Gift Guide: WD Livewire Powerline AV Network Kit

I wish that I had discovered this kit long ago. Wow. My home is wired with Ethernet because I’m a nerd and I had it done when the home was built 4 years ago. But, when I planned that and laid everything out, I did not really picture where the furniture would be so a couple of the jacks in my family room and master bedroom are opposite where I ended up putting my equipment.

Sure, things can work on wireless, but not everything works well on wireless. For example my media box has issues on my newer router. And I have been having some issues for a few months with my laptop being really slow on wireless, or dropping the signal. When I received the Western Digital Livewire Kit for review, I put one in my office plugged into one of the extra ports on my Ethernet Switch. I then put the other in my Master Bedroom where I usually plug in all my junk. This way when I needed to download something while my laptop wireless was acting crazy, I could switch over to an Ethernet cord plugged into the Livewire and download without an issue.

I was surprised at just how fast it was. I had no issues streaming video, copy files from elsewhere in the house, and downloading trial software from the internet.

Product Features

• Expand your home network instantly without running wires – Create high-speed Internet connections anywhere in your home without running wires between rooms. Just use your home’s electrical wiring to create a network.
• Set-up is as easy as plugging in a lamp – Plug one adapter into your router and an electrical outlet. Plug the other adapter into an electrical outlet in any room where you want a high-speed connection.
• Faster and more reliable than wireless – With speed up to 200 megabits per second*, the WD Livewire powerline AV network kit is fast enough for every computer in your home to share your broadband Internet connection and still have the velocity you need to smoothly stream 1080p Full-HD video to your TV. *200 Mb/s is the ideal physical data rate. Network traffic, interference, building materials, and other conditions lower actual data throughput rate. More ports for more devices – The WD Livewire adapter kit offers four ports on both devices in the pair. This allows you to plug in your router and up to seven Internet-connected devices such as computers, TVs, game consoles, media players, and network storage drives.
• Encrypted for security – The data transfer between the WD Livewire adapters is protected with the same 128-bit encryption that you trust for your online banking and shopping. And because the encryption is automatic, there’s no need to remember a password.

Kit contains:

• Two 4-port HomePlug AV adapters
• Two Ethernet cables
• Two power cables
• Quick Install Guide
• CD with WD Livewire utility software
• Warranty and support guide

Pros:

• Super Easy Setup
• Serves as a Ethernet Switch
• Faster then most home wireless
• Ecrypted

Cons:

• Honestly? I found none.

In Closing:

The WD Livewire Kit is perfect for expanding your home network without having to reconfigure a thing. It makes a gift for someone who needs to expand but doesn’t have the tech know how to install network cards. Just plug it in and go.  Also a perfect gift for a non-techy friend or family member who wants networking, but not the hassle with learning how to get it all done.

The Kit can be found for $99 on Amazon.com.

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