Advanced Home Wireless Network Troubleshooting for Windows Media Center Extenders
In Wireless Home Networking Basics for Windows Media Center Extenders, we covered some of the basics on router selection and setup. If you are looking for better performance in your home wireless network, here are some more advanced tips that may help to optimize your network even more.
Optimizing your home wireless network can improve the streaming of media, like recorded TV, to your Windows Media Center Extender.
The software that runs inside a router is typically called firmware. Router manufacturers may update the software that is originally placed in the device when it ships. This updated software is often available to you for download in the support area of the manufacturer's website. Many times, updated software for your wireless router can solve problems with performance or other strange behavior, such as unexplained disconnects from the wireless network. Make sure to periodically check for any updates for your wireless router.
Updating the software in a wireless router may not be a straightforward process for novices. When you locate firmware updates to download for your specific model of router, also check for any instructions that may be available on how to install the updates. Download the latest firmware update from the manufacturer's website to your computer and print any instructions you find. Once you have downloaded the firmware to your computer, visit the webpage administration utility so that your router updates it with the new firmware. Consult the manufacturer's website or your router instruction manual for more details on how to update the firmware.
Note: Even if you have recently purchased your router or access point, the firmware may still be out of date. Always double-check that you have the latest firmware, regardless of how long you have owned your wireless equipment.
Within a wireless networking standard, individual channels exist that enable multiple wireless devices to use different portions of the available bandwidth. Many wireless routers are preconfigured to use a specific channel. If your neighbor has a wireless network, you might both be using the same channel. This can cause both of your wireless networks to slow down because they have to accommodate traffic that does not belong to them. Changing your router to operate on a different channel may improve your performance.
To change your wireless networking channel, use the webpage administration utility for your router. Consult your router instruction manual for more details on changing channels and other advanced configuration options for your wireless network.
One of the more difficult modifications to make to your home wireless network can also have the most significant impact on overall performance. For example, you may have a work PC in your office, a family PC in your living room that stores all of the media you want access to, and a Media Center Extender in your master bedroom. If your broadband Internet access enters your house in your office, you’ll likely have both the family PC and the Media Center Extender connected wirelessly to the work PC, which is connected directly to the router (at the access point). But this type of configuration is not supported because it causes streamed video and other media to travel over the wireless network twice and can result in a seemingly unsolvable network performance problem. Consider more complex modifications to your home network, such as changing the point of entry for Internet into your house. If you have a phone jack near the PC in the living room, perhaps the DSL or cable modem and router can move there, and the office PC can connect wirelessly to the network. This configuration change allows the family PC to connect to the router with wired Ethernet, placing significantly less stress on the network for streaming media playback.
Another option to consider is moving your wireless access point or router to a different room in the house to reduce the overall wireless distances or obstructions. Perhaps it is reasonably easy to run a longer Ethernet wire between your family PC and the access point, but still locate it in another room.
If you cannot solve your network performance problems, one option to consider is setting Windows Media Center to record TV shows at a lower quality level. The lower recording levels for Windows Media Center use less storage, and it requires less network bandwidth to stream those programs to your Media Center Extender. Experiment by trying successively lower quality levels when you record programs until you get more reliable recorded TV playback through your Media Center Extender.
Note: Recording shows at lower quality levels does not affect the playback of live TV on your Media Center Extender. Live TV is always sent from the Windows Media Center-based PC to the Media Center Extender at the best quality level.
Using the Network Performance Tuner
After your Media Center Extender is set up, it is a good idea to use the Network Performance Tuner to analyze your network, and to review the results and suggestions it generates for improving network performance.
To use the Network Performance Tuner, ensure your Media Center Extender has been successfully partnered to your PC running Windows Media Center. Then:
On the Media Center Extender, make sure the Windows Media Center Start menu is visible.
Select Task -> Tune Network.
To accurately measure your network performance, make sure no media playback occurs on the Media Center Extender while the Network Performance Tuner is in use. For best results, turn off your Media Center Extender and restart it before running the Network Performance Tuner so that all Media Center Extender resources are cleared.
The Network Performance Tuner uses the Network Performance Monitor to measure available network bandwidth between your PC and a Media Center Extender. Running the Network Performance Monitor displays your network bandwidth in real time, so you can see the effects of moving the position of your router or its antennas as you make changes.
A brief automatic test can be run from within the Network Performance Tuner. This automatic test measures the available network bandwidth between your PC and your Media Center Extender for a short period of time. This test checks whether video transmitted over your home network will have quality problems that would be noticeable when watching live or recorded TV through your Media Center Extender. When the test is complete, it indicates if any potential problems exist or if network performance is acceptable for streaming TV use.
Note: Successful testing does not guarantee against future performance problems. The test runs only for a short time, and non-dual-band wireless networks are susceptible to occasional interference from a variety of sources, including 2.4-GHz cordless phones, microwave ovens, nearby wireless networks, and other potential influences.
