AnimeSuki Forums

blakstealth · 2015-04-25, 12:49

Hey, guys.

I'm thinking of hooking up my smart TV to my home network. A wired connection is out of the question since I would have to drill some holes between floors, which is something I want to avoid lol. So the next best thing is a wireless connection. I plan on getting a wireless bridge so I can connect my tv to it and receive connectionz from the network.

My router is on the second floor on one side of the house, while my TV is on the first floor of the opposite side of the house. There's around 50 ft. in horizontal distance between the two.

I'm currently using an Asus RT N66U router, and I can get a good wifi signal from any point in my house. I was thinking of getting this TP LINK TL WR702N N150. Do you guys think this would be a decent enough device?

I'm also up for any other recommendations (as long as they're not too expensive)! Thanks for reading.

Dante of the Inferno · 2015-04-25, 14:50

Well, just how smart is your TV? Does it have an ethernet port on the back, or does is have an integrated Wi-Fi card, or does it require a special USB adapter to receive Wi-Fi? The answer is important, because it will dictate whether you should use a bridge connected directly to the TV or just a repeater to propagate signal to the rest of the house. That little pocket thing you linked to typically only works if there's nothing between it and the ethernet jack and your computer (i.e. in a hotel room). Depending on the signal strength over by your TV, and whether you want to place this device behind or below your TV, you may want something a little stronger (possibly with an external antenna).

blakstealth · 2015-04-26, 10:58

My TV is wifi ready, however the expensive USB wifi dongle that SONY sells for it is discontinued. So, I have to go with a wireless connection.

Yes, the TV has an ethernet port in the back. And I might just leave the device I posted in the back of the TV.

There are so many different kinds of devices that can bridge, but I just don't know where to start narrowing down my search. That TP Link device was the first result I found on Amazon lol. If you have any other recommendations, I'm all ears.

SeijiSensei · 2015-04-26, 14:56

I think pretty much any wifi router can solve the problem. If possible, connect the TV's router to the ASUS as a regular wifi client and to the TV with Ethernet. The TV will get an IP address from its router and will be "masqueraded" upstream to the ASUS router by the TP-LINK or whatever you choose.

Since I have a computer connected to the television with HDMI, I also connect their Ethernet ports together. I then use the Linux equivalent of "Internet Connection Sharing" to forward the traffic from the TV to the main wifi router upstream. I tried three different USB wifi adapters with my LG TV, and none of them worked. I'm guessing only the driver for the proprietary LG device is included with the TV's software.

blakstealth · 2015-05-21, 16:54

Just wanted to report that I finally bought that TP-LINK device, did all the setup and hooked it up to my TV successfully.

I started messing with streaming videos off the home network, but there was a lot of buffering and shit happening. I guess it's to be expected considering it's a wireless connection and I was streaming some heavy HD videos. I'm still trying to decide if it's a viable and convenient way to watch my media, though. Ah, why can't things be easy. :P

SeijiSensei · 2015-05-21, 18:42

Are you streaming from a DLNA server?

I stream over wireless all the time, but not usually directly to a TV. I can stream from a server to various computers around the house with pretty decent performance. On the clients I use SMPlayer with mpv as the backend and a pretty large buffer (32 MB). I don't use DLNA very often; I just mount the server's drive directly on the client machines using NFS.

blakstealth · 2015-05-21, 19:27

Yeah. I'm using Windows Homegroup, which is pissing me off so much at the moment, and PS3 media server.

With videos that are natively compatible with the TV, streaming off the network is no problem. However, when there are files that I can't natively play off the TV, I use the PS3 Media Server so that it transcodes while playing. Watching the videos I want off PS3 Media Server, like I said above, results in a lot of buffering and overall unwatchable experience.

