of the splltter connector adaptor (so 2:2);
7. Plug one end of another (third) ethernet cable into the splitter connector adaptor and plug other end of it into the powerline ethernet adaptor (1:1);

In Front Room:

1. Plug the 2nd powerline ethernet adaptor into a power socket close to the Sky+ Box and Blueray Player;
3. Plug ethernet cables (#4 and #5) into Sky+ Box and Blueray Player;
5. Plug each of the ethernet cable loose ends into the sockets on 2nd splltter connector adaptor (so 2:2);
7. Plus one end of the last ethernet cable (#6) into the splitter connector adaptor and plug other end of it into the powerline ethernet adaptor (1:1)

If anyone knows of a simpler way please tell me. The Front Room arrangement seems obvious. However I believe the Back Room arrangement is also required - twin ethernet cables from the router are required to 'activate' all 8 'channels' in the ethernet cable from the splitter connector adaptor to the powerline ethernet adaptor. My understanding is that in an ethernet cable (as we use them at home) - only channels 1,2,3 and 6 are used, and 4,5,7 and 8 are normally 'dead'.

This is as technical as I get I'm afraid.

I'll add - I know I could go wireless - but the wireless dongles you need for the Sky+ Box and the Blueray Player seem to come in at about £60 each - so I'm looking for an alternative.

 

[daymond]

Fragger's your man.

 

[Phil2511]

Yeah ask Fragger or possibly Gibbo will know, he's a BT engineer.

 

[sawtooth]

Data over the mains is a solution that will work although I've never used it. Wireless is another option for you, its possible to use a wireless client bridge. This product essentially allows "wired" products to access the network over a wireless connection through the bridge. There are a number of ways to achieve this some cheap and some not so cheap.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

In theory it should work, but I've only ever used a splitter at the end nearest the equipment you want to connect to.

It's trial and error to an extent, I'd set up your front room as you suggest , but in the back room, try with a single cable from home plug to router, if that fails, set it up as you suggest

Good luck

Fragger

 

[Ethan]

I have a mixed set up, with a Devolo powerline adapter connected to my router, and the Sky Box and a wifi repeater both connected to separate other powerline adapters and they all work swimmingly. Meanwhile, my Apple TV which sits next to the Sky Box uses wifi for streaming just fine.

I would try the one cable option at the router end. I don't see why you need double cabling.

 

[DappaDonDave]

Or...get yourself the £21 adaptor for your sky box to make it wireless FROM SKY.

If your blu ray player has Internet access what does it achieve?...love film? Which is like sky store?...hmmmm

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Or...get yourself the £21 adaptor for your sky box to make it wireless FROM SKY.

If your blu ray player has Internet access what does it achieve?...love film? Which is like sky store?...hmmmm

Thanks for feedback. Yes - I had thought about the single ethernet cable from router to powerline ethernet adaptors but read that it was a bit hit and miss. However fragger gives me hope.

@TripleD - Very valid question one which I hoped would be asked - so excellent. Yes linking the Sky* box gives me full 'Sky On Demand' (and my daughter is hassling me to get that set up). The Bluray side of things is out of the blue (sorry) as I got given one by my family for their main present to me (well actually their present to all of us . It's a Sony Bluray box and when connected to internet it essentially turmns muy basic LCD TV into a 'smart' TV in that I can browse the internet so play Youtube, BBC iPlayer. I don't think I can do that with my Sky+ box - but may be wrong in that.

The Blu-ray wireless dongle cost £53.49 - though I don't know if I have to buy that one or if there is a cheaper non-Sony equivalent.

The Sky Wireless connector (box) 'only' costs £22 so if I can use a cheaper non-Sony dongle for my Blu-ray box then wireless seems the cheaper way to go - though I'm not sure wireless for waching films, youtube, iPlayer etc is the best way to go. I think the Sony Blu-ray dongle has greater buffering capacity to minimise 'downloading' breakups in the picture.

I could probably do the wired solution for £55

 

[DappaDonDave]

Wires are icky and horrible. If the difference was hundreds of pounds, fair enough, but from what your saying its £90 against £55

 

[golfsaint]

Hi i also have Sky + and the modem/router is the other side of the room , so brought one similar to this over a year ago and it ticks all boxes and works perfectly using the house wiring .
just plug the adapters in near the sky & router and using the cables they provide plug into the back of the sky box & back of router.

