Ethernet to HT questions

gdb

I posted this on the AVS forum and thought I'd axe here too:

Please excuse what I am sure is a dumb question to most of you here but, as I have no technical aptitude, I need to ask.......if I have a TC-P50G10 and a
'Panasonic DMP-BD85K Blu-Ray player connected to each other with an HDMI cable, will running a single ethernet cable to one or the other of them, allow data (TV firmware updates, Youtube & Netflix streams) to be fed to both? Or, do I need to run two seperate cables,one for each unit. Another thing is, what do I need to use to go between my Motorola (Surfboard)cable modem and the cable/cables running to the HT area? I'd ask these questions at Best Buy if I thought I'd get the correct answers. (I don't think I would !) Thanks for any guidance you might offer to this non-technical noob!

lectronicjunkie

No, you will need to run ethernet to the TV, AVR, and the Blu-Ray player. Just run ethernet lines straight out of your modem if you have enough ports otherwise you will need a simple router. If you need a router I have one lying around here somewhere.

gdb

Would this unit work between the modem and the computer, TV & Bluray player? My Motorola modem only has two ethernet outputs. Thanks !:)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000BVYT3/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000063UZW&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0FNCTDQHV115RQJPNYYX

lectronicjunkie

It should work.

unc2701

hang on now. that's a switch, not a router. Unless his cable modem has it built in, he's going to need something to share the connection.

Currently your cable modem has a single ethernet cable going to your computer, right? What's the model number?

Sherardp

I would run a switch. If you have the cable modem where the equipment is located I run a switch from cable modem to your switch. Then run all the equipment into the switch. Most switches are auto-sense so they know if the connection is an input or out. Also keep in mind almost everything has ethernet ports these days so I would go with an 8 port. I'm a D-link guy, but if you prefer Netgear see the link below.

http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-ProSafe-Gigabit-Ethernet-Desktop/dp/B00006RVPW/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1268904644&sr=1-6

gdb

The modem is a Motorola Surfboard SB5120 and has only one ethernet and one USB output. I'll only have the PC, the TV & the Bluray connected so I ordered the Netgear switch from Amazon. It was only $28 and had lots of very good reviews, if for some reason it doesn't work for my application.....watch for a switch Karma in the coming days!:)

unc2701

Yeah, that's not going to work.

Ok, the cable modem can support just one device- it gets you a single IP address and you've got several devices. A switch would allow all these to talk to each other inside your house, but only one could talk to the outside world at a time.... and all the devices would fight for the same IP address.

What you need is a router and most incorporate a switch and wireless connection at the same time. The router presents itself as the single device to the cable modem, but passes all the traffic from the outside world to the various devices hooked up to it.

Now, that switch you got isn't garbage- if you ever get more devices than your router can handle, the switch will let you add a few more.

I use this one, but just about any will do:
http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-WRT160N-Wireless-N-Broadband-Router/dp/B000Z3U1P6/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1268944467&sr=8-5

kuntasensei

Actually, the Surfboard SB5120 should have a DHCP server that will assign up to 32 local IP addresses, making a router unnecessary. The modem itself receives a single IP address for the WAN, but its DHCP server will assign a local IP to any computer hooked to it via a switch.

You should be good to go with that switch, gdb. I use that same model switch behind my equipment to feed internet to my Blu-ray player, XBox 360 and AVR. The only issue you may run into is trying to use the USB and ethernet connections on the modem at the same time.

unc2701

kuntasensei wrote: »

Actually, the Surfboard SB5120 should have a DHCP server that will assign up to 32 local IP addresses, making a router unnecessary. The modem itself receives a single IP address for the WAN, but its DHCP server will assign a local IP to any computer hooked to it via a switch.

You should be good to go with that switch, gdb. I use that same model switch behind my equipment to feed internet to my Blu-ray player, XBox 360 and AVR. The only issue you may run into is trying to use the USB and ethernet connections on the modem at the same time.

DHCP isn't the same as NAT. I could be wrong (or TWC around here is **** me), but I'm pretty certain that you're going to need something that'll do routing.

Let us know what happens!

jinjuku

I worked for TWC. You will want a router/firewall sitting between your network and TWC.

You could get a used Netgear FVS 318 off of ebay. This is an 8 port Firewall/Router and will fit the bill just fine for normal home use if you need to stick to a budget.

You could also get a wireless G router with 4 LAN ports for ~$30-50 and then if you need more ports uplink another switch to expand out your available ports.

kuntasensei

unc2701 wrote: »

DHCP isn't the same as NAT. I could be wrong (or TWC around here is **** me), but I'm pretty certain that you're going to need something that'll do routing.

Let us know what happens!

Yeah, looking closer, you're right. That modem is a bridge only, no NAT. Kinda silly for them to have a DHCP server with no NAT, but it looks like they just have basic DHCP for troubleshooting purposes (so you can log in to the modem when it doesn't have connection to the internet).

No big deal. Snag this if you don't need wireless and you'll still get off pretty cheap.

The switch is still good to have though, 'cause it'll let you run a single wire to your equipment, then feed any devices you need to from the switch. I had to do that because I had already run a single wire behind my equipment rack for my 360 before I got my BD player and AVR.

gdb

Thanks for the help, I am avoiding wireless because some posters on AVS forum, with the same TV as mine, report much better operation with a hard wired connection to the TV & bluray player. I guess I'll get a router now and use the switch behind the AV stand. This crap makes my head hurt and makes me want a drink and some 2ch. music!!:)

Sherardp

You can still hard wire into a wireless router.