Laptop to Xbox 360 video streaming and Wireless-N

My network is currently Wireless G - 360, laptop and modem/router. Video streaming does not work in Media Centre, and via Media Connect, picture quality is somewhat pixellated.


1) If I get the Wireless-N adapter for the 360 - laptop and modem/router staying the same - will that make an appreciable difference to my streaming speed and quality?

2) What if I also got a Wireless-N adapter for my laptop (modem/router staying the same), will that result in a significant additional improvement again?


The objective is to have near-/same-quality video on my 360, as streamed from my laptop. Thanks for reading and for your advice.

 

You need to get a Wireless N router and Wireless N cards for your 360 and Computer, in order to gain higher speeds.

If you only have wireless N on your computer or 360 but your router is wireless G, it will only run at G speed(54MBPS).

 

Thanks, so without an N router I get little or no benefit from having N-enabled devices?

What if I did have an N router but other devices only work on G (say for example, iPhone). Would I get N speeds on Xbox and G on iPhone, or would every device on the network default to the lowest common denomintor ie. Xbox would transmit over G?

 

Lowest common denominator Both devices need the N architecture to work at N speed.

 

Okay, so I'm getting a picture of the futility of getting Wireless-N in my new laptop and 360.

First I'd need an N router. Then I would have to convert all the OTHER wireless devices used by others in my home (laptops, games consoles and phones) to N also, in order to stop my entire network defaulting to/staying on G anyway!

 

No...
If you have an N router, all of your N capable devices will run at N speed, G devices will still be able to connect, but at G speed

 

Oh right? Ta.

 

Personally, if I were you, I'd buy an 802.11n dual-band access point. Run 802.11n at 5Ghz, while keeping your router and your existing 2.4Ghz 802.11g network.

Then snag the 802.11n adapter for XBox 360.

If you have plans to purchase a blu-ray player, something for Netflix, an HTPC, etc and have use for networking beyond just the XBox 360, I read about some 802.11n dual band routers that can actually serve as wireless client bridges. This might be a wortwhile alternative, especially considering the Xbox 360 adapter itself seems sorta pricey...

 

Can you expand on this please? Does this connect to my existing Wireless-G router as an affordable best-of-both-worlds solution or summat?

 

get something like the 4 port gb dual band dap 1522 bridge/AP. I have one for x-box , blu ray and media center all plugged into the bridge , works great .

 

Yeah the 1522 would be a good option for a bridge for home use. It also seems to cost about the same as the Xbox 360 11n adapter all the while being more flexible.

The reason why I suggest dual band is because this way you can run 802.1n on 5Ghz while isolating your existing 802.11g on the 2.4Ghz spectrum. What this buys you is that you will have the highest aggregate speed over both networks. This is opposed to the 11n network sacrificing speed to be backwards compatible, or the 11g network fighting to contend with the 11n when they are on the same 2.4Ghz spectrum.

This is also helpful because if you have a laptop that's out of range of the 11n network, you may still have the range with the 11g because the lower frequencies attenuate less and thus have more range.

There is a chance your 11n speeds might be limited to if your router has only fast ethernet (100Mbps) switched ports, but this can be easily solved buy adding on a gigabit switch. Those are pretty inexpensive. Make sure the AP you buy has a gigibit port instead of just fast ethernet. You'll be limited potentialy in speed on the Xbox 360 because it has only a 100Mbps ethernet port, but that's more than enough for any HD streaming, which is what you are trying to correct.