D-Link Forums
The Graveyard - Products No Longer Supported => Routers / COVR => DIR-655 => Topic started by: Vocalpoint on December 11, 2009, 11:32:12 AM
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Howdy!
Been a DIR-655 user for several years now and really have had no issues to speak of. I am using a 2007 era A3 model with firmware 1.11. Within the last two weeks - we have really ramped the house up in the digital media realm with the addition of a new HD Samsung, a new PVR and a new WDTV Live box for movie content.
Been testing this little WD box for a few days playing some 720p mkv's and standard DVD rips via a DWA-140 USB Wireless dongle accessing the stored content from my Windows Home Server shares via the DIR-655. It's been real hit or miss...sometimes smooth streaming...sometimes glitch city. Can' t figure if it's the DWA-140, the WDTV or the actual router or even the WHS doing something while a movie is playing back.
My plan is to to try a DWA-160 USB adapter...then possibly a DAP-1522 wired to the WDTV Live box...I also started thinking about the router itself...could the old 1.11 firmware be playing a substandard role in this....
So - for those in the know (I must admit I haven't had the time to plow thru all the latest gab on current firmware for the DIR-655) - does 1.21 (no Shareport) bring anything better to the table for media streaming etc?
Side Note: 1.11 is giving my wife a solid 300MBPS connection in her office so I do not want to kill that party if 1.21 poses any risks...just want some insight on 1.21...seems like it's the best there is at this time.
Appreciate any updates....
Cheers!
VP
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I'm new to home networking so I need some help in language that a novice like me can understand. I just set up a new A2 DIR655. I also have a WDTV and I love it. However, I want to add it to my network to play movies stored on my computer. I have a Belkin gigabit wired adapter for the WDTV for the ethernet connection. I've upgraded my WDTV firmware from a WDTV user forum and my WDTV now shows an ip address. How do I get my WDTV to access my computers hard drive so I can watch movies stored on it.
Like I said, I need simple language since I'm not a programmer
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Howdy!
Been a DIR-655 user for several years now and really have had no issues to speak of. I am using a 2007 era A3 model with firmware 1.11. Within the last two weeks - we have really ramped the house up in the digital media realm with the addition of a new HD Samsung, a new PVR and a new WDTV Live box for movie content.
Been testing this little WD box for a few days playing some 720p mkv's and standard DVD rips via a DWA-140 USB Wireless dongle accessing the stored content from my Windows Home Server shares via the DIR-655. It's been real hit or miss...sometimes smooth streaming...sometimes glitch city. Can' t figure if it's the DWA-140, the WDTV or the actual router or even the WHS doing something while a movie is playing back.
My plan is to to try a DWA-160 USB adapter...then possibly a DAP-1522 wired to the WDTV Live box...I also started thinking about the router itself...could the old 1.11 firmware be playing a substandard role in this....
So - for those in the know (I must admit I haven't had the time to plow thru all the latest gab on current firmware for the DIR-655) - does 1.21 (no Shareport) bring anything better to the table for media streaming etc?
Side Note: 1.11 is giving my wife a solid 300MBPS connection in her office so I do not want to kill that party if 1.21 poses any risks...just want some insight on 1.21...seems like it's the best there is at this time.
Appreciate any updates....
Cheers!
VP
BUMP. I have the same question as Vocalpoint, and have not seen any responses. What is the latest STABLE firmware for HW A3? I currently have 1.11 and would like to update, but have seen many comments about problems with the newer firmware. Please advise. Thanks in advance.
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Well, i feel that sometimes people ask these upgrade questions so they can later blame person x for telling them to upgrade. I guess some people just like being angry.
So, I'm not even going to answer that question that you already have the answer for.
Second:
The dwa 160 isn't going to give you any different throughput or connection quality. The only real difference is that it is dual band that means 2.4 and 5Ghz. Unless you have a 5Ghz router, your wasting your money and expectations.
