Western Digital WD Livewire Powerline AV Network Kit Review

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I think if many of us could build a new house to our specifications that no doubt at the top of a lot of our lists for "must haves" would be Ethernet/network connections in almost every room. In fact, it's not unusual to see houses that are being built this way standard nowadays -- with all the gadgets, set top boxes, computers and other electronic devices that can hook up to the Internet the need for a connected house is constantly growing. Sure, you could do wireless -- but it has it's limitations, and it can be flaky when streaming HD media, not to mention that it has problems traveling through metal objects and is subject to interference. So what is the homeowner or apartment dweller to do when they don't have connections to ever room readily available? The answer is as simple as two little black boxes.

The WD Livewire Powerline kit is one of the best electronic "gadget-enabling" devices I have used in a long time. At first I was skeptical of the claims of 200 megabits per second, and even more skeptical of how it could work over the power lines. However after receiving the product and using it any doubts I had were blown away. This thing is amazing and delivers excactly what it promises.

It's as simple as the box says it is. You simply plug one end into the wall near an existing network connection and hook a standard ethernet cable (included) up to your home network or broadband connection. Then plug the other one into the wall anywhere else in your house. No software to mess with, no complicated setup procedures, just instant connection. You literally can have this up and running in less than 5 minutes from when the box shows up at your door!

There are a few things to be aware of. First, this must be plugged directly into the wall socket. It cannot be plugged into a power strip, surge protector or battery backup. Second, the condition of the wiring in your home will affect your speeds. If you have an older home where wiring did not follow standards (from about the early to mid 70s forward) you may not be able to achieve the full 200mbps. Our home was built in 1977 and speed tests show that I was able to achieve right around 195-196mbps. Impressive!

They offer 4 ports on each box, so you can plug in multiple devices as each location. They also transmit the data in 128-bit encryption, which is automatic, so you can feel safe that your data is protected even if your neighbor has a pair of these as well (though the chances of you running into each other are slim -- by the time it makes it out of your house, through the electric company equipment and into theirs the signal will be highly degraded).

The best part of it all -- no wires. Just two very small boxes that you can tuck away out of sight. Want to hook up your HDTV to your home network or the internet? Just plug and play! Moving it to a new room? Just unplug and go -- it really is that simple.

For the more geeky amongst us, the product also comes with a CD you can use to update the firmware, setup network restrictions and do a few other technical things on the boxes themselves. However, the use of the CD is completely optional -- you don't need to worry about fooling with it unless you want to dive into the really geeky side of the product.

So if you have a HDTV, computers, gaming system or other gadgets you want to hook up and wireless just won't cut it, or you don't want to run cables throughout the house, then this Livewire kit is the perfect answer. Plug it in and start surfing!


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Product Description

Wd livewire powerline av network kit extends the internet to any room using your home’s electrical outlets. stream the highest quality hd video, play games, and transfer files within the home or over the internet using secure and reliable high-speed connections. get the performance of a wired network without running wires.

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Product Details

• Brand: Western Digital
• Model: WDBABY0000NBK-NESN
• Format: CD
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.30" h x 3.40" w x 4.70" l, .41 pounds

Features

• Expand your home network instantly
• Smoothly stream HD video to your TV
• Connect up to 8 network devices
• Encrypted for security

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