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+-- Thread: Router or hub for home theater A/V devices? (/showthread.php?tid=7287316)
Router or hub for home theater A/V devices? - mikefm101 - 05-21-2016
Hi,
The last few months we've been upgrading the home theater, finally ditching a 32" flat screen for a 60", etc.
WiFi in the house isn't great, fixing it is another task on my list. I already have an Ethernet cable going to my son's X-Box in the entertainment center, and would like to hard wire the smart TV and a new A/V receiver that is on order.
Would I place a router or a hub in the entertainment center for this?
Today we have a Comcast cable modem with an Ethernet output connected to a four-port router with built in wifi. This is all in the basement. A single Ethernet cable goes from the router to the X-Box on the first floor, the other Ethernet ports in the basement router are already used for home offices PC's so I do not have more port capacity to run to the entertainment center.
So, would a second four-port router in the entertainment center distributing Ethernet to each device be the correct item to use, or is a hub a more appropriate device?
I looked around for this on line but nothing discussing two routers back-to-back popped up.
Hope all this makes sense an that you can help.
Thanks....Mike
Re: Router or hub for home theater A/V devices? - Mr_Mike - 05-21-2016
Hub is sufficient. Routing is already handled with the existing.
If your wiring and router supports it, get a 100 megabit vs 10megabit hub or you are multiplexing all the devices down to 10 megabit in total. However, even that should be sufficient.
Re: Router or hub for home theater A/V devices? - fixtureman - 05-21-2016
I would use a switch not a hub
Re: Router or hub for home theater A/V devices? - J-W-P - 05-22-2016
Yes a switch.,
I don't think they even make hubs anymore do they?
Re: Router or hub for home theater A/V devices? - Mr_Mike - 05-22-2016
Sure. Didn't even think of a switch. Just don't need a router.
Re: Router or hub for home theater A/V devices? - Alex Grigoriev - 05-22-2016
To clear the misunderstanding:
A router connects two subnets, for example, 192.168.0.x and 192.168.1.x. "Routers" sold at Fry's perform Network Address Translation (NAT), which allows to use a single external IP address for multiple internal IP addresses on your home subnet.
You don't need a router to connect a group of devices to the rest of your home network.
A hub is an analog repeater which connects devices on a single collision domain. Hubs only work for half-duplex link layer protocols, like 10Mbps coax and twisted pair, long obsolete. I don't think you can buy a hub anymore.
A switch forwards packets based on their MAC address, which it learns from the ingress packets. A switch can do full duplex transfers. A switch connects devices in a single broadcast domain.
What you need is a switch.
If you have coax in the wall in your TV/entertainment room, you could just move your cable modem/router there. That will also fix your "WiFi is not great" problem.
Re: Router or hub for home theater A/V devices? - sroxberg - 05-22-2016
Alex Grigoriev said:
To clear the misunderstanding:
A router connects two subnets, for example, 192.168.0.x and 192.168.1.x. "Routers" sold at Fry's perform Network Address Translation (NAT), which allows to use a single external IP address for multiple internal IP addresses on your home subnet.
You don't need a router to connect a group of devices to the rest of your home network.
A hub is an analog repeater which connects devices on a single collision domain. Hubs only work for half-duplex link layer protocols, like 10Mbps coax and twisted pair, long obsolete. I don't think you can buy a hub anymore.
A switch forwards packets based on their MAC address, which it learns from the ingress packets. A switch can do full duplex transfers. A switch connects devices in a single broadcast domain.
What you need is a switch.
If you have coax in the wall in your TV/entertainment room, you could just move your cable modem/router there. That will also fix your "WiFi is not great" problem.
What Alex Said!!!
A switch is what I use.
Re: Router or hub for home theater A/V devices? - mikefm101 - 05-23-2016
Thanks all.
Was asking about the hub as I have two 4 port hubs in a desk drawer leftover from a previous job. I'll try that first and if it doesn't work will buy a switch.
Mike
Re: Router or hub for home theater A/V devices? - arthropod98 - 05-23-2016
switch will definitely work.
at our entertainment center (keep in mind, we're relatively paranoid
), we've got a MANUAL switch -- sorta like this:http://www.amazon.com/SANOXY-Network-Swi...5+manual+switch
this at least allows us to have NO connection if we want, without having to just pull the power plug. also, not a fan of whatever these "smart" devices might wanna do, so we like having full control.
Re: Router or hub for home theater A/V devices? - fixtureman - 05-23-2016
if you have an old router just use it in bridge mode