Third:
I have lots of troubles streaming HD content on the 2.4Ghz frequency even with N mode enabled. I belive it starts to stutter with HD content encoded ~12Mb/s+/- 3Mb/s Add to that, the strain 5.1 audio encoding puts on the connection.
I've purchased a dual band router now and tried HD streaming and it does improve alot. I am able to stream media encoded above 12Mb/s give or take a few Mb/s. I don't have accurate data since I just glanced at it, but I am able to play all my HD. Couldn't tell you the largest one but I was happy that I was able to get my 1080p in there. However, don't expect that at large distances.
However, despite my impressions of 5Ghz band, I just have a laptop hooked up to the tv via HDMI and using XBMC.
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If it ain't broke and you do not need Shareport or Guest Access: stick to 1.11
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Stick to the 1.11 and try setting the channel to 1 or 11 - whichever is less crowded. 6 has the highest theoretical bandwidth but is the default channel and most routers in your area will use this. Also, make sure your wireless security settings are set to WPA2 only and AES cupher only and not WPA TKIP or WEP or your bandwidth will be reduced by 70%. I also find that forcing the Transmit rate on the router to a fixed rate like 130Mbps for non MIMO clients to work much better especially after the client has been connected for a few hours - the auto rate seems to not work well as range extremities. Since 802.11n bandwidth will be limited to 80Mbps of real world throughput or lower from modulation and error correcting, adjusting to a fixed link rate is not a big issue.
The WDTV uses a Sigma Designs SMP863x chipset for hardware decoding and will not choke or stutter on any high profile 1080p video up to 50Mbits. The problem is definitely wireless performance. If you can take a laptop to the TV (and install the Dlink adapter as well on the laptop) and run netstumbler (or iStumbler for Mac), you ideally want a SNR of 25 or greater. If it is above 35 all the time then there is little interference and the connection is good, but if it is jumping around a lot then throughput will not be constant.
Do a bandwidth test. Run Jperf in server mode on a computer that is connected to the same wired node as WHS and run Jperf in client mode on the laptop near the TV using the Dlink adapter and run a Jperf test for 60 seconds. Most 720p H.264 Mkvs on the net use 3-6Mbit bitrates so ideally you want the Jperf test to be as high as possible but it will likely never be over 70Mbps and usually much lower like 40Mbps in 11n mode. If you are not constantly getting the minimum Video bandiwdth through the 60 second Jperf test then you are at the range limit of the 655 for that environment and that 11n adapter. A new adapter may not do anything because the adapter sensitivity is likely very similar in off the shelf products. A new Router is a better option like a Netgear WNDR3700, but don't buy it just yet.
http://code.google.com/p/xjperf/
5Ghz is subject to less interference and can run in 40Mhz channels for higher bandwidth, but often 5Ghz suffers from shorter range than an uninhibited 2.4Ghz 11n network, espcially in 40Mhz mode. If your SNR tests were 25 or lower and you were less than 30 feet from the 655 and you live in an area with many 802.11 networks (like an apartment or condo), then 5Ghz equipment would benefit your situtation but you need a new 5Ghz AP and adapter (keep your 655 for 2.4Ghz traffic).
If you have weak SNR and low throughput at that location, consider a DD-WRT 802.11n wireless repeater that you can put midway between the 655 and TV. A cheap refurbished Netgear WNR834B for $30 works great for the 2.4Ghz band because you do not need any new client gear, just install DD-WRT on it and setup the Repeater Bridge.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122266&cm_re=wnr834b-_-33-122-266-_-Product
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Repeater_Bridge
Or buy a nice store bought repeater that can even mount on your ceiling if you want.
http://www.keenansystems.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=2&products_id=308
If you have cash, you can also get a WNDR3700 and disable the wireless on the 655. If you really have cash, buy a Wireless Access point that has beamforming like on antenna beamforming from Ruckus.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/content/view/30925/96/
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/component/option,com_wireless/Itemid,200