What are the odds that a tech company releases a product that is not only eminently useful, but delivers on what it says? That is the position NetGrear find itself in with the HDXB101 Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter. Use your existing home wiring as a broadband substitute for running ethernet, and you can stream High Definition video throughout your home.
According to the tests at MaximumPC, they were able to stream 1080i WMV movies with no problem. They found an average 15 Mb/s throughput, which is plenty for about any application you can think of. They did need to experiment with different outlets in each room to get maximum throughput, however, and plugging them into surge protectors ruined the signal. They rated it with a Kick Ass 9 of 10.
So if you have a need to stream high speed data around your house and cannot run ethernet, this is an excellent solution. Whether for movies, music, gaming or an Xbox360, you are not bound by cabling or limited by wireless speeds. Sounds like a perfect application for those of us without basements to run wires. Only drawback is that each device only has one ethernet port. This may not be the cheapest solution, but it offers an answer for a common problem.
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