Might work for some But I was disappointed

We had been trying to find a way to connect our Directv receiver to the internet. The receiver had the ability built in, and the new "video on demand" service from Directv was dependent on having the connection. The problem is that our TV and related equipment is not located anywhere near our household internet connection.

We had some experience with connecting the satellite receiver to the telephone using a device that relays the phone signals through the household wiring, so when I saw the Netgear ethernet extender it looked like the answer for our new problem.

There were two issues for us to deal with. First, our internet connection is provided via a DSL connection. We have an Airport Extreme connected to the DSL modem, and all other devices are run either through a wireless connection or by using one of the four ports on the airport. While this would seem to be a non issue, in fact the Netgear device is designed to connect directly to your ethernet port. This would mean that technically it should connect to the DSL modem. Our plan was to try to connect it to a port on the Airport, which did not work.

Our second issue is that we use Macintosh computers. The Netgear devices are designed to work with Windows systems. Usually the Mac is smart enough to overcome the limitations of windows only technologies. But in this case, while the Mac could see the device, it would could not access any configuration or setup information to configure it for our unique situation. This access is required to activate and configure the encryption and other security elements of the devices.

Another issue we had is the size of the device itself. Each of the two plugin units is about 4" tall, 3" wide, and 2" thick. This fairly well means that it will be the only device plugged into any wall sockets you choose to use. They are not designed to work though commonly available power strips, so there is no help there. It is possible to use a simple extension cord to move the device away from the wall so the entire plug is not obstructed.

Well to make a long story short, We tried a number of different connection configurations at the DSL modem side of our network. Nothing we tried seemed to work so I called the support number provided with the equipment.

In my view Netgear is using the word "Support" in some context that is unfamiliar to me. I am used to calling a "support" center and actually getting help for whatever issue I have. In the case of Netgear, all I got was a number of questions covering a range of very simple possibilities, which I had already ruled out. After repeatedly reporting to the "service technician" that I did in fact have the device plugged in, I gave up. The most technically sophisticated suggestion I got from Netgear "Support" was to make certain that all my circuit breakers were set to the "on" position. I do not know how they do this in India, but at my house we tend to leave our circuit breakers on all the time unless there is a problem, so I could not understand his fixation on this possibility.

Now to be fair, these devices might work very well with a less complicated network setup than the one we are using in our situation. Also we were trying to force these devices to work in a Mac environment for which they are not designed. But that does not justify the poor quality of the support Netgear has for call in assistance. Also there was no reason that we should not be able to configure the device using a Windows computer, and still use them with Macs once they are up and running. But that did not work either.

I have tried these devices in less complicated network configurations, using Windows based systems, and they seem to work within certain limitations.

One of the limits people should consider is that the signals these devices use are transmitted through the wiring of the building they are plugged into. Those signals travel through the entire circuit on the building side of the electric transformer providing power to the building. In my case our house is the only house attached to the transformer feeding power to us. In more densely populated areas there might be 5 or 10 homes using the same power transformer. That means that your Netgear signal could receive interference from any of those other homes using power system connected devices, such as Alarms, X10 systems, phone extenders, and Netgear ethernet extenders. Also there are significant security issues in transmitting these signals outside the boundaries of your home.

We finally solved our basic connection issue with an Airport Express connected to our satellite system. It works very well but the bandwidth of the airport leaves something to be desired for our application. The Netgear device would have provided a better solution in that regard, but alas it just did not in our environment.

I would only recommend this device to people with very simple network configurations, Straight forward connection requirements, using Windows based computers. I would also limit my recommendation to people who really understand this technology already and are not likely to need support from Netgear to get the thing working.