Trevor
We have a Belkin N450 Router. We have at least 10 Devices connected and the Router can handle it, we want to buy a new one of upgrade it. We have a Computer, 2 Ipads, 3 Iphones/Ipod, Xbox, Kindle Fire. What would you recommend.
Answer
Upgrading the router will not improve your Internet connection.
How fast is your Internet connection?
You can measure your Internet speed here: http://speedtest.net
That being said,
A wireless router connects two separate networks and manages the traffic between them.
In most home network applications the router connects your local group of computers and devices known as the LAN with the Internet, commonly called the WAN or Wide Area Network.
For example, If you have a 5 Mbps Internet connection, the maximum shared Internet bandwidth available to all of the devices connected to the router will be 5 Mbps.
Any bandwidth others users or devices on your connection are using will be deducted from the total WAN (Internet) bandwidth that is available to you.
If you have a 5 Mbps Internet connection and one user is utilizing 4 Mbps of the bandwidth to stream a Netflix movie, that only leaves 1 Mbps for all of the rest of the users on the LAN.
In simple terms, the more users you have the more speed will be required. Streaming video, such as Netflix and Hulu require a lot of bandwidth. Here are the minimum recommendations from Netflix. https://support.netflix.com/en/node/306
Many people would be likely be surprised at how many active connections their wireless router has. I have dozens. cell phones, tablets, iPods, game consoles, laptops, desktops, ROKU boxes, Internet enabled devices such as TVs and audio receivers, and the list goes on.
Fast wireless routers and connections are designed to stream large files on your LAN quickly. The high speed routers permit fast transfer of files between devices connected to your LAN, however WAN speed is still limited by your ISP. The only way to Improve your Internet speed is to upgrade your plan or switch to a faster ISP.
If you still want to upgrade for other reasons other than Internet speed,
It pretty much comes down to what features you want and how much you want to spend.
As far as the brand goes, the brand is not as important as the model. Some manufacturers release a good model but the next is crap. I would look at the Amazon reviews of models that interest you. Even if you don't buy from Amazon the reviews will tell you a lot about which models to avoid. Look for at least 15 or more reviews with a 4 star or better rating. Read a few and see if they sound like the particular model will work for your application.
For under $50, this Medialink is the most popular and highly reviewed model. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A3YN0Z0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00A3YN0Z0&linkCode=as2&tag=excharge-20
If you want to spend a little more, many routers support "Dual Band". http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&keywords=dual%20band%20router&linkCode=ur2&qid=1374595143&rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A541966%2Cn%3A300189%2Ck%3Adual%20band%20router%2Cp_72%3A1248879011&rnid=1248877011&tag=excharge-20
Dual band routers have multiple wireless radios enabling broadcast on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands simultaneously. Using the 5 GHz band cuts down on interference from cordless phones and microwave ovens.. Not all devices can use the 5 GHz frequency. Many laptops and other devices only operate at 2.4 GHz. Thus the need for dual band routers.
In any case,
You should try to centrally locate your wireless router or gateway up high and away from dense walls and electrical and 2.4 GHz wireless interference such as microwave ovens, cordless phones, baby monitors, etc.
Wireless signals, including 2.4 and 5 GHz, are affected by many factors including distance, wall density, electrical interference, directional antenna range, etc.
All of these factors will affect your actual wireless range. As wireless connection quality varies the connection speeds are renegotiated. The WLAN connection may start at 150 Mbps and end up at less than 10 Mbps or drop entirely.
Your best bet is always a direct Ethernet connection to the router, especially for fixed devices that don't need mobility. Ethernet is unaffected by wireless interference and will give you a rock solid, stable network connection.
Good Luck...
Upgrading the router will not improve your Internet connection.
How fast is your Internet connection?
You can measure your Internet speed here: http://speedtest.net
That being said,
A wireless router connects two separate networks and manages the traffic between them.
In most home network applications the router connects your local group of computers and devices known as the LAN with the Internet, commonly called the WAN or Wide Area Network.
For example, If you have a 5 Mbps Internet connection, the maximum shared Internet bandwidth available to all of the devices connected to the router will be 5 Mbps.
Any bandwidth others users or devices on your connection are using will be deducted from the total WAN (Internet) bandwidth that is available to you.
If you have a 5 Mbps Internet connection and one user is utilizing 4 Mbps of the bandwidth to stream a Netflix movie, that only leaves 1 Mbps for all of the rest of the users on the LAN.
In simple terms, the more users you have the more speed will be required. Streaming video, such as Netflix and Hulu require a lot of bandwidth. Here are the minimum recommendations from Netflix. https://support.netflix.com/en/node/306
Many people would be likely be surprised at how many active connections their wireless router has. I have dozens. cell phones, tablets, iPods, game consoles, laptops, desktops, ROKU boxes, Internet enabled devices such as TVs and audio receivers, and the list goes on.
Fast wireless routers and connections are designed to stream large files on your LAN quickly. The high speed routers permit fast transfer of files between devices connected to your LAN, however WAN speed is still limited by your ISP. The only way to Improve your Internet speed is to upgrade your plan or switch to a faster ISP.
If you still want to upgrade for other reasons other than Internet speed,
It pretty much comes down to what features you want and how much you want to spend.
As far as the brand goes, the brand is not as important as the model. Some manufacturers release a good model but the next is crap. I would look at the Amazon reviews of models that interest you. Even if you don't buy from Amazon the reviews will tell you a lot about which models to avoid. Look for at least 15 or more reviews with a 4 star or better rating. Read a few and see if they sound like the particular model will work for your application.
