I currently have cable TV (Optimum), and dialup internet.
I'm toying with the idea of getting cable internet ....
Both the TV and the computer room are about fifty feet from where the cable enters the house.
Cable lengths could be significantly longer due to the physical layout.
As I see it:
I can reroute the TV cable so it goes to the computer room first, put a splitter and modem there and use a short length of Ethernet cable. Then continue the TV cable to the existing cable box.
OR
I can insert a splitter and put the modem near where the TV cable enters, and use a very long Ethernet cable. [/li]
The first option would be a lot more work, but I could use existing cables.
The second option would require buying (or making) the "long" Ethernet cable.
Are there any technical advantages to either approach, or is it a "toss up"?
If I have to make a sacrifice on one or the other, I spend a lot more time on the computer than I spend watching TV.
I don't know if this will help, Pete, but in my setup, the cable enters the house in the basement. The TV cable was fished through the floor to the TV and is connected to the cable box. When I added Internet some years later, a coax cable (the only info I found on the cable is BX2906101) was connected to a splitter in the basement where the service enters the house and fished to the location of my computer desk (also through the floor -- the same hole I had drilled when I fished an extra phone line from the basement for dialup!).
The coax cable for the Internet is connected to the modem, located by my computer. There is a short cable (CSA 221236, Verified TIA/EIA-568-B-2 CAT5) connecting the modem to my router. The ethernet cable is then connected to my computer from my router.
Have you considered putting the modem by the TV (so splitting things there and such) and using a USB Wi-Fi adapter?
Is it just a desktop you're connecting, or do you have other devices there that need Ethernet connections? You could get a wireless bridge which takes the Wi-Fi signal and transfers it back to Ethernet (some have switches built into them).
How much do you want to spend? ;)
And I'd suggest buying the modem rather than renting - you'll break even in about 10 months.
My cable comes in through the basement, like Corrine's. I hired an electrician to put a cable jack into my "computer" room. Our house is so old, we do not have cable jacks. (The tv cables for our four sets run up through the floor). I did not want to drill yet another hole in the floor for a 5th cable line. The electrician ran a coax from the basement splitter to the cable jack. I then run a short coax from the cable jack to the modem that sits on my computer desk. I've had this set up since 2004.
Currently Comcast rents a modem for $9/month. Best Buy has a modem that Comcast recommends, Motorola Surfboard, model SB6121 for $69.99 so in 8 months, you'd be ahead of the game.
Aaron
My only experience with WiFi was when I went took my computer to my wife's business location to upgrade to Windows 8.1. At first, I tried WiFi, but it was taking hours. When I plugged in her Ethernet cable it completed the download in a few minutes. This led me to believe that Ethernet is faster and/or more reliable.
Having said that, you just gave me a third (easier) option. Putting the modem by the TV, would allow me to use a much shorter Ethernet cable, and "fishing" it would be a lot less work.
BTW: One modem is included at no extra charge. If I ever need more than one, it's time to go to Staples & etc. At Optimum's price ($49.95/mo), I'd break even in less than two months).
Corrine, Liz:
If I put the splitter where the cable enters the house, and made the "home run" with a second TV cable, the cable to the modem would be at least 20 feet longer than the one to the TV. It would still be on the first splitter, but would that satisfy the requirement that the modem be the "first device"?
Quotethe cable to the modem would be at least 20 feet longer than the one to the TV. It would still be on the first splitter, but would that satisfy the requirement that the modem be the "first device"?
Yes because that's how the electrician set it up. A splitter where the line came in, in the basement. Internet by itself and the tvs on other splits. (We have 4 televisions. Few I expect have that many tvs in their homes. Everything works).
Wi-Fi can be 'interesting'. The 2.4 GHz spectrum is unlicensed, so a lot of things hopped there, including Wi-Fi, cordless phones... and then there's potential interference from microwave ovens. Thankfully, cordless phones have moved up 5 GHz spectrum - and a different set of frequencies than 5 GHz W-Fi, so that issue went away. The microwave issue is still around as we haven't found that new-fangled put-a-pellet-in-the-machine-and-seconds-later-your-meal-is-done device we saw on Back to the Future 2 (October?). But if you position the access point smartly (ideally not near the microwave) and the microwave is not in between the access point and the device you could do just fine. Honestly, I never notice our microwave interfering, and I'm fighting with several other nearby Wi-Fi networks on top of it.
