Belkin AV Starter Kit Review: Powering Up Your Home Network

Written by:  M.S. Smith • Edited by: Lamar Stonecypher
Updated Apr 25, 2009
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Powerline networking is a great home network solution that is often under-appreciated. There are only a few products out there, and the Belkin AV Starter Kit is on the more expensive side. But Belkin's powerline network adapters are easy to use and fast, making them worth the price.

Alternative Networking

A couple months ago, I wrote an article on Power Line Networking designed to introduce the concept. In summary, Power Line Networking uses the power lines in your home in order to relay network signals. I had been experimenting with products while I wrote that article, and I was so impressed by the potential of the technology that I purchased Belkin's Powerline AV Start Kit for use in my apartment. The results? Well, read on...

Aesthetics And Build Quality
Rating Excellent

These Belkin Powerline Adapters Are Large, But Good Looking
click to enlarge
In order for a power line network to work, you must have your adapters plugged into your power outlets. If you happen to have free power outlets located next to the router and computer you are trying connect, both of which are also obscured by furniture or other objects, then the looks of the powerline adapters doesn't matter. However, this isn't always the case. Depending on how your room is set up, you may need to connect the adapter to a visible outlet. Powerline adapters are notorious for being ugly, and some products can be a real eye-sore if placed in a visible location. The Belkin adapters, however, are quite sleek despite their large size. Their glossy black exterior is classy, and the dim blue LEDs aren't disruptive in a darkened room. Should anyone notice the adapter in your living room, she's more likely to be curious than horrified.

The build quality of these adapters is also solid. The plastics feel solid rather than cheap, and there is nothing on the product which seems flimsy. Belkin also provides an external power cord which can be used as an extension cord. This is useful because the adapters are large, and could become troublesome if your wall outlets are of a small size or oddly positioned. The power cord also makes it possible to put the adapter somewhere out of sight if you choose.

Easy Of Use
Rating Excellent

Powerline networking is shockingly easy to use, and these Belkin adapters are no exception. As mentioned, the external power cord makes installation of the adapters into your outlets a breeze. The adapter is large, but is designed so that it should not block the second socket in a wall outlet if placed in the bottom socket. If for some reason the size does become an issue, you simply use the external power cord, which is small and can be plugged into any outlet.

One adapter needs to plug into your router, and the other adapter can be placed anywhere in your home. My apartment is not large enough to test the range of the adapters, but the adapters did work in every outlet of the apartment. In my case, I ultimately used the adapters to connect my HTPC in the living room to the main router in the bedroom.

Once the adapters were plugged into the wall sockets, and the Ethernet ports on them connected to my router on one end and to my HTPC on the other, setting them up was a simple as pressing the button on the top of each adapter. This syncs the adapters together. All of this is plug-and-play, without any need to install drivers, although Belkin does include the typical suite of unneeded network applications. The entire process is nearly fool-proof, and no more difficult than physically connecting a router to a PC with an Ethernet wire.

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