For under $50, this Medialink is the most popular and highly reviewed model. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A3YN0Z0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00A3YN0Z0&linkCode=as2&tag=excharge-20
If you want to spend a little more, many routers support "Dual Band". http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&keywords=dual%20band%20router&linkCode=ur2&qid=1374595143&rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A541966%2Cn%3A300189%2Ck%3Adual%20band%20router%2Cp_72%3A1248879011&rnid=1248877011&tag=excharge-20
Dual band routers have multiple wireless radios enabling broadcast on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands simultaneously. Using the 5 GHz band cuts down on interference from cordless phones and microwave ovens.. Not all devices can use the 5 GHz frequency. Many laptops and other devices only operate at 2.4 GHz. Thus the need for dual band routers.
In any case,
You should try to centrally locate your wireless router or gateway up high and away from dense walls and electrical and 2.4 GHz wireless interference such as microwave ovens, cordless phones, baby monitors, etc.
Wireless signals, including 2.4 and 5 GHz, are affected by many factors including distance, wall density, electrical interference, directional antenna range, etc.
All of these factors will affect your actual wireless range. As wireless connection quality varies the connection speeds are renegotiated. The WLAN connection may start at 150 Mbps and end up at less than 10 Mbps or drop entirely.
Your best bet is always a direct Ethernet connection to the router, especially for fixed devices that don't need mobility. Ethernet is unaffected by wireless interference and will give you a rock solid, stable network connection.
Good Luck...
Hot to set up a sound system throughout the house?
kitty98
This house is already pre-wired: it has in-ceiling speakers in the master bedroom, bathroom, garage, and patio (these are 80W). Every set of speakers has its own volume control. Plus there are also 6 speaker hook ups in the living room.
I want to set up capable of playing different things at the same time, ie. if I want to hear music in my bedroom, while my roommate watches a movie in the living room. How can I do this? what good receiver can handle this? I need a receiver capable of handling 2 or more different sources at the same time.
I also need a surround sound sys for the living room. It has the cables, but not the speakers. Recomendations?
Do I need an amplifier too, or the receiver alone can deal w this?
I'm pretty new w all this, so info w baby steps will be greatly appreciated :-)
Answer
I have provided links below with tutorials and diagrams for multi room applications. You will need a receiver with dual zone capabilities. You do not say if your volume controls have impedance matching. If they are impedance matching controls you will only need to add a fairly beefy two channel amp (which you will connect to your receiver's zone two preamp outputs) to drive the speakers in the bedroom, bathroom, garage, and patio. If these volume controls do not do impedance matching I recommend you get a multi channel amplifier (you will need at least eight channels) which you will connect to the zone two preamp outputs. This will give you MUCH better performance in your bedroom, bathroom, garage, and patio than trying to drive all 4 pairs of speakers by your receiver's zone 2 output (low power). You do not need a speaker selector (switch) since you have volume controls unless you want to use this for impedance matching. I would not recommend it for that purpose though (signal loss). Either go with an impedance matching block or (BETTER) go with the multi channel amp. Since volume controls usually don't provide much information on the front and since you are pretty new to this you may need to find out who installed the system to find out if these controllers are impedance matching. Worst case scenario an installer can look at the back of the controllers to tell you if they are impedance matching. People who do multi-room on the cheap usually go back eventually to upgrade their system. Best to do it right to begin with.
Recommendations for your home theater:
1) Do a lot of comparison listening and pick what sounds best to you.
2) Be sure to listen to brands such as M&K (I like these alot), Monitor Audio, and B&W on the higher end. On the slightly lower end try brands such as Boston Acoustics, Klipsch, and Paradigm.
3) Recievers: I like Denon (sound quality). Onkyo, Yamaha, and Harmon Kardon are good too.
I have provided links below with tutorials and diagrams for multi room applications. You will need a receiver with dual zone capabilities. You do not say if your volume controls have impedance matching. If they are impedance matching controls you will only need to add a fairly beefy two channel amp (which you will connect to your receiver's zone two preamp outputs) to drive the speakers in the bedroom, bathroom, garage, and patio. If these volume controls do not do impedance matching I recommend you get a multi channel amplifier (you will need at least eight channels) which you will connect to the zone two preamp outputs. This will give you MUCH better performance in your bedroom, bathroom, garage, and patio than trying to drive all 4 pairs of speakers by your receiver's zone 2 output (low power). You do not need a speaker selector (switch) since you have volume controls unless you want to use this for impedance matching. I would not recommend it for that purpose though (signal loss). Either go with an impedance matching block or (BETTER) go with the multi channel amp. Since volume controls usually don't provide much information on the front and since you are pretty new to this you may need to find out who installed the system to find out if these controllers are impedance matching. Worst case scenario an installer can look at the back of the controllers to tell you if they are impedance matching. People who do multi-room on the cheap usually go back eventually to upgrade their system. Best to do it right to begin with.
Recommendations for your home theater:
1) Do a lot of comparison listening and pick what sounds best to you.
2) Be sure to listen to brands such as M&K (I like these alot), Monitor Audio, and B&W on the higher end. On the slightly lower end try brands such as Boston Acoustics, Klipsch, and Paradigm.
3) Recievers: I like Denon (sound quality). Onkyo, Yamaha, and Harmon Kardon are good too.
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