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Group test: Powerline Network Kits November 2010
Devolo dLAN 200 AVpass kit
D-Link DHP-307AV
LEA NetPlug 200S kit
Netgear Powerline AV+200 XAVB2501
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Test Powerline network kits D-Link DHP-307AV
LEA NetPlug 200S kit
Netgear Powerline AV+200 XAVB2501
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Powerline network kits
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Devolo dLAN 200 AVpass kit
Powerline Ethernet can help you to get HD video streams anywhere in the house without ripping up carpets for new cables, and you don’t even have to lose a plug The arrival of BBC iPlayer on Freesat, connected TVs and games consoles, and YouView next year mean that broadband home networks are being stretched like never before. Broadband routers are rarely situated near the TV, let alone in bedrooms, and while Wi-Fi is the first and easiest option for broadband around the home, it’s often insufficient for standard-definition video if you have anything else on the network, let alone high definition. Even the latest high-bandwidth Wi-Fi N devices can be severely limited by metal, brick and steel-reinforced concrete construction. The alternative – wiring up your home with Ethernet cables – is hardly appealing.
Powerline offers a second alternative; using your existing mains power network to piggyback a broadband signal from one socket to another. This should place an Ethernet port where you need it, and there are also Wi-Fi extenders which use Powerline to reach where your router cannot. Electrical supplies are often full of interference, and using power strips will really limit Powerline speeds, but while the latest HomePlug AV standard has a theoretical top speed of 200Mbit/s, you’ll be flying if you even get half that in practice. These starter kits will get a Powerline network up and running in minutes, but as you’ll see, each is different.
Buying tips n:Make sure there’s enough room around your power sockets to plug in the Ethernet cable n:Passthrough devices are larger and slightly more expensive, but prevent losing a power socket n:Write down the MAC code and password printed on each device before you install it. You’ll need it later and unplugging devices to read the code on the back is tedious
n www.eurosat.co.uk n 020 8452 6699 n £100
Devolo dlan 200 AVpass kit
Ratings PLUS
n Pass-through socket n Freesat approved n Three-year warranty
Minus
n Poorly positioned network socket n Unattractive design n Network management tool
can’t monitor others
Build Ease of use Performance Value
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85%
The dLAN 200 AVpass is approved by Freesat for streaming iPlayer to Freesat receivers, and also has a passthrough AC socket. It’s also available in a smaller, cheaper version without the passthrough socket, and a more expensive model with a built-in multi-plug power strip. This makes it pretty chunky and the least attractive in terms of design. We also found a few locations where the Ethernet socket on the bottom end was too near the ground to attach a cable without forcing it. Front or side-mounting would have been more useful. Devolo offers a three-year manufacturer’s warranty and, like all Homeplug adapters, it has three LED status indicators for power, network connection and quality. Standby mode powers it down if the network connection isn’t present, but it wakes up and connects within a minute. There’s a simple illustrated start-up guide, and one-touch device pairing had the devices working together within minutes, with 128bit AES encryption protecting your data from snoopers. Devolo supplies dLAN Cockpit, a slick-looking graphic interface for
managing multiple devices and setting common passwords, which can see other the other brands on the network, but won’t report any information on them. The management tool reported 130Mbit/s available between devices, and although the practical streaming speed between locations, the dLAN 200 AVpass was sufficient for both SD and HD streaming at over 6Mbit/s, and comfortably supported streaming from a Slingbox at more than 2.5Mbit/s. We were also able to stream between the Devolo and all the other devices.
n www.eurosat.co.uk n 020 8452 6699 n £90
LEA NetPlug 200S kit
Ratings PLUS
n Compact design n Simple setup n Good performance
Minus
n Ethernet port on bottom n No AC passthrough option n Very basic instructions
Build Ease of use Performance Value
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84%
LEA is the second Powerline brand to have won the Freesat seal of approval, which isn’t bad for an offshoot of French communications firm Metronic. The Netplug 200S is compact and very simple to set up, but doesn’t have an AC passthrough so you will lose a power socket. The Ethernet port is on the bottom of the device, which may get in the way and makes it harder to remove if required. The illustrated guide perfectly explains how to get several NetPlugs set up in minutes, but although simplicity is to be applauded, we’d appreciate a little more paperwork in the box. There’s no warranty guide (it’s three years) or management software supplied – it has to be downloaded by LEA’s website – which you might want to monitor or integrate other Powerline devices later on. When we got our hands on the SoftPlug utility we were very pleased with its ability to control other makes of HomePlug AV device,
although there’s a touch of ‘Franglais’ in the way different menu options read. SoftPlug rated the NetPlugs at around 180Mbit between themselves, and less to other devices, but we thought they performed slightly better on our streaming tests – both together and with the other brands. The NetPlug 200S will also power down if the Ethernet device it connects to is switched off, and comes back on smartly when required.
