[mythtv-users] how to troubleshoot network congestion problems with mythtv [solved]

Brian Wood beww at beww.org
Wed Jun 16 14:59:34 UTC 2010


On Wednesday, June 16, 2010 08:38:45 am Travis Tabbal wrote:

> 
> Those that have HD working over wireless now are lucky and don't have
> enough RFI nearby to cause problems. As the tech gets cheaper and more
> people use it though, I fully expect people will be on this list
> complaining about how the wireless N that used to work fine stopped
> working all the sudden as a neighbor installed another AP next door,
> likely on the same channel they used because the other guy didn't know
> enough to run a signal check. :)

Quite true, and made worse by the fact that to most consumers it appears that there are 10 or more channels available, 
when they actually overlap, causing there to be just 3 actually individual channels, but since people don't know that, 
they may well pick a channel they *think* is apart from their neighbors, when in fact it is not.

WiFi is marketed in a way that makes people think it is a good alternative to hard wires, but I guess you can't really 
expect a WiFi vendor to tell people that they should use copper if they possibly can.

And of course most people do not read, and certainly don't understand, the "this device must accept any interference..." 
warning on all 2.4 Ghz. products. They pay money for something advertised (heavily) to work, then get mad when it doesn't, 
which is understandable. Of course most times the user doesn't realize that the problems are caused by RF interference, 
and often don't even realize they have problems, since they can't see the retransmits etc. As long as data can be pumped 
through the link at a speed close to their internet connection, they think things are "working".

WiFi should only be used for portable roaming machines, not permanent or semi-permanent installations, but again you can't 
expect the people selling such gear to tell people that. I plug my laptop in to my router when I'm home, using WiFi only 
when traveling or at public hotspots.


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