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With Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, Windows Media Center Extender, and Windows Media Center Extender for Xbox, you can now enjoy media content in new ways in your home. Whether it's live TV, recorded TV, or music ripped from your collection of music CDs or downloaded from an online music store, you can broadcast digital entertainment throughout your home. Media Center Extender devices connect a Media Center PC with TVs and monitors in the home, so you can enjoy TV, photos, music, and movies on any TV in your house.

You'll need a Media Center PC running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 to operate the Media Center Extender. Also you'll need a fast and reliable network to stream content from the Media Center PC to the Media Center Extender devices, otherwise, the viewing and listening experience could be marred by connectivity interruptions and network dropouts. Microsoft recommends a wired network for best performance on a Media Center network. That's where you get the high data rate transfers needed for streaming live TV from a Media Center PC to a Media Center Extender.

However, using a totally wired Ethernet network just isn't possible for many of us. Your significant other may forbid wires in the living room, or your landlord won't allow holes drilled through the walls, or you're put off by the amount of work needed to run cables through the ceiling. That's when you need to go wireless.

The assumption herein is that you have a broadband connection. Although connecting the audio and video components from a Media Center Extender to televisions or home theater receivers will be easy for most people, we'll provide the basic rules for Media Center/Media Center Extender networks. We'll also cover how to do the following tasks:

• Set up Media Center/Media Center Extender networks with a single 802.11a/g router
• Add wireless capabilities to an existing network using an 802.11a/g access point
• Super charge a wireless 802.11g Xbox connection with Super G
• Create advanced segmented networks for multiple Extender environments

Use Wired 100 Mb Ethernet for Network Configuration

Mbps stands for megabits per second and measures the transfer rate of data over a network. Microsoft recommends a wired network that supports 100 Mbps (also called Fast Ethernet) as the best choice for a Media Center network. If you're a gamer and a Microsoft Xbox Live user, you probably already know that a wired 100 Mbps connection is the best option when split-second timing counts.

The ideal Media Center broadband home network starts with a router that minimally supports 100 Mbps Ethernet. Home routers sold today (both wired and wireless) all support 100 Mbps Ethernet. Media Center Extender and Media Center Extender for Xbox both support 10/100 Mbps wired Ethernet. Media Center Edition 2005 computers available in retail stores include a minimum of 10/100 Mbps-capable connectivity. By default, most home routers will assign an IP address to connected devices via DHCP. Just plug in your Ethernet cables and using out-of-the-box default settings, standalone Extender's and Xbox consoles should just work.

Planning a Wireless Media Center Network

Although wired Ethernet is recommended, Microsoft recognizes that many users may prefer wireless. The Microsoft specification for the standalone Media Center Extender therefore includes 802.11a/g dual band wireless. If you plan to use wireless, a router that supports both 802.11a and 802.11g is ideal. The Media Center Extender comes with everything you'll need for making a wireless connection using both 802.11a and 802.11g.

You can also add additional access points to any wired or wireless router you already have and run them as separate access points using different SSID names and channels. There are some limitations to wireless connectivity that you need to consider before purchasing wireless equipment. The number of walls and/or ceilings that the wireless signal will pass through can be a limiting factor. The construction of your home may be a limiting factor. Modern wood structures are great environments for wireless networks. Older homes with chicken wire embedded in plaster walls are poor wireless environments. You'll also want to keep your wireless devices away from large metal objects, duct work for HVAC, and any electrical appliances that generate RF noise, especially microwaves.

The presence of an 802.11b device on a mixed 802.11b/g network will slow down your network. The 2.4 GHz band in which 802.11b/g wireless operates is also used by cordless telephones, microwave ovens, and other devices. Also, 802.11b/g has proliferated to the point that many neighborhoods are saturated with wireless access points and routers close enough to disrupt your own network. We use Netstumbler to try to find the best channel to configure on our wireless equipment.

You may already have laptops, PDAs, or other devices that use wireless on a home network. All the computers and devices share the wireless bandwidth of the wireless radio inside your wireless router or access point. 802.11a is not as widely used and over shorter distances of 20—30 feet has greater sustained throughput than 802.11g. For these reasons, 802.11a or Pre-N Routers utilizing MIMO technology is the preferred type of wireless connectivity for the Media Center Extender.