Test Powerline network kits n www.dlink.co.uk n 0208 955 9000 n £108
D-Link DHP-307 AV The D-Link DHP-307AV manages to be compact and elegant, which is a shame as it will probably be out of sight in most homes. The side-mounted Ethernet port is simple to reach and there’s one-touch setup for 128bit AES encryption, although the quick-start guide insists that you actually install the network monitor software to set it up. D-Link’s HomePlug AV family comes in just this flavour, with no passthrough or power strip versions as yet, but it can be bought on its own as the DHP-306AV. It comes with a two-year warranty. This is the Powerline AV Utility, and while it’s not flash, it makes it easy to set up passwords and allows you to see the estimated speed and quality of service for other Powerline devices in the same HomePlug secure network, even if they’re from different manufacturers, although you can’t set up their features. This utility also allows you to upgrade the device’s firmware. The DHP-307AV rated itself at a generous 116Mbit potential bandwidth; we achieved a very satisfactory 6Mbit+ for HD streaming between both these and the
other brands in our test while Slingbox streamed to another computer. Power-saving is incorporated, turning the DHP-307AV off if it doesn’t detect an active Ethernet connection, and automatically reviving when required.
Ratings PLUS
n Small and elegant n Simple but effective management tool n Good speeds
Minus
n No AC passthrough option
Build Ease of use Performance Value
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78%
n www.netgear.co.uk n 01344 45 8200 n £105
Netgear powerline av+200 xavb2501 Netgear’s Powerline AV range comes with or without an AC passthrough, although we prefer the practicality of the passthrough option for just £20 more. Netgear’s design is simple and, unusually, places the Ethernet socket on top, so it’s less likely to get caught out by a low-mounted electrical socket. Despite being the largest Powerline device in this test the XAVB2501 units have much smaller LED indicators that are relatively hard to read. The kit comes with a two-year warranty. The XAVB2501’s are plug-and-play devices by default, but come with a CD that includes a utility that will see any other Powerline devices on the network, but can only manage passwords and assign names to Netgear’s own products. You can also deactivate the LEDs if the device is in a bedroom and might cause a disturbance at night. As with the other devices, the management software estimates maximum throughput each device can achieve, although the actual results will be much lower. However, we were able to stream HD video alongside other traffic with no difficulty, both within the XAVB2501 set and with the other brands on test.
Ratings PLUS
n Accessible Ethernet port n AC passthrough n Good performance
Minus
n Chunky design n Small indicators
Build Ease of use Performance Value
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88%
And the winner is...
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behind it (as does LEA’s adapter), but the Ethernet socket is badly positioned and the flashy management software isn’t all that practical. On that front, the others all tell you useful information, although LEA’s software needs an option to install in English, and should really be packaged with the device n Alex Lane
Verdict We found the Netgear XAVB2501 Powerline AV+ 200 Adapter Kit to be more practically designed and accessible, with superior software that offered substance over style and delivered a great deal of useful information about any HomePlug AV device it could see.
r o Price
Dimensions (mm)
Max speed
Encryption
AC mains passthrough socket
HomePlug AV certified
Freesat approved
Powersave mode
Quality of service
Rating (%)
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Make and model
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All the HomePlug AV starter kits tested here will support several streaming HD video and audio connections, especially if used alongside Wi-Fi for e-mail and webbrowsing, so are ideal for the new generation of Connected TV devices. The manufacturers should also be commended for agreeing a standard that seems genuinely interoperable instead of locking users into proprietary formats. It’s possible to use different brands around the network if they share the same password. All the manufacturers here let you name your devices, though only their own management software will let you see those names. All the devices in this test come with security that groups them together with strong encryption that you can only change by connecting to one directly, so neighbours on the same electrical circuit could eavesdrop or hijack your Powerline network. The ultimate choice comes down to a combination of practicality, price and manufacturer support. Mains power sockets are always in short supply in our experience, so the Netgear Powerline AV+200 and Devolo dLAN 200 AVpass kit trump the adapter-only D-Link and LEA devices. Devolo offers a generous three-year warranty and has Freesat’s recommendation
£100
130 x 66 x 40
200Mbit/s
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86
£99
100 x 70 x 34
200Mbit/s
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Auto
78
£92
100 x 64 x 42
200Mbit/s
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84
£105
138 x 65 x 40
200Mbit/s
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Devolo dLAN 200 AVpass kit
D-Link DHP-307 AV
LEA NetPlug 200S kit
Netgear Powerline AV+200 XAVB2501