Whether you’re looking for a crazy Halo 3 deathmatch or the ability to buddy up with another superstar in Rock Band, playing video games online can be a seriously enjoyable experience. All three of the major home video game consoles these days have online gaming capabilities and most allow you to go online via a Wi-Fi connection, either with the Wi-Fi connectivity built right in or through the addition of an adapter.
As convenient as a wireless Internet connection may be, it does have its pitfalls. By its very nature, a wireless network isn’t nearly as stable as a wired one. You may experience some serious fluctuations in bandwidth and it can be hard getting a strong signal through walls and floors. If you have the router in the basement but you have your gaming machine in your bedroom upstairs, the signal can be pretty weak and this can hamper your online gaming experience. That’s just not acceptable and the latency could prove to be pretty bad.
GameNet from Corinex AnyWire Connectivity was designed specifically for this purpose, providing you with a wired Ethernet connection anywhere you have a wall outlet. And it’s just as good as being connected directly to your modem or router.
How Does GameNet Work?
Corinex is a company that specializes in something called powerline technology. In a nutshell, this technology takes advantage of the pre-existing electrical wiring in your home (or any building) to deliver a full Internet experience just about anywhere you have a wall outlet. The key advantage of this method over a wireless connection is that it cannot be blocked by walls, floors, or ceilings. It doesn’t matter if you live in a concrete jungle; it’ll still work.
According to the official marketing materials, GameNet is up to four times faster than a standard 802.11g Wi-Fi connection, rocketing up to a throughput of 200 Mbps. In essence, connecting through the provided adapters would be nearly identical to running an Ethernet cable all the way from your router to your gaming console. As you can imagine, connecting to any wall outlet is a lot more convenient than that.
Corinex also mentions that GameNet offers a guaranteed stable connection, an easy installation, and it will let you defeat your enemies faster.
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Installation and Configuration
Getting GameNet up and running couldn’t possibly be easier. In the box, you’ll find a pair of AV200 Powerline Ethernet Wall Mount Adapters, 2 Ethernet cables, an instruction CD, a quick start guide, a warranty card, and a registration card. Can you guess how to get things rolling?
On one end of the equation, you will connect an Ethernet cable from either your router or your modem to one of the AV200 Powerline adapters. This adapter can then be plugged directly into a wall outlet. Presumably, connecting directly to a wall outlet is more effective than plugging through a power bar, but the latter should still work as long as that bar is a cheap non-filtered one.
On the other side of the equation, you’ll have the other AV200 Powerline adapter. This plugs into an available wall outlet, and then an Ethernet cable can be used to connect this adapter with your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or Nintendo Wii. It will also work with other computers, set top boxes, and anything else that might need an Internet connection. GameNet is designed for gaming, but it’ll work with other applications as well.
And that’s all there is to it. There are more detailed instructions on the provided CD, but you really don’t need them. Setting everything takes mere moments. It’s certainly easier than trying to configure a wireless network.
Performance
Given that my Sony PlayStation 3 doesn’t have anything built into it that would let me gauge the bandwidth achieved through the GameNet Ethernet connection, my experience will be quite subjective and based largely on “feel”, so to speak.
I tried playing a couple games online, as well as downloading demos through the PlayStation store. In both instances, I experienced next to no lag or latency when using the GameNet connection. When playing online through a Wi-Fi network, downloading demos and system updates can be a seriously slow and painful experience. With GameNet, the pace picked up a fair bit. I have nothing but good things to say about the ease of use and performance of the GameNet solution.
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Conclusion
Corinex hasn’t really done anything new with GameNet, because the company has already been selling Powerline “AnyWire Connectivity” solutions for some time now. This is the first time, however, that they are gearing the product toward the online gaming community. Realistically, you could have gone out and bought a pair of AV200 Powerline adapters yourself and put together a GameNet when the company first started doing this kind of thing.
In terms of aesthetics, the GameNet adapters are not the nicest to look at. They’re perfectly functional with small holes drilled for venting (the adapters do get quite warm) and the little nubs are great for gripping, but they won’t win any beauty contests. Their relative size can be a bit of a problem too, because when you plug it into the bottom wall outlet, the adapter partially obscures the top outlet. It’s also unfortunate that the adapters are always on; there is no power switch.
Performance is great and installation was an absolute breeze. If you’re having trouble getting a Wi-Fi signal with your Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii, then the Corinex GameNet might be for you. Just bear in mind that it’s kind of pricey at about $150 or so.
Pros
- Fantastic performance with “fast online gaming anywhere in your home”
- Remarkably easy to setup and configure
- Stable connection, up to four times faster than wireless
- Versatile applications beyond online console gaming
Cons
- Fairly expensive
- No power switch on adapters
- Runs quite warm, even under light load
- Far from being aesthetically pleasing
Overall Rating: 8.0/10
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