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Networking Idea

N

neilleeds

Member
I have purchased a new Sony smart TV so am looking at how to link it to the net. My router is upstairs (moving it not an option as it is Infinity) and the Humax connects via wifi. You can get a Sony wi-fi dongle but it is very expensive and poor for signal from what I have heard. Hence I will probably buy a wireless hub to use as a repeater and put that near the tv and Humax but this will take power and I don't really need more wireless strength so it seems a waste.

However..

I stumbled across the idea of sharing the hummy's wireless connection via the eth port using a crossover cable. This would be a very cost effective way of doing it both on outlay and running costs. The only neg I can think of is the Hummy would need to be on to use this.

Can anyone with HDR and linux knowledge comment on whether this sounds feasable and if so what commands I might need to be looking at. More than happy to have a go if anyone can point me in the right direction and it may be useful as a package for others (but probably not many would be interested in it)

Many Thanks
 
P.S. I'm not aware of another dongle that is supported - unlike the hummy and also I am aware that homeplugs is an option but I prefer to avoid them because of the interference they cause (illegally I believe).
 
You may not need a cross over cable, many ethernet devices will auto detect the polarity and negotiate with tother end as to who switches over.
 
I don't think the Humax will extend the Ethernet from the USB WiFi out of its Ethernet port. The WiFi link is for a single IP address and would not carry traffic for any other unless specifically configured to do so. Cross over wouldn't be an issue because modern equipment is auto-detecting.

neilleeds said:
P.S. I'm not aware of another dongle that is supported - unlike the hummy and also I am aware that homeplugs is an option but I prefer to avoid them because of the interference they cause (illegally I believe).
Click to expand...

HomePlugs are your best option if you can't run a cable, I use them and illegal or not so do lots of people.
 
Black Hole said:
HomePlugs are your best option if you can't run a cable, I use them and illegal or not so do lots of people.
Click to expand...

Since when have HomePlugs been illegal? Some variants of the technology (not all mains transceivers are HomePlug) don't comply with standards and Radio Hams loathe them with a vengeance, but I'm not sure that they are strictly illegal. You're certainly not going to get the Police coming in and raiding your premises because you're using them.
 
neilleeds said:
Can anyone with HDR and linux knowledge comment on whether this sounds feasable and if so what commands I might need to be looking at.
Click to expand...

It's certainly something that native Linux can do, but the kernel that the Humax runs is compiled without netfilter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netfilter) so you can't do connection sharing the easy way.

Setting up a user-space proxy service like squid (Socks or HTTP) could overcome it, assuming the proxy settings are configurable in the TV, but it would use valuable CPU cycles on the Humax.

It's a shame more devices don't support Ethernet over HDMI!

I used to use one of these to do the job - it can act as a client into an existing wireless network and effectively bridge the four ethernet ports into it.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Was a bit of a long shot to be honest. Will have a think on homeplugs vs other options. I'm not 100% against them just prefer wireless where I can because of the side effects they can have to others, the legality issue doesn't concern me (if it even exists) because as has been mentioned it's more of a technicality.

Thanks for everyone's input. The crossover thing shows how long it is since I've last wired two devices together directly!
 
af123 said:
I used to use one of these to do the job - it can act as a client into an existing wireless network and effectively bridge the four ethernet ports into it.
Click to expand...

Thanks

This is the type of thing I've been looking at and will probably go for, just seems like overkill but I'm not happy paying 60 quid for the dongle when the reviews say the signal strength is poor on it as well.
 
af123 said:
It's certainly something that native Linux can do, but the kernel that the Humax runs is compiled without netfilter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netfilter) so you can't do connection sharing the easy way.
Click to expand...
I was wondering whether you actually need netfilter for this. It might just be a case of enabling IP forwarding and adding a route to the various routing tables.

Code: 
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward

PS. I can't try it myself (my WiFi is broken).
 
@xyz321 - you're right, but that means more complexity elsewhere on the network..

neilleeds said:
The crossover thing shows how long it is since I've last wired two devices together directly!
Click to expand...

Well, automatic crossover (Auto-MDIX) is an integral part of the gigabit standard and has crept into a lot of 10bT and 100bTX devices too. In my experience it's still not that common on end devices (as opposed to network equipment).
 
@xyz321 again - the downside is that the Humax disables the wireless if there is a cable in the Ethernet port so that would have to be worked around as well.
 
Black Hole said:
Do any? I reckon a better idea would be anything like a smart TV (which obviously has a power plug) has HomePlug built in.
Click to expand...
I don't like the sound of that, because my router is next to the TV anyway, so I'd be paying more money for something I don't need.
 
How many sockets does your TV have that you are not using? You are paying for those too. I would expect there to be a proper Ethernet socket as well, and when included in mass manufacture these extras don't actually cost very much. Manufacturers are currently addressing this issue by building in WiFi all over the place (or at least providing connectivity for a dongle) - WiFi connected printers are all the rage - but I don't like WiFi as a universal networking solution and until all houses have a Cat5 infrastructure I prefer HomePlug.
 
If anyone is interested I bought a little 4 port 300mbps wireless router to use as a wireless hub near the TV and Humax. Will disable the repeater part of the system hopefully to save a bit of power and me getting microwaved because the current routers signal stretches to the end of the street! Went for the 300mbps because my BT HH3 should support it but if not standard 'N' has been fine for me in the past streaming HD.

Cheers
 
neilleeds said:
If anyone is interested I bought a little 4 port 300mbps wireless router to use as a wireless hub near the TV and Humax. Will disable the repeater part of the system hopefully to save a bit of power and me getting microwaved because the current routers signal stretches to the end of the street! Went for the 300mbps because my BT HH3 should support it but if not standard 'N' has been fine for me in the past streaming HD.

Cheers
Click to expand...
which one did you get?
 
Oh dear, didn't specifically check for 4 ports and it only has one! Just presumed it would have 4 ports. Will have to decide whether to keep or send back now.
 
Will probably stick with the hummy over existing wireless usb stick for the moment and then if I need another connection I'll buy a small hub, seems a lot of these extenders only have 1 port.
 
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