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how to increase speed on 5 ghz network

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elvis12

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 14, 2010
8
0
Hi
So I have a new mba, atv2 and an airport extreme. I have created a 5 ghz network for these items only. I must say I was disappointed when using mirroring from my mba to atv while playing a 720p-video. I experienced lagging and some stops n´go.

Any settings or so to speed this up? Or any way I can check the rate? What are your experiences with 720p-videoes? Would buying an atv3 help?

Thanks
 
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waw74

macrumors 601
May 27, 2008
4,682
949
chances are it's the mirroring, and not the network.

mirroring will never give you smooth playback as what you see on your screen. as the video card has to convert the whole image, and send it off to the aTV.


if you alt-click the wifi icon in the OSX title bar, you can see the connect speed. it's under transmit rate, the number is in Kb/s
 
gcmexico

gcmexico

macrumors 6502a
Dec 22, 2007
965
209
Littleton, CO
Same issue with me

I created 2 channels and it seems the 2ghz is way faster than the 5ghz...this is across the board not just mirroring...any suggestion would be great
 
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waw74

macrumors 601
May 27, 2008
4,682
949
gcmexico said:
I created 2 channels and it seems the 2ghz is way faster than the 5ghz...this is across the board not just mirroring...any suggestion would be great
Click to expand...

2ghz goes through things (like walls) better than 5, so if there's a wall or two in the way, you could expect to see that.
 
L

lostless

macrumors 6502
Oct 22, 2005
483
97
waw74 said:
2ghz goes through things (like walls) better than 5, so if there's a wall or two in the way, you could expect to see that.
Click to expand...

What he said. 5gz in my home network is faster, but I can barley get it to cover my home. If i just go outside (2 walls), the signal dies quite quickly. To get a bit of extra speed. Put the apple TV on the 2.4Ghz network and your MBA on the 5GHZ or visa versa. The bandwidth will almost double in theory, because they act as 2 separate wireless networks each with its full bandwidth. Its like having 2 wireless data "pipes". When putting everything on the 5Ghz, you share the bandwidth for both. So the data comes out of the mac book air to the router, then back out to the apple TV all using the same wireless "pipe". And the data can only go in 1 direction at a time.
 
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elvis12

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 14, 2010
8
0
lostless said:
What he said. 5gz in my home network is faster, but I can barley get it to cover my home. If i just go outside (2 walls), the signal dies quite quickly. To get a bit of extra speed. Put the apple TV on the 2.4Ghz network and your MBA on the 5GHZ or visa versa. The bandwidth will almost double in theory, because they act as 2 separate wireless networks each with its full bandwidth. Its like having 2 wireless data "pipes". When putting everything on the 5Ghz, you share the bandwidth for both. So the data comes out of the mac book air to the router, then back out to the apple TV all using the same wireless "pipe". And the data can only go in 1 direction at a time.
Click to expand...

Wow, didn't know this! I'll try! Thanks!

Btw, the atv and aextreme are quite close to eachother -- would it help cabling the atv?
 
steve-p

steve-p

macrumors 68000
Oct 14, 2008
1,740
42
Newbury, UK
elvis12 said:
Wow, didn't know this! I'll try! Thanks!

Btw, the atv and aextreme are quite close to eachother -- would it help cabling the atv?
Click to expand...

Yes. ATV seems to give much more stable performance on wired connections in my experience. Even 200mbps powerline adapters work great when it's too far or too inconvenient for an ethernet cable. Also it's removing one device from the wireless network which helps free up bandwidth for other wireless devices.
 
gcmexico

gcmexico

macrumors 6502a
Dec 22, 2007
965
209
Littleton, CO
great suggestions and info

I tried the dual channels... but it was never stable...I decided to go back to automatic setting based on what was posted...working smoothly now no hiccups... put most of my devices on 2ghz....my iMac media center is on the 5gz
thanks guys!
 
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