Faster network between remote TV tuner and house network.

[cqaigy2]

Currently, i have a TV antenna and 2 tuner HDHomerun sitting about 100 feet away. I've connected them to house network where they are used on a nvidia shield into tv, using WiFi extender, setup like a bridge. House side of the WiFi bridge ethernet, connects to 1 Gb switch and the rest of the house network. The antenna side of the WiFi bridge connects ethernet to the HDHomerun tuner.



I don't believe the WiFi connection has enough capacity at time, one HD channel will push upwards of 22Mb and can produce some pixelation when it gets above 20 Mb. I've just lived with it for now, but if the other tuner kicks in, then two sources trying to push similar data streams capacity wise and will product pretty crappy recorded TV shows. Since im planning on adding another tuner, im pretty sure capacity needs will go up.

The wifi bridges im using are both 2.4 and 5 Ghz, i've tried both and the 2.4 is the only one that has a stable but not high speed connection.


I'm thinking of using a couple Ubiqiti CPE Loco5AC in point to point mode, but means i'll have to get above some vegetation and vehicles to get them out of the freznel zone. So I'm looking for suggestions or if anybody has used the Loco5AC or other product for a point to point wireless connection?

Thanks ahead of time.

 

[kcflhrc]

Anytime I hear wifi extender I cringe. Those things eat up bandwidth. What about a decent Mesh System?

 

[dlctcg]

cqaigy2 -

I have not used that particular Ubiquiti product but have used their hardware in the past in bridge mode with good results. I didn't look at pricing on the Ubiquiti units, but another company we use all the time is Luxul. They have great hardware & support; we use their high power dual band bridge kit in both commercial & residential installs when needed with great results. Luxul is a dealer direct product so if you are interested they can put you in touch with a local dealer (if they don't have one local... we are dealers, but would prefer you give the business local)... here is a link to their product:

High Power AC12 Dual-Band Outdoor Bridge Kit | Luxul

Again Ubiquiti is a good product too... you just asked for options....

Also being your devices are only 100' away from each other, I believe, you will have some forgiveness with the freznel zone; these devices are designed to work over much greater distances then you have. We have a Luxul unit at one location transmitting IP video content approx. 550' uphill with trees in the way & it is working well...

 

[MossRoad]

You can get 1000' of direct burial cat6 cable for a tad over $100 and run gigabit speeds to your heart's content.

SolidRun by Sewell, Direct Burial Cat6 Bulk, Black 1, ft — Sewell Direct

 

[CowboyRon]

Anytime I hear wifi extender I cringe. Those things eat up bandwidth. What about a decent Mesh System?

I agree, mesh wireless is the only way to go.
I have an orbi, and it works great.

 

[cqaigy2]

Thanks for the ideas.

I'm not against direct burial cat6, just not too keen on digging thru all the rock, water lines and power to get over to where i need to go. If it weren't for that, id for sure use cat6 or fiber. I always tell people not to use wireless if they want a good reliable connectivity, but....

I've not used Luxul equipment, i'll have to look into that.


If you look at my description, you'l see i said i used the extenders as bridges, so not the same issues you can run into extenders. Basically from what i understand, the extenders would use the same radios, so would decrease capacity by 1/2. Mesh do similar, but usually have more than one radio, (mimo) for multi in and multi out

 

[Racenut]

I've used quite a bit of the Ubiquity stuff. My home network is all UniFi and I've setup probably 20 or so pairs of Ubiquity bridges for various uses at work. It's been rock solid and the only failures I've had have been due to outside forces. (Of course I just jinxed myself and they will all explode like popcorn tomorrow.. .)

The LocoAC should work fine, I usually use the Nanobeams. As someone noted, these are designed to work over way longer distances than you're dealing with and it will take some fiddling with settings to get optimum performance. I would turn the antenna power way down and see how it goes. You can easily overpower these. Sorta like walking into a room and shouting at someone like they were on the other side of a canyon. It's just too much.

Also, if you have weeds and stuff you want to get through, stick with 2.4 as it will penetrate better. They also have some 900Mhz stuff (Loco900) that will really penetrate (I've got one zapping though some huge eucalyptus trees that could not be taken down) but you're not going to get the high speeds out of that, I see about 10-12Mbits but again it's going though eucalyptus trees and about 1000ft distance.

But ANYTHING you do in this direction is going to be better than a Wifi extender. Good luck

 

[EarPlug]

Try using Powerline Ethernet. Faster and no interference.

Powerline Adapter - Powerline Ethernet Networking - TP-Link

 

[Industrial Toys]

Sorry, kind of a side question because I am in a valley and remote TV reception at my tower site interests me. Are there provisions for an antenna rotor?

BTW, I run 75 ohm coax five hundred or so feet with Highwire media converters to Eithernet. Far better than CAT 5 or 6.

 

[drssg]

Thanks for the ideas.

I'm not against direct burial cat6, just not too keen on digging thru all the rock, water lines and power to get over to where i need to go. If it weren't for that, id for sure use cat6 or fiber. I always tell people not to use wireless if they want a good reliable connectivity, but....

FWIW, I rented a walk-behind vibrating wedge trencher. It leaves maybe a 1/2" gap in the soil and it inserts the line as you go. It won't go much more than a foot deep. It shouldn't be a big deal to put it in above the other utilities.

I don't know how rocky your area is. It worked fine going through my lawn, but I did have to use my backhoe to get across my gravel driveway.