I had the chance to finally try power line networking when my dad needed a network connection to his TiVo but didn’t have any Ethernet connections in the house. We could have hooked up wireless, but then he would have had to purchase a wireless adapter for the TiVo. He already had bought a USB modem for the TiVo, but the phone line connection was acting flaky and he couldn’t download guide updates. So I bought the Netgear Powerline Adapter Kit Model XAVB2101-100NAS for $79.99. Each adapter had 1 Ethernet port so they basically acted as a bridge.
Setup was plug and play. I plugged in one adapter in an electrical outlet in the room where the TiVo is located. I plugged an Ethernet cable from the adapter to the back of the TiVo. In the office where my dad’s router is located I plugged in the other adapter in an electrical outlet and connected an Ethernet cable from the adapter to his router. After changing the settings on the TiVo to use a network connection for updates, the TiVo picked upan IP address and connected successfully.
I don’t know how this could have gone any easier. I had always wondered about powerline adapters, and I had recently read an article reviewing several of them including the Netgear I bought. This experience has made me into a believer. Powerline adapters can definitely provide an alternative to wireless in certain circumstances. Keep this option in mind if you have to network a room with no Ethernet connection.