Airport HELP!

[jyuz0629]

I came across the airport express/extreme and I'm trying to decide whether if I should get the express or the extreme. I know nothing about them and I have several questions I'm hoping I can gather before purchasing one.

I have Time Warner as my internet provider and they provide us with a router that lets us go wireless. If I get the airport, then would I still need that router?

On the apple website, it says that with the airport extreme, you could use a usb hub for multiple drives. I was wondering if the airport express could do the same thing.

I want to make my HD wireless, and I'm wondering if I'm able to use the HD wirelessly, like watching video files from it and downloading files into it too. Will it be too slow?

Any interesting, new facts about the airport would also be helpful for me to decide if I want to invest in it or not would be GREAT!

Thank you in advance.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

For the first question, you can use the AirPort Express (AE for short) to extend the wireless connection, since the router already has a wireless radio built-in. It's basically an antenna for the Time Warner router.

Two, the AE cannot use a usb hub for multiple drives, only the AirPort Extreme Base Station can. The AE is for home networks with up to 10 people connected at once.

And for your wireless HD, the AE cannot share the drive wirelessly, only a printer. So for your needs, try the AirPort Extreme Base Station, since you want to share HDs and be a usb hub for multiple drives.

The AE is smaller, fits in your hand, and is good for vacations. Small and simple, it has AirTunes, you can play music from computer to a pair of speakers connected to the AE, provided the computer/speakers are connected to the same network. It's cheaper too.

 

[Macman1993]

I got the express at first loved being able to use my speakers wirelessly and love printing wirelessly but I wanted to share an HD also. So I bought the extreme and love my wireless life. I just managed to get a dns hostname so now I can access my airport disk from anywhere in the world.

 

[jyuz0629]

Thanks guys. That was a lot of help. I'm going to get the extreme. How does the HD work wirelessly with the extreme?

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Yea, very simple to setup. Just use the AirPort Utility, in the Utilities folder under the Applications Folder. Quicker way to bring it up, Shift + Cmd + U in Finder.