Linksys DMA-2200 - Don't Bother......

[Soprano]

Well, I got home last night all excited as I received my new extender and wanted to get home and set it up.

Firstly, things went great - I set the extender up as per the instructions, it gave me a key and I then went to the PC to add the extender in there. No worries, it found it and connected.

I went back upstairs and the extender worked.

The menu is atrocious. It's clunky and slow, it takes an eternity for it to register that you have pressed a button in the remote and actually do anything.

Then I lost the connection. I realised this was due to my wireless card turning off, so I set all my power options to keep the PC on and the wireless card on.

Back to the extender, switched it back on and it would not connect to the PC. On the settings it told me that it was connected to the network with a strong signal, but it would not connect the PC. It gave up and wanted to set itself back up, it gave me a new extender key so I had to run downstairs and add it to the PC again. Voila, all worked.

The extender began to add my library - which took an entire eternity........then froze. I think it lost it's connection again, (even though the link was still htere and running). So, another restart and yet again it could not talk to the PC. So, another extender key was generated - repeat.......etc etc.

So far, my thoughts on this bit of kit are.....

Slow & clunky
Wont stay connected - rendering it useless
Picture quality is very poor for menu's, recorded TV and DVD isn't too great either, (on a Samsung HD 32" LCD connected via HDMI)
DVD player is very slow to come on and get a DVD running

All in all, not a pleasant experience and is going back for a refund.

It seems this communication problem between these extenders and the PC is a common problem from reading on the Linksys forums, one which apparently Linksys are aware of but are unable to correct?

I'm giving up, I may try an Xbox but more research is required first, so far I am not at all impressed with extenders - I don't want to waste another day faffing about. A cheap PC with VMC installed may be a far better option instead. I only want to be able to watch what I have recorded, so not being able to have in integrated guide on my extender is no problem. At least with a PC I'll also be able to watch My Movies properly as well, without having to convert them.

[parki]

Hi,

sorry to hear about the bad experience, I have to say it's quite different to my experience with 2100!

A couple of questions:

• have you upgraded to the latest firmware? It fixes (for some) the slow menus and improves the HDMI output.
• what kind of wireless network are you running? N is pretty much required for HD.
• Have you tried turning off the firewall on your Media Centre, assuming you have one? This had helped me sort out some problems.

Steve.

[Soprano]

Originally Posted by parki

Hi,

sorry to hear about the bad experience, I have to say it's quite different to my experience with 2100!

A couple of questions:

• have you upgraded to the latest firmware? It fixes (for some) the slow menus and improves the HDMI output.
• what kind of wireless network are you running? N is pretty much required for HD.
• Have you tried turning off the firewall on your Media Centre, assuming you have one? This had helped me sort out some problems.

Steve.

Hi,

I did try to update the firmware, but it would not connect to Linksys and update. It was connected to my network with high signal strength, but would not update - I can't remember he exact error message. I'll try again tonight.

I'm running a wireless 'G', I don;t have any HD content. The problem is, thing wont connect long enough to watch ANY content, let alone HD.

No firewalls are turned on.

Cheers.

[ExtremePC]

Use the app that came with your tuner card to record because it will probably be in a non propriatary format, run a DLNA serving app like TVersity to share the recordings, get yourself a PS3. No mess no fuss, just works.

Remeber too either late this year or early next, the PS3 is getting a dual tuner add on so you can have the guide and record TV directly from the PS3, it will even let you record TV in the background while playing games or doing other things.

[Soprano]

Well, I just spent an hour on the phone with Linksys support.

They gave me a few things to try, the mine onle being to update the firmware, (which I tried lst night but would not work).

So, I'll hard wire it tonight and see if that will let me update the firmware, if that doesnt solve it, it's going back and I'll build another full PC instead.

[rangersman]

Originally Posted by Soprano

Well, I just spent an hour on the phone with Linksys support.

They gave me a few things to try, the mine onle being to update the firmware, (which I tried lst night but would not work).

So, I'll hard wire it tonight and see if that will let me update the firmware, if that doesnt solve it, it's going back and I'll build another full PC instead.

What tips did they give regarding wireless?

I tried to set up wireless N but could not get the extender to work with any form of encryption (worked great without).

I tried to call them but got so peeved with the level of help!

[coma]

I have two DMA2200's and couldnt be happier - especially after enduring a few months of the xbox jet engines.
I have a friend who bought a 2200 and has had problems similar to yours - he has tried a range of solutions over several months - including hours of being on hold to help desk in south america (i think) - without luck. He was about to bring out the sledgehammer but instead applied SP1 to vista - bingo. If you havent applied it - it might be worth a shot.
coma.

[NickC4555]

My DMA2200 is excellent too. Great picture quality, never loses its connection and the only lag I ever get is switching to live TV, and that is only a few seconds. I have got the firmware update, SP1 for Vista and I'm using a wired network connection. I like it so much that I've cancelled my satellite subscription.

[bucket23]

I have a 2100 and it doesn't miss a beat.
Please don't confuse "wireless technology" and it's pitfalls with the linksys product.
Yes, I have mine connected by the wired.
Try a wired connection, even if it means temporarily running a long patch lead or several connected together.

[Kael]

I'm running my DMA2200 via HDMI @ 1920x1080i (crystal clear picture) and using a wired network connection.

Regarding menu speeds - An easy way to speed them up is to turn off the animations in VMC. Once that's done, it's quite snappy.

The reasons I went to a DMA2200 from an XBox360:
- No fans - you can actually hear the TV late at night without having to compensate by turning up the volume to hear it over the XBox360 fans (my XBox360 is the original release version). This went a long way towards the WAF (Wife Approval Factor).
- Power usage - 18W DMA2200 vs 150W XBox360.

I still have a few issues with the DMA2200:
- Startup times are abysmal - everyone has this problem.
- VMC "Network Problem" errors on live or recorded TV viewing - Even though the latest firmware did fix some these connection problems, I still occasionally get these errors and this is with a wired connection. The XBox360 had no problems at all using the same cable when running as an extender.

Let's hope Linksys continues to improve the DMA2200 with future firmware updates (fingers crossed).