[mythtv-users] Moving Forward from Single Frontend/Backend to Multiple Frontends - Networking

[Michael Rice]

I've had my single box MythTV solution running now since March and 
successfully transitioned the wife and kids from Tivo.  The box with two PVR 
cards and a hard drive going all the time is pretty loud and I am ready to 
try to improve the situation.

Short term goal: Separate frontend and backend.  Backend upstairs, quiet 
frontend in living room.
Longer term goal: Add one or more frontends in other rooms.

The first problem I have is networking.  Currently the box is using a USB 
wireless-G solution with ndiswrapper driver, which works fine for getting 
guide data and opening an occasional shell to do something on the box.  I've 
always been a little hesitant about wireless reliability and currently 
watching recorded shows is stutter free and any hiccups in the network will 
lower WAF considerably.  Theoretically wireless-G should be ok for SD video 
streaming (I don't need HD at the moment)... Anyone running a setup like 
this want to comment?

Would a wireless bridge/adapter give better performance?  That would get the 
poor WiFi support Linux has out of the equation anyway.

Would a powerline adapter (like the Netgear HDX101) be more reliable than 
wireless-g?  Anyone using these successfully?

I know wireless and powerline can vary widely based on location and 
environment so my mileage may vary of course... But installing wired 
ethernet unfortuately isn't an option at the moment.

Any other ideas?

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