Set up a Media Center Extender Network with a Single 802.11a/g Router

The most important information provided herein is to segment your network to provide dedicated wireless connectivity between a Media Center PC and a Media Center Extender or Media Center Extender for Xbox. If you have multiple Extender's that will be used simultaneously, you'll optimize performance by putting each device on its own dedicated network segment.

When you first setup a standalone Extender, it automatically checks connectivity first for a wired network. If none is found and wireless is available, you'll be presented with options to set up a wireless network.

The easiest way to segment a network is to use a single device dual band a/g wireless router. Use the 802.11a side for the Extender and the 802.11g side for computers, PDAs, and other devices. Since there are so few devices that support 802.11a other than computers and Extender's, this is a logical arrangement. This gives the Extender the entire available wireless bandwidth of the 802.11 a channel. You'll be able to move large files around over the 802.11g side of the network and not impact streaming video over the Media Center network.

Important: If you use the built-in wireless of the Media Center Extender, you'll need to disable any built in "super" or "turbo" modes on your router or access point.

Add Wireless Capabilities to a Network Using an 802.11a/g Access Point

No matter what you use as the base router on your home network, you can add one or more wireless access points (not additional routers) to provide dedicated network segments for one or more Extender devices. While most wireless is inter-operable, there can be variables between vendors using different user interfaces. It's advisable to use products from a single vendor and from the same generation of products. This helps provide a consistent user interface for configuring equipment and the wireless capabilities should be the same.

Super Charge a Wireless 802.11g Xbox Connection

To add wireless capabilities to an Xbox, an external gaming adapter or wireless access point client is required. Note that 802.11g is not fast enough for Xbox Live gaming, or Media Center live or recorded TV performance of 802.11g wireless using the Media Center Extender for Xbox kit.

Construct Advanced Segmented Networks for Multiple Extender Environments

If you don't happen to have an 802.11a/g router or are already using an 802.11a/g router for computers and devices, you can add wireless access points to any existing router to create multiple network segments. If you are going to use more than one Extender for Live and Recorded TV simultaneously (a Media Center 2005 computer can support up to five Extender's depending upon the PC's hardware configuration), each Extender should really be on its own dedicated network segment.

Basic Rules for Optimizing Media Center/Media Center Extender Networks

1. Don't buy or use an obsolete router that uses a 4-port hub (as opposed to a switch) from an online auction for $5. All modern routers utilize 10/100 switched Ethernet ports.
2. Use a 10/100 switch if you need to expand an existing network. Never buy or use a hub since a hub is slower than a switch. A hub needs to broadcast traffic through all ports. A switch learns what clients are attached to each port and optimizes network traffic accordingly.
3. Don't put both a computer running Windows XP Media Center 2005 and a Media Center Extender or Xbox on wireless connections. If you need to use wireless, it's best to use a wired connection on your Media Center Computer and use wireless on the Extender device. Remember, to wirelessly enable an Xbox to use as a Media Center Extender or for Xbox Live you'll need to add an external gaming adapter.
4. Don't use wireless repeaters to cover large distances. Most wireless repeaters have a single wireless radio which means they have to communicate in two directions. This divides your effective throughput by two.
5. Segment your wireless network. Although casual activities such as Web surfing won't significantly impact a connection shared by computers and Media Center with Extender networks, intensive network activities like gaming and large file transfers can consume a large part of the shared wireless bandwidth.
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   D-Link Network hardware inventory
   
   
7. Experiment with different locations for your wireless router and/or access points. Changing the location by three or four feet may make the difference between network dropout issues and solid connectivity. Place the wireless device on a high shelf or attach it to a ceiling if your devices are on a floor above.
8. The position of the external antenna of a wireless device can make a huge difference. Experiment to find the best position. If you have a wireless device that has no external antenna, change the position of the device itself.
9. Before putting any wireless router/access point/gaming adapter online, check the firmware revision and update to the most recent firmware available from the vendor.
10. Be sure to use WPA-PSK as the encryption method for Extender's if at all possible because it provides far more security than WEP. Don't let a sales person tell you that wireless security isn't as important for devices as it is for computers. These devices are still part of your network and if you don't use security or use weak security, you've provided an entrance point to everything on your network, computers with your personal data included. If you shop carefully, you'll find gaming adapters and access point clients that support WPA-PSK.

Getting More Help

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