Wifi bridge/extender Qs

[Xaqtly]

I mentioned in another thread that I have my wireless router (Linksys WRT54G) on the top floor, and my PS3, Wii and TV/sound system on the bottom floor of my house. The PS3 and Wii can connect to the internet wirelessly and get updates, and the PS3 can stream music from my Mac, but not video. If it's anything above a bitrate of like 200, it stutters. It's probably a signal strength problem, but I don't really have any way of testing that from the PS3 or Wii that I know of.

Medialink suggests that you stream video over a wired connection, because apparently even a good wireless connection isn't quite good enough for high quality video. So I had a couple questions about how to solve that with my setup. Is N wireless necessary or is G still good enough? Any suggestions on a bridge or router that would allow me to connect the PS3 to it via ethernet but bridge to my upstairs router wirelessly? And would that solve the speed issue?

Should I junk my router and get an Airport Extreme upstairs and an Express downstairs? lol. Any general or specific advice would be nice, has anybody tried bridging or extending a wireless signal from a WRT54G? Assume that hard wiring the PS3 by running a cable upstairs is not possible, it has to be wireless one way or another. It's not a matter of difficulty or anything, it's because I'm renting this house and I can't drill holes anywhere.

[Boomerangmacuser]

I've heard using another wireless router to 'extend' the range gets a bit iffy if it's not teh exact same brand and not all routers support it.

If you really can't run wires (yes, wired is best), I've heard that you can get decent data rates from those poweline routers. Basically you use your electrical wires in the house to carry the data. You plug a device into the wall near the router and plug an ethernet cable into it. Downstairs you plug another device in the wall and run another ethernet cable to your PS3. I've seen a pair of these selling for under a hundred dollars. Somewhat cheaper than an extreme/express setup.

I will defer to others here who've tried this to vouch for it's effectiveness.

[Xaqtly]

Good suggestion thanks. I'll see what I can find. I'm going to be moving to a new place later this year so I'll plan ahead next time and make sure I can get wired connection.

[Eugene]

Get a second WRT54G, install DD-WRT and run it as a client-bridge. This will be better for throughput than using an AirPort Express or some other router as a WDS repeater.

basestation WRT54G <---wireless link---> client WRT54G <---Cat5---> Wii/PS3/etc.

[NosferaDrew]

I bought an Airport Extreme Base Station to replace my WRT54G and it is a big upgrade - range and signal strength is much improved.

But a cheaper solution would be the Linksys WTR54GS Travel Router (http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1122062241008&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&lid=4100839789B09).
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheadername1=Content-Type&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=image%2Fjpeg&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3DWTR54GS_med% 252C0.jpg&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1130825804507&ssbinary=true

It's small, plugs right into the wall and extends the range of an existing network or you can plug an ethernet cable into it and make your own wireless network for others to use. I've used it my my WRT54G, my AEBS and a D-Link router with no issues.

There's another, newer Linksys (WRT110 (http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1175242848673&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&lid=4867339789B04)) that seems to do the same thing and more and it's about the same price (around $79).

I've had my WRT54GS for almost two years and I think that they're phasing it out, so check out the WRT110. Plus it looks cooler and I think it's wireless-N ready:
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheadername1=Content-Type&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=image%2Fjpeg&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3DWRT110_med.j pg&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1193780965936&ssbinary=true

Good luck!

[Xaqtly]

Update - my Linksys WRT54G died last night, so I went out and got an Airport Extreme. Now my PS3 is saying it has 100% signal strength, so I guess I don't need to extend the signal any more. ;) My Wii seems pretty happy with it too, and my iPhone also shows full signal from downstairs.

[Boomerangmacuser]

Sounds like the Extreme is worth the money. Good to know if my D-Link dies.