Wireless Home Networking Basics for Windows Media Center Extenders
Enjoying the entertainment stored on your PC running Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate on TVs in other rooms of your home is really pretty easy. Using an Xbox 360 or other Windows Media Center Extender, you can tap into the photos, music, and recorded TV over your home network using the same Windows Media Center menu system.
A wired (Ethernet) network in your home provides the ideal Windows Media Center Extender experience. But because many people use a home wireless network, we've put together some information to help you ensure that your wireless network is optimized to effectively move your entertainment through it.
Delivering video and TV content over a home wireless network is much more demanding than simply doing things like browsing the web and sharing files on your network. Because of this, most home wireless networks are not ideally suited for use with a Media Center Extender and therefore provide a less-than-optimal experience. While a standard home wireless network may provide an acceptable viewing of photo slide shows or music listening experience, they often create a frustrating and unreliable experience when it comes to trying to enjoy video and recorded TV content, which are some of the most exciting ways to use your Media Center Extender.
This article provides the information you need to ensure that you get the most from your Media Center Extender by helping you choose the right network equipment and by providing tips that will help you set up and optimize your wireless network.
The most important first step is to choose a wireless router that is Certified for Windows Vista. Look for the Certified for Windows Vista logo to ensure a wireless router is Certified for Windows Vista.
These routers offer the most reliable performance for streaming your entertainment and also enable easier setup and maintenance. When you see this logo, you can be assured that the wireless router has been specifically tested to work with Windows Media Center Extenders. The presence of the logo also eliminates the challenge of trying to interpret sometimes confusing claims and specifications from routers that are not certified.
All wireless routers that are Certified for Windows Vista support dual-band wireless networking. This means that the router operates at two different frequencies—the standard 2.4-GHz frequency and, all-important for video and TV, the 5-GHz frequency.
The reason this is so important is that the 2.4-GHz frequency is extremely crowded with interference from other devices in and around your home—including network wireless routers from your neighbors, microwave ovens, cordless phones, and even some baby monitors. Because of all this interference, your data is often blocked or slowed down significantly as it competes with other traffic on the frequency; it's just like traveling on a congested highway at rush hour. Even though you may not notice this when using your home network for browsing the Internet, it will become a significant problem when you're trying to enjoy video entertainment. However, the 5-GHz frequency is like cruising down the express lane on an open highway at full speed. There is very little interference at this frequency, and it is ideal for streaming video and TV.
Dual-band support is critical for all wireless networking standards, even the latest "draft-n" and "n" routers. Although these standards are faster and have greater range, they still suffer from the same interference problems as other 2.4-GHz routers. So look for the Certified for Windows Vista logo to make sure you're getting a dual-band router that also includes the latest technology for simplified setup, use, and improved reliability. If you are unable to purchase a Certified for Windows Vista router, the next best option is an a/g router such as the Linksys WRT55AG (running the v1.79 firmware upgrade).
If an Xbox 360 serves as your Windows Media Center Extender, use the 802.11a wireless adapter for the Xbox 360 to take advantage of the 5-GHz frequency for video streaming.
Note: When setting up your home wireless network, it is important that your PC is connected directly to your router with an Ethernet cable and not through a wireless connection. A wireless connection from your PC to your router and then a wireless connection from your router to your Media Center Extender (known as double-hopping) significantly degrade the Windows Media Center experience on your Media Center Extender.
Basic troubleshooting
These basic tips can help you create an optimal environment for your home wireless network.
Imagine a straight line between two of your wireless components; every object that exists between them degrades your wireless performance. If your wireless access point, or router, is hidden behind a potted plant so that it looks nicer, the plant affects the performance. If the antenna on your Media Center Extender is at the back of a crowded A/V rack, and the access point it communicates with is located somewhere in the house that causes the signal to go through the other A/V components, this drastically affects the performance.
To make small and easy changes to your wireless performance, check the position of your wireless components or other household items, and minimize the number of obstructions the wireless signal must travel through. Metal obstructions are particularly important to remove from the path. Also, don’t overlook mirrors that might be in the pathway; they can also be an obstacle to smooth performance.
Even with no change to the number of obstructions in the wireless path, seemingly insignificant changes to wireless networking components can result in meaningful changes to performance. Move your components to higher or lower elevations, or try rotating them 45 degrees or 90 degrees from how they normally sit. The position of your components in a room can also have an effect on performance. For example, if your wireless router is on the first floor of your house and your Windows Media Center Extender is on the second floor, try putting the wireless router on a shelf higher up in the room where it is located.
The small antennas used in wireless networking devices are extremely sensitive to relatively minor changes in orientation and position. A good analogy to consider is a portable radio. If you move its position just an inch one way or the other, the reception can suffer significantly. But there might be one small spot where reception comes in well: the "sweet spot." The same is true for wireless networking antennas.
Sometimes performance works best when the antennas on both components of the wireless network are pointing vertically straight up. In other cases, positioning the antennas on all devices at a 45-degree angle yields the best results. Performance usually degrades significantly if the antennas are positioned vertically on one device and horizontally on another device on the network. Try different antenna positions while the Network Performance Tuner is running to see how it affects your network.
Note: Some wireless networking components have internal rather than external antennas, making it look as though the device has no antenna at all. If this is the case, you can rotate the entire device to change the antenna reception.
If you are fortunate enough to have a wired Ethernet network in your home connecting your PC to your Media Center Extender, double-check that all networking components support 100 Mbps. Older 10-Mbps Ethernet networking "hubs" are not supported in an extender setup and will cause network performance problems.
For additional wireless network performance tips, read Advanced Wireless Network Troubleshooting for Windows Media Center Extenders.
