WiFi on the 200 Series

From NMTWiki

• To Setup WiFi on the 200 Series players , the A-200 and the C-200, you need a different dongle than the 100 Series players. For the C-200 in additional to the new dongle you also have the additional option of the MN-200. The MN-200 with it's mini-pci form and 3 aerials should get the best WiFi speed possible on any NMT. The WN-150 is an updated version of the WN-100 which is used on the 100 Series. The WN-150 has a Realtek chip as opposed to the WN-100 which is Atheros. This means that they presently the WN-150 is 200 series (A-200/C-200) ONLY, likewise the WN-100 is 100 Series (A-100/A-110) ONLY.

WN-150 WN-150 is an 802.11n USB Wi-Fi dongle. Can be used in both A-200 and C-200

MN-200 Popcorn Hour Mini MII PCI Wifi N card (MN-200) is an 802.11N Wifi N card with Mini MII PCI Interface

**Wifi performance varies greatly depending on location, interference and other factors based on your local environment. The WN-150 & MN-200 are no exceptions. The ability to stream hi-def video depends on the bit rate of the video and your local Wi-Fi performance.

Contents 1 Popcorn Hour WN-150 1.1 Packaging Dimension & Contents 2 Popcorn Hour MN-200 3 Preparation and Setup 3.1 Preparation 3.2 Setup 4 Troubleshooting 5 WiFi Speed 6 Working Dongles & Mini-pci Cards

Popcorn Hour WN-150

• The Popcorn Hour WN-150 is an 802.11n USB Wi-Fi dongle that lets you bridge your PC or home network to a Popcorn Hour device*** connected to your TV. Secure, reliable and fast, the Popcorn Hour WN-150 has the bandwidth to handle the largest multimedia and hi-def video files, and the robust broadcasting capabilities to maintain consistent connections from one end of your house to the other.**

• The WN-150 has the the following features:
  • All new miniature size for greater flexibility
  • USB 2.0 connector for convenient connectivity
  • Quick secure setup, complies with WPS for worry-free wireless security
  • Supports 64/128 bit strength WEP encryptions, as well as WPA/WPA2 and WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK encryptions and mechanisms
  • Infrastructure and ad-hoc modes

Packaging Dimension & Contents

• 33.x 16(W) x 9 (H)(mm)
• WN-150 USB Adapter
• USB Extension Cable

Popcorn Hour MN-200

• The Popcorn Hour Mini MII PCI Wifi N card (MN-200) is an 802.11N Wifi N card with Mini MII PCI Interface that enable wireless connectivity in Popcorn Hour C-200. With the addition of the MN-200, you can connect Popcorn Hour C-200 to your PC or home network.

• The Popcorn Hour MN-200 has the ability to handle streaming multimedia files over wireless network and even can transfer files from a storage drive in the Popcorn Hour C-200 to your PC.

• The MN-200 has the following features:
  • Easy installation guide for 3 Wifi antenna to be install on the C-200 case for the Mini MII PCI Wifi Card.
  • Quick secure setup, complies with WPS for worry-free wireless security
  • Supports 64/128 bit strength WEP encryptions, as well as WPA/WPA2 and WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK encryptions and mechanisms

Preparation and Setup

Preparation

This should be very simple, but given the many different security options and entering the information correctly it can be difficult.

Four important points:

• the SSID of the network must not be hidden by the router, it must be discoverable.

• the SSID should not contain any spaces or unusual characters, must be numbers or alphabetical characters.

• Double check the security your router is set to and make sure you then select the appropriate one in the NMT setup.

• Your password must not have spaces or special characters. If you want to use strong password with special characters, see Proper Wireless Security below.

Recent firmware changelogs have announced improvements to the range of characters that are accepted and also the need to broadcasy your SSID. However whilst attempting to connect first time follow the criteria above. You can then read on the firmware chagelogs what has changed and do a final tweaks after you have connected.

Setup

1. Plug in the WiFi dongle, front or back it does not matter as long as you do not use the USB slave socket. If using the MN-200 then ensure it is installed, the 3 aerials are connected and firmly seated. Some users have reported that the aerials are loose when fitted, this is because you have not used the washers on the uotside of the case.
2. Press Setup and choose the Network option menu.
3. Choose Wireless Auto IP if the router is set to give addresses by DHCP. If not, choose Wireless Manual IP and enter all of the internal static IP details by pressing configure IP.
4. On your router, turn ON Network Discovery to broadcast your SSID. Make sure your SSID has no spaces or unusual characters.
5. Scan for your SSID, when picked up, select it and press Save, go to the next section.
6. Enter your security type, make sure you get it right as there are many to choose from - check your router's actual setting as most have 3 or 4 security types that the user can choose from, you need an exact WiFi security type match selected in Setup.
7. If using a security mode which uses a password, enter it making sure it has no spaces or unusual characters.

Troubleshooting

• Make sure you have the latest firmware.

• Turn off all security on the router (including filters for MAC addresses).

• Select either Wireless Auto IP if using DHCP or Wireless Manual IP if using static internal IP and click on save.

• On SSID selection screen click on scan and make sure that the SSID is detected and you are selecting the correct one (and not your neighbours!).

• Leave Security to None, leave Key blank and click on Save.

• Skip this step if using DHCP otherwise choose configure IP button and complete in the IP details.

• If all goes well and status says scanning and then WiFi Connected, you can then try to set up security on the router (WPA is probably best: remember to choose eg. "WPA TKIP" - equivalent to WPA PSK or pre-shared key) for Security at the SSID selection screen - get there by clicking on Wireless config).

• If you encounter disconnections and are sure you do have signal strength then move to a static manual ip AND double check the DNS addresses.

• You can use the Auto DNS suggestions but you really should know what your network DNS addresses are when using a network. You can simply enter your routers IP for DNS ip setting. However you can also use the likes of the openDNS addresses (208.67.222.222/208.67.220.220). If you use openDNS then it is best to use those addresses on all of your network devices.

WiFi Speed

*WiFi performance varies greatly depending on location, interference and other factors based on your local environment. The WN-150 & MN-200 are no exceptions. The ability to stream DVD or hi-def video depends on the bit rate of the video and your local WiFi performance.

• There are no guarantees that you will be able to stream any files using a USB dongle. USB as a form factor effectively halves WiFi speed.

• If enabling WiFi with a dongle, even with the latest router with 802.11n specs, do not expect to be able to stream anything and everything. In reality you will be able to stream SD xvid, low bitrate 720p TV rips. You may also be able to stream some 1080p files but there are no guarantees. FTP content via WiFi to an internal HDD works fine along with SMB and NFS. FTP is the quickest method to transfer content. NFS can be the quicker method to stream.

• The MN-200 mini-pci card should get better speed performance than any dongle. It doesn't lose half of its speed and with its three aerials most files can be streamed. The only files that may struggle will be 1:1 BD 1080p rips.

• An additional alternative to the Dongle is using a "bridge", where either a wireless access point or second router are added and use the Ethernet socket instead of USB as described in this Guide.

Working Dongles & Mini-pci Cards

• Most WiFi "dongles" (as USB WiFi sticks are called) are NOT valid for your NMT. The NMT has drivers only for one specific Atheros chipset and even dongles with that chipset may not work due to VendorID issues.

• The A-200 Compatibility Lists WIKI page has a section HERE for Dongles. The C-200 Compatibility Lists has a section HERE for Dongles and HERE for mini-pci cards.

*As more people test new dongles please add them to the relevant list.