2015-04-25, 12:49	Link #1
blakstealth Les Pays Bass Join Date: Jun 2011	Recommended wireless bridges for TV? Hey, guys. I'm thinking of hooking up my smart TV to my home network. A wired connection is out of the question since I would have to drill some holes between floors, which is something I want to avoid lol. So the next best thing is a wireless connection. I plan on getting a wireless bridge so I can connect my tv to it and receive connectionz from the network. My router is on the second floor on one side of the house, while my TV is on the first floor of the opposite side of the house. There's around 50 ft. in horizontal distance between the two. I'm currently using an Asus RT N66U router, and I can get a good wifi signal from any point in my house. I was thinking of getting this TP LINK TL WR702N N150. Do you guys think this would be a decent enough device? I'm also up for any other recommendations (as long as they're not too expensive)! Thanks for reading.

2015-04-25, 14:50	Link #2
Dante of the Inferno Turnin' the Tables Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Where dimensions collide... Age: 36	Well, just how smart is your TV? Does it have an ethernet port on the back, or does is have an integrated Wi-Fi card, or does it require a special USB adapter to receive Wi-Fi? The answer is important, because it will dictate whether you should use a bridge connected directly to the TV or just a repeater to propagate signal to the rest of the house. That little pocket thing you linked to typically only works if there's nothing between it and the ethernet jack and your computer (i.e. in a hotel room). Depending on the signal strength over by your TV, and whether you want to place this device behind or below your TV, you may want something a little stronger (possibly with an external antenna). __________________ I'm not afraid of tomorrowI'm only scared of myself

2015-04-26, 14:56	Link #4
SeijiSensei AS Oji-kun Join Date: Nov 2006 Age: 74	I think pretty much any wifi router can solve the problem. If possible, connect the TV's router to the ASUS as a regular wifi client and to the TV with Ethernet. The TV will get an IP address from its router and will be "masqueraded" upstream to the ASUS router by the TP-LINK or whatever you choose. Since I have a computer connected to the television with HDMI, I also connect their Ethernet ports together. I then use the Linux equivalent of "Internet Connection Sharing" to forward the traffic from the TV to the main wifi router upstream. I tried three different USB wifi adapters with my LG TV, and none of them worked. I'm guessing only the driver for the proprietary LG device is included with the TV's software. __________________ Taking Anime Seriously - Politics by the Numbers - Sports by the Numbers - MAL List - Avatars - Images

2015-05-21, 18:42	Link #6
SeijiSensei AS Oji-kun Join Date: Nov 2006 Age: 74	Are you streaming from a DLNA server? I stream over wireless all the time, but not usually directly to a TV. I can stream from a server to various computers around the house with pretty decent performance. On the clients I use SMPlayer with mpv as the backend and a pretty large buffer (32 MB). I don't use DLNA very often; I just mount the server's drive directly on the client machines using NFS. __________________ Taking Anime Seriously - Politics by the Numbers - Sports by the Numbers - MAL List - Avatars - Images

2015-04-26, 10:58	Link #3
blakstealth Les Pays Bass Join Date: Jun 2011	My TV is wifi ready, however the expensive USB wifi dongle that SONY sells for it is discontinued. So, I have to go with a wireless connection. Yes, the TV has an ethernet port in the back. And I might just leave the device I posted in the back of the TV. There are so many different kinds of devices that can bridge, but I just don't know where to start narrowing down my search. That TP Link device was the first result I found on Amazon lol. If you have any other recommendations, I'm all ears.

2015-05-21, 16:54	Link #5
blakstealth Les Pays Bass Join Date: Jun 2011	Just wanted to report that I finally bought that TP-LINK device, did all the setup and hooked it up to my TV successfully. I started messing with streaming videos off the home network, but there was a lot of buffering and shit happening. I guess it's to be expected considering it's a wireless connection and I was streaming some heavy HD videos. I'm still trying to decide if it's a viable and convenient way to watch my media, though. Ah, why can't things be easy. :P

2015-05-21, 19:27	Link #7
blakstealth Les Pays Bass Join Date: Jun 2011	Yeah. I'm using Windows Homegroup, which is pissing me off so much at the moment, and PS3 media server. With videos that are natively compatible with the TV, streaming off the network is no problem. However, when there are files that I can't natively play off the TV, I use the PS3 Media Server so that it transcodes while playing. Watching the videos I want off PS3 Media Server, like I said above, results in a lot of buffering and overall unwatchable experience.