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/networking/powerline/

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/networking/powerline/

or the whole range , but i guess you can buy them from other outlets

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Hi i also have Sky + and the modem/router is the other side of the room , so brought one similar to this over a year ago and it ticks all boxes and works perfectly using the house wiring .
just plug the adapters in near the sky & router and using the cables they provide plug into the back of the sky box & back of router.

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/networking/powerline/

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/networking/powerline/

or the whole range , but i guess you can buy them from other outlets

Yes - these are the ones I've been looking at. My main question remaining seems to be whether I can just use one ethernet port on the router to connect both boxes at the non-router end.

 

[golfsaint]

Not 100% but maybe somethink like this
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/devol...dapter-wireless-starter-kit-08658365-pdt.html

 

[sawtooth]

Not 100% but maybe somethink like this
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/devol...dapter-wireless-starter-kit-08658365-pdt.html

This looks to be a way of extending the WLAN coverage, I think the OP has 2 wired devices that he wants connected to the network.

Swingslikehogan, if you have 2 wired devices that you want to connect at the remote end then you need to buy a Powerline type product with 2 or more ports like this. Or if you have a spare hub/switch at home you can plug that into the single port jobby.

http://www.impact-computers.co.uk/3...tore=default&gclid=CMbRkqzdtrQCFaTKtAodDWAAgQ

 

[Phil2511]

If you are buying powerline adapters give Gibbo a shout. He might be able to help you out.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

This looks to be a way of extending the WLAN coverage, I think the OP has 2 wired devices that he wants connected to the network.

Swingslikehogan, if you have 2 wired devices that you want to connect at the remote end then you need to buy a Powerline type product with 2 or more ports like this. Or if you have a spare hub/switch at home you can plug that into the single port jobby.

http://www.impact-computers.co.uk/3...tore=default&gclid=CMbRkqzdtrQCFaTKtAodDWAAgQ

Correct in what I need to connect - a Sky box and a blue-ray box.

But I'm getting confused as to what bits of kit I need. I need the 3 port ethernet powerline adaptor you've linked to and a couple of plug into socket adaptors? However I can't see what this adaptor does for me if I have a mains plug-in adaptor both 'home' and 'remote' end. Do you plug this box into your router and then have three ethernet sockets available? But I don't need three sockets at my 'home' end - I need two at my remote end. So do I have this bit of kit at the 'remote' end and connect it to a plug-in powerline adaptor? And so at the remote end you then have three ethernet sockets available? OK - a solution but simply seems to be a more expensive way of configuring things to that I've suggested I might do in the OP.

 

[Val]

I've recently did this using tp link ethernet adaptors bought from maplin. Dead easy and dead quick.

Granted though I did it with just the sky+ box only but see no reason why it won't work with the bluray too, need only 1 cable to the router and 1 each to the devices. You just need to pair all 3 adaptors.

 

[FaldosJumper]

How long have you had your router from Sky? if lees than a year, switch it off and ring Sky to tell them it's broke... they'll do all their diagnostics and decide the router is goosed and send a replacement one out.

With this replacement you now have 2 routers and can use them with 2 homeplugs and extend your wireless network while hard wiring your kit in with patch cables to the ports on the routers... theres plenty of step by step guides on how to do this on the internet but it's how my home network is setup and works fine.

Good luck...

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I've actually got a couple of spare 'goosed' Sky routers - though whether they actually are bust I don't know. I'll have to have a look on webternet as not sure I know what you mean about how you use the two routers (I only have one phone socket in house?)

 

[FaldosJumper]

I've actually got a couple of spare 'goosed' Sky routers - though whether they actually are bust I don't know. I'll have to have a look on webternet as not sure I know what you mean about how you use the two routers (I only have one phone socket in house?)

http://www.skyuser.co.uk/forum/atta...-network-extending-your-home-network-v1.0.pdf

 

[sawtooth]

http://www.skyuser.co.uk/forum/atta...-network-extending-your-home-network-v1.0.pdf

A good document this. Part of it touches on using a spare router to connect (wirelessly) to your main router essentially creating a bridge for your wired clients. The spare router can be placed anywhere in the house as it only needs mains power. Then you can connect wired clients to it such as the sky box, bluray, desktop PC, etc.

Client bridges are very useful and sometimes the only way of getting a wired ethernet device onto a WLAN ie it may not have any expansion ports, USB ports, drivers, etc. You can buy dedicated client bridges but converting an old router is a cheap way of making one.

As far as the wired client is concerned its plugged into the wired network (ie the spare router), the router in this case just dumps the packets onto the WLAN acting as a mac layer bridge, totally seamless to the end point.