Powerline networking has started to become more popular over the past couple of years or so, mostly due to the work both Devolo and Netgear have done with their range of products. Devolo was one of the first companies I went to when I setup a powerline network at home a couple of years ago and it was just as simple as they said it would be. At the time, the speed wasn’t the best, but it did the job I wanted when my wireless network range either wasn’t great or the PC didn’t have a wireless card in it.
- dLAN® 200 AVplus quickly and easily establishes a network connection over the household electrical wiring
- The integrated socket ensures that no electrical outlet is lost.
- The integrated mains filter improves data transmission in the home network
- Transfer rates of up to 200 Mbps – for applications that require a high bandwidth
- Easy data encryption at the touch of a button
The new HomePlug AV adapter from devolo provides extra convenience for your private home network with its integrated electrical socket and mains filter. The integrated electrical socket enables additional terminal devices or multiple sockets to be connected to the adapter just like to a normal wall socket. No power supply is lost, and the integrated filter significantly improves data transmission in the home network.
- dLAN® 200 AVplus quickly and easily establishes a network connection over the household electrical wiring
- Simple plug-and-play connection between the routers, computers and other network-compatible devices
- The integrated electrical socket enables additional terminal devices or multiple sockets to be connected to the adapter just like to a normal wall socket—no power supply is lost
- The integrated mains filter improves data transmission in the home network
- The “Quality of Service” function and transfer rates of up to 200 Mbps are enough for bandwidth-hungry applications
- Automatic data prioritisation ensures interference-free reproduction of voice and video data
- Easy data encryption at the touch of a button
- The patented power saving mode automatically uses up to 60% less power
- Compatible with all devolo dLAN® 200 AV adapters
- Long data range of 300 m (984″) between the adapters and reliable network speed for setting up a home network
- 3-year warranty
The dLAN 200 AVplus transmits bandwidth intensive data easily and securely over the existing electrical wiring, without installation effort. In addition, the “Quality of Service” function prioritises the bandwidth requirement of the data traffic, which has a speed of 200 Mbps, thus ensuring maximum voice and video reproduction. TV and video images are received and displayed with absolute smoothness. QoS also guarantees the clear, instant reproduction of voice data, even when other applications are running on the network at the same time.
The dLAN 200 AVplus starter kit is one of their newer products, with support for up to 200 Mbps. In our tests, it doesn’t quite reach that but it does maintain steady speed that tends to be above any of the Draft-N/Final N Wireless routers that we have used, bar the Apple Express. The speed tended to be around 39.2Mb/sec. As I stated earlier, the speed is steady, and it doesn’t fluctuate much at all compared to that of wireless networking. This has been the same no matter where I placed the powerline in the house. The only problem I have is that it doesn’t work quite as well on an extension cord, but this is the norm for most powerline adapters. In all fairness though, the dLAN 200 AVplus starter kit works far better on extensions than any other powerline I have used.
Another good thing about the dLAN 200 AVplus starter kit is how much of a breeze it is to add security settings to it. The dLAN 200 supports 128-bit AES, which is applied via a couple of button presses on the device, something that is far easier to setup than on a wireless router. The main plus point of the dLAN 200 AVplus over the previous dLAN 200 AVEasy kit that Devolo had out last year is that this newer model has an integrated power socket. This is a good feature because when you use a powerline it is nice to still have access to the plug socket nearby.
The dLAN 200 AVplus also comes with a CD which contains quality of service software that can be used for prioritizing certain types of traffic such as VoIP. But, you don’t need to install this as the dLAN 200 works perfectly straight out of the box and into the wall.
So, are there any downsides to the device? Well apart from the price (which is more expensive than most wireless routers), there isn’t any that I can think of. I haven’t had one problem with this setup at all. It downloads files at full speed through my 50mb cable modem network, it streams HD movies with no slowdown or buffering needed, and it connects to the rest of my network drives with no speed problems or connection problems either. The dLAN 200 AVplus also has the great integrated power socket which is another plus for those who need as many plug sockets as possible.
In the end, this is a great device for a large house where wireless networking is difficult. Heck even for our house where we get decent wireless signal, this improves our main PC connection to no end.
Note: This particular product is only be available in Europe, but an American version is on the Devolo site.
Official product page: Devolo