Need way to boost wifi to ATV in basement....

[gpspad]

I am running a 3TB time Capsule on my 2nd floor. Down in my basement I have an airport express router setup to extend the signal to the basement. It worked fine for streaming music and such.

Since discovering channels and my HD Homerun prime Tuner I picked up an ATV4 to run a small TV in the basement. The only problem is I get some pixelation. Connecting an ethernet cable between the time capsule and the airport express is not possible right now.

Would the connection to the ATV4 be better if I just run an ethernet cable to the airport express in the basement?

 

[archer75]

It may help a little. But honestly you need to run an ethernet to your 2nd floor. Don't be afraid to drill holes! I've even run them outside the house straight up the siding.
Using AP's or boosters halve your speed at each unit so it's not the best solution.
I use unifi AP's in my house which are amazing but i'm also using an ethernet backhaul on them.

 

[cynics]

Yes, a wired connection would be better than a potentially spotty Wifi signal. Running ethernet (Cat 5e or better) will provide you with the best results.

However that isn't your only option, and certainly not the easiest.

First which version of Time Capsule do you have? And I'm assuming you are using the Express as a repeater?

Unless you live in a mansion (and/or massively spread out) and you have the newest version of Time Capsule (2013 lol) I would just try to centralize your modem and router than do away with any repeaters. The WiFi AC versions of the Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme do a great job with beam forming. Naturally wireless AC does have as good of range as wireless N however with the wireless AC spec beam forming is incorporated into the spec and can generally have a longer range. Plus if you are dealing with something that can buffer the extra bandwidth can come in handy (aka 50% of 100 is better than 75% of 10....purely an example). This is a good place to start because you can experiment with it, see if it works, and if it does investigate locations.

For example my parents have a very large rancher. The Comcast guy connected a modem/router combo in the basement where the cable comes in. Half of the house had terrible signal. I bought them an AirPort Express and it was moderately better but what I ended up doing was pulling a Cat 5E up and into their kitchen island and putting the router in there (there was electric I was able to splice into for a junction box). This easily covers the entire house now. While there are better routers I've never had one that was so reliable (perfect for parents).

You can also extend your network via power lines (electrical wiring in your home). I have zero experience with them but I've heard decent things. To dumb it down (since I don't know specifics) you plug an adapter in the wall by your router and hook ethernet too it, plug the accompanying adapter in by your ATV and hook and ethernet to that. And that is it. While there is overhead you should still have enough bandwidth for the ATV. And they probably make wireless models and stuff.

Like mentioned a repeater reduces overall network speed because its using up more bandwidth by retransmitting the same data which is the reason I try to avoid them.

 

[gpspad]

I just noticed the Apple TV in the basement is connecting to the Time Capsule on the 2nd floor all on its own. Surprisingly it works OK when its connected to that router. When it connects to the airport express it will pixelate.

The airport express in the basement did the trick to stream audio in a few dead spots, I'm starting to think its slower speed is also screwing up some devices when they connect to it. At the very least I need to put an airport extreme in the basement.

My real problem is just the lack of outlets, all these switches and routers need outlets to power them. Even an airport extreme only has a few ethernet jacks. I am starting to think i need to plan all this out before I start running ethernet cable, but its an old house and I'm not even sure how to plan out how to place the ethernet and switches.

I was thinking about hooking up a ring doorbell until I realized that it would be costing me precious outlets in the house if I wanted something that didn't always need phone to work.

 

[archer75]

Extension cords and power strips.

I have a 8 port hub at each tv in the house and plug everything in to those.