Buying a wireless router for home streaming

[TheCarMadDad]

I think my trusty sky router is starting to struggle with the amount of devices we have in my house. On last count we can have up to 20 devices connecting to it, including the tv, laptops, tablets etc.

I like to stream from my iMac upstairs in the office to my Apple TV downstairs, but it stutters all the time.

Would buying a decent AC router stop this problem? We stream a lot in my house from one device to another and I just want a decent reliable connection on my home network. I'm not bothered about increasing internet speed (as I know that's limited by the provider)

This is a whole new tech area to me so any help is appreciated.

[onlynik]

I have a Asus RT-AC3200 which has more than 20 clients accessing it.

I run Plex over it with no issues. I also have Kodi running streaming HD content with no problems.

Bear in mind it's just a router, there's no modem in it, so you'll need to keep your existing one if you need internet access.

[George111]

If you want near zero configuration, the Apple Airport Extreme is one of the best available and Apple quote it as supporting 50 devices. My experience of this is that it will very easily support 4 or 5 devices streaming Netflix, Youtube and iPlayer at the same time as well as ad hoc web browsing etc. Plug this in to your Sky router, turn off wifi on the sky router and configure the Apple AirPort Exteme using an iPhone, iPad or Mac using the free app. I think there might be a Windows app too.

There are devices with more advanced features, higher specification etc but as an all round, plug in and forget device, there's not much to beat the Apple.

[marshalla]

Before changing the router - what's the distance between the two devices and the existing router? (this affects signal strength & speed)
What's the construction like? (this affects signal strength & speed)
And how many other routers are nearby and using the same or overlapping channels? (this results in interference, affecting signal quality & speed)

[768]

And what's your current router - Sky do an AC one?

[onlynik]

George111 said:

If you want near zero configuration, the Apple Airport Extreme is one of the best available and Apple quote it as supporting 50 devices. My experience of this is that it will very easily support 4 or 5 devices streaming Netflix, Youtube and iPlayer at the same time as well as ad hoc web browsing etc. Plug this in to your Sky router, turn off wifi on the sky router and configure the Apple AirPort Exteme using an iPhone, iPad or Mac using the free app. I think there might be a Windows app too.

There are devices with more advanced features, higher specification etc but as an all round, plug in and forget device, there's not much to beat the Apple.

I found the Airport Extreme to be rather crap poor throughput and range, it was replaced by the Asus unit.

[adsk]

Sky (fibre, I'm guessing) runs MER authentication - this means that not all routers will work, only those that support MER authentication... not straightforward to get working. Lots of information available about this at www.skyuser.co.uk.

Something else to consider if you want to reduce congestion on your wireless network is to use cables. If you don't want to run network cables through your house you could try powerline networking for your computer upstairs. I know that powerline doesn't have a good reputation but I have an earlier version of these and they are great: http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/cat-18_...

Edited by adsk on Tuesday 30th August 11:05

[ashleyman]

onlynik said:

George111 said:

If you want near zero configuration, the Apple Airport Extreme is one of the best available and Apple quote it as supporting 50 devices. My experience of this is that it will very easily support 4 or 5 devices streaming Netflix, Youtube and iPlayer at the same time as well as ad hoc web browsing etc. Plug this in to your Sky router, turn off wifi on the sky router and configure the Apple AirPort Exteme using an iPhone, iPad or Mac using the free app. I think there might be a Windows app too.

There are devices with more advanced features, higher specification etc but as an all round, plug in and forget device, there's not much to beat the Apple.

I found the Airport Extreme to be rather crap poor throughput and range, it was replaced by the Asus unit.

Same here. Thinking of replacing it as it regularly drops connections or just gives up...

[TheCarMadDad]

Thanks for the replies chaps.

To answer a few questions...

The router/modem I have is the Sky SR102. My iMac is in the room directly above the lounge (where my sky router is) and I live in a new build so the floors are wafer thin lol! I don't really want to go down the route of a cabled network. I also stream from my MacBook and iPads a lot and want to keep that practicality.

I understand that I'll continue to use my sky router as a modem only, that's not an issue. I haven't a problem with the sky router per se; for me at least it offers a reliable connection for the t'interweb but it's just piss poor at streaming anything to my tv or between devices.

Are there any rumours of a newer updated AirPort Extreme coming out at all?

Edited by TheCarMadDad on Tuesday 30th August 15:14

[marshalla]

Floors might be thin, but what are they made of? Is there any sort of insulation in them?

[TheCarMadDad]

marshalla said:

Floors might be thin, but what are they made of? Is there any sort of insulation in them?

Short of lifting the floorboards, I'm honestly not sure if they're insulated or not :/

[Zoon]

I have an Apple AE and it has been flawless since installation.
Whereas Virgin Media's AC Superhub 2 was dreadful.

[George111]

I put an Apple Airport Extreme into a 4 bed detatched new build house of reasonable size last year or the year before and it covers all the house really well, can stream Netflix/iPlayer etc in all rooms and bedrooms on 4 or 5 devices at the same time.

Not sure what the other people here are experiencing, is it the Extreme or just the standard Airport ? The Airport Extreme wins numerous tests and is well known for being very stable, reliable and just works. If you have one that's not reliable might be worth checking the firmware ?

[TheCarMadDad]

I can stream from the internet via Netflix, iPlayer etc no problem. It's when I want to stream from devices connected to my network (no internet involved) I have issues

[George111]

TheCarMadDad said:

I can stream from the internet via Netflix, iPlayer etc no problem. It's when I want to stream from devices connected to my network (no internet involved) I have issues

Sorry, I missed that. It still might be the router but it's more likely to be the device you're streaming from or the connection that device has to the router. What is it you're streaming from and do you know what speed it connects to the wifi with ?

[anonymous-user]

marshalla said:

Before changing the router - what's the distance between the two devices and the existing router? (this affects signal strength & speed)
What's the construction like? (this affects signal strength & speed)
And how many other routers are nearby and using the same or overlapping channels? (this results in interference, affecting signal quality & speed)

read this and look at all the points. the best post in the thread by a mile.
Use something like InSSider to check the wifi channels. Just because your router may be set to auto channel to get the best signal doesn't actually mean it is getting the best channel.

[147GTA]

The Sky routers are rubbish, been through lots of them and I gave up using them as anything but a modem a long time ago. They offer a reliable connection but if you actually check the connection speeds, usually they are very low.

As has been mentioned already, plug in a decent router and switch the wifi off on the sky one. This is what I have been doing and never had problems. I have just switched to BT though and have to admit their latest router is miles better for connection speeds and range, although it has its issues too.