Corinex device-to-device connectivity and compatibility
Device-to-device connectivity
We then switched to a mode where the devices would directly link our
two test
PCs, initially with the two AV200s, with IP addresses configured
manually, located at either side of the
HEXUS.labs testing area - representing pretty much ideal placement. We
would then
reposition
one of the adapters at the other side of the HEXUS offices to test
performance under less-favourable circumstances.
Our media test involves streaming a 26.43Mbps 1080p HDV video
file from the Foxconn test system running Cyberlink media server, over
the powerline network, to the MSI system running Cyberlink SoftDMA.
With the optimal positioning of the AV200 adapters, they gave the same experience as when using Gigabit ethernet, with no dropped frames.
With the devices
located at the extremes of the office, there wasn't sufficient
performance to playback the video with each frame taking tens of
seconds to load. It would seem that Corinex's claim of 1080p-based
streaming
is true if the devices are well located in relation to each other, but
not when less-than-ideally placed.
Compatability with other devices
There are several standards for powerline networking, with the main competitors being HomePlug and Universal PowerLine Alliance (UPA). With both Corinex and Netgear are both part of the UPA, we would hope their devices would be cross-compatible.
We tried to get a Netgear HX101 to communicate with one of the Corinex devices, setting them to the same network, and manually configuring their IP addresses, but were unsuccessful. The Netgear utility would see another device, but the systems were not able to ping each other.
As such, if you wish to add more devices to your powerline network you may be tied to a specific vendor.