Having said that, I suppose I have an atypical network setup which I'll mention - even if you go the Ethernet route (which yes, is more reliable) you'll have some bonus knowledge. Rather than 802.11n I have an 802.11ac access point. It's in the middle of our home so that it reaches everywhere. It runs two Wi-Fi networks, one at 2.4 GHz and the other at 5. 802.11ac supports super-fast (by today's standards) speeds - I think theoretically it's over 1 Gigabit per second but from experience it's more like 700~800 Megabit per second. Our inbound internet speeds are 35 Mbps, so lots of room.
Things I learned when setting all that up... first, 5 GHz signals have a harder time going through walls, meaning the 5 GHz network will not go as far as the 2.4 network, and naturally as signal strength degrades so do the speeds. Thankfully I'm not going far or through many walls for this to be an issue - usual disclaimer applies: your mileage may vary.
Second, try like hell to avoid stepping on other nearby Wi-Fi networks. InSSIDer (the free one that can be rough to find but is still out there) can help you see other networks and what bands they're using. I am not a fan of 'auto' channel selection as I've found access points can make poor decisions - use a channel that has low/zero signal from other Wi-Fi devices and for 2.4 GHz choose from channels 1, 6 or 11 (avoid the ones in the middle). For the 5 GHz network I forget the frequencies but these aren't really a lot of Wi-Fi access points out there running on 5 GHz (yet?) so shouldn't be much of an issue.
Last, to get the gigabit speed out of the 5 GHz band *everything* connecting on it needs to support the faster speed. One snail in the picture means everything slows down. So for my home setup, I have one wireless bridge running on 5 GHz that brings the network to a few devices (it's that thing I mentioned above that takes the Wi-Fi signal and pumps it back to hardwire - mine has a 4-port switch in it), and everything else wireless is connected to the 2.4 GHz network.
Now that I've written all that, yeah, if you can easily get Ethernet cable from the modem to your computer and are ok with drilling holes or fishing wires, go that way. ;)
//A
I drilled the holes 30 years ago... I may have to make them a little bigger to fit one more wire. :)
Thanks for the advice.
Now I have to decide how much longer I can live with dial-up.
Every month I delay is $59.95 (plus taxes & fees), that I get to keep. :Hammys pint: :hammy:
Once you have high speed, you won't go back to dialup.
I'd give up my car before I'd give up my cable internet!
Last week-end I drilled some holes and ran some plastic conduit between the rooms.
Placed the order today.
If the salesman made a good estimate, I should have a modem and router by Friday.
If I find a compatible (TM 822) modem elsewhere, I can return the modem, and pay $4.95 less per month.
No discount if I return the router.
No "senior discount". :(
Congrats! Pete, you'll love it and wonder how you put up with dialup for so long. Next you'll want a tablet, netbook or laptop so you can use the computer in other rooms of your home. :D
I put my old netbook aside of my husband's recliner. He is a news junkie. He didn't think he "needed" it. He is on that thing so often. He reads the local news. When an old movie comes on and he wants info on it, he goes to the Internet Movie Database. If someone uses a word he doesn't know, instead of reaching for the dictionary, he looks it up on the internet.
:dance: Great news, Pete! For old-times sake, I took a look at your early days at FL. You were helping people with Windows 98, Juno and providing advice like this, something we're still trying to teach people, 13 years later!
QuoteYour best protection is a password that no one will guess. Do not use real words, names, your ss no., or your birthday.
Make it as long as practical, mix letters, numbers and upper & lower case ...
All those years and finally rewarding yourself!
Well... I'm not a DUNner anymore.
This morning I was connected at 59 K and felt lucky.
Then FEDEX stopped by....
Now connected at 1 M.
I'm having trouble if I put the router in the circuit ("Limited").
Since I don't have any wireless devices, and the Grandkids aren't visiting, that can wait until I read the instructions.
It works fine with just a modem.
59 K was decent on dial-up but in comparison, now you're flying! Enjoy, Pete. You've earned it.