Netgear HDXB101 Powerline HD Ethernet Kit

List Price: $149.99 Discount Price: Too low to display

Features:

• Delivers up to 200 Mbps* to any power outlet
• Uses existing electrical wiring
• Built-in Quality of Service for video streaming, gaming and VoIP
• Simple plug and play installation
• Configurable Quality of Service for advanced users

Customer Reviews:

It works, but not nearly as good as described. [Posted on 2008-05-18]
I just received this kit and it is extremely easy to set up. These definitely work better than my old wireless-b adapter (no surprise there);however, the performance is nowhere near as great as netgear advertised. while it is supposed to reach speeds close to 200mb/s, it only reached a MAX of 6Mb/s in my home. The average speed was around 3.4Mb/s. I'm going to keep them because I got such a good deal, and The speed I get from these is enough bandwidth to take full advantage of my 3mb/s broadband connection. I suggest netgear slash the retail price on these dramatically because 200mb/s is more than an exaggeration. This unit should be priced at a max of $50 but should really be about $30. A price tag of $127 is ridiculous.

**Update**
I managed to get a peek speed of a little over 16mb/s. Oddly enough, the room in which I was able to attain such speeds is well over twice the distance from the room I originally conducted the test, and I'm sure they're circuit breakers in the way. I wasn't even able to attain that kind of performance even when I tested the devices in the same room. Very odd indeed.

Forewarned and Still Disappointed [Posted on 2008-06-30]
Going in I knew this device would have issues, I needed to run network to my second floor and was not ready for wireless nor ripping old dry wall apart to drop new Ethernet.

I anticipated getting at least 10Mbps from a device that advertizes 200MBps. I used the internal tool to check bandwidth and found a location on my second floor that provided approx 40Mbps. Ideal!

However in use I experienced patchy performance, even though the internal diagnostic tool consistently reported 40Mbps. Using some third party IP test tools I found that while I did get instantaneous 40Mbps, that under regular load the speed dropped dramatically, to the point of connections being dropped all together. I guess there is a huge difference between speed and bandwidth.

The devices have been disconnected and I ran Ethernet instead.

These devices are definitely not ready for primetime.

Sorry but this product sucks [Posted on 2008-08-13]
I have been in IT for a few years now, just so people here don't think I am venting out without knowing what the hell is going on!

So to begin with, I needed something in my house, particularly for my HD streaming. My server room is upstairs, and wanted my media center in my living room (on wireless currently) to stream back and forth HD content without the choppiness. So I began reading forums and what not, and with the help of a friend of mine, who is an IT genius (if I may say so), we nailed down on this "supposedly" 200 Mbps powerline adapter. I had that or go wireless with a still-not-completely-stabilized 802.11N product. I figured that rather than going with an "advertised" 108 Mpbs (who knows what the CIR might be), why not go with an advertised 200 Mbps. Even if I get 110 Mbps or there abouts, it would still be way better than the "N" wireless routers.

So I bought this kit. The instruction says plug it and in seconds you will get connection. Umm, not really true. Anyways, I install the software that come with it, and found that while the "local" device showed 200 Mbps, the "remote" one that I had plugged downstairs showed 4 Mpbs. So I digress!

After hours of messing around with QoS prioritization and moving around the ethernet plug on different electrical outlets in my living room, I got the best speed: RX-45 Mbps, TX-20Mbps. That too if I plugged it at such a place that I needed an ethernet cable going across the room from one end to the other end where my media server lay, right next to my TV. This was no good. Not only did I not want people to see a cable across the floor, but I also didn't want to invite people to trip over and sue me!

Calling Netgear, I found out (which they failed somehow to mention on their box) that Netgear supports the kit if they are plugged in the same electrical circuit. Now I don't know about you guys, but I don't have just ONE SINGLE circuit that goes from my basement to my first floor. So if the safety procedures are followed by the builders (and legally they all HAVE to), that would mean that EVERY house would have separate electrical circuits, and by that logic, you would NOT get 200 Mbps unless plugged in the same room or same floor (best case scenario)!!!
I have a 4 yr old house, so it's not like the electrical system in my house is old school or that there is something wrong with it.

I am sorry, but as far as I am concerned, this product just sucks. I do NOT want to spend over $120 to get 40 Mbps. I can spend less and buy the 802.11N instead. I know at least that works!

I am very curious to find out all those who puts in their review here saying this is AWESOME, where they plugged the two adapters in.

HD powerline adapters work ok [Posted on 2008-08-23]

I've been using these adapters now for about 4 months. The file server is in the basement and the media center is on the ground floor on the other side of the building. It's a rental and a brownstone, so there's no getting 'creative' with laying down cat6. My router is only 100mbit, so i've never expected to get the advertised amount. I just needed enough to stream video/audio. i've not tried HD content because the media device is not up to that task, but I've rarely had problems stemming from the adapters. About 3 times I've had to 'restart' the two adapters in 4 months, but it's possible those were more to do with corrupt content. Either way, unless you have substandard or incorrectly-installed wiring in your house, I think these have been useful so long as you don't expect to run multiple video streams and online gaming instances at the same time.

Made in China / Customer Service in India  [Posted on 2008-08-28]
Considering Netgear products? DON'T! Does not perform as advertised and most importantly the customer service is in India. Cannot communicate and they will not transfer you to an American customer service department.
Buy from a company with American customer support or you will be sorry!!

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