Customer Reviews
Actiontec powerline ethernet adapter 
2008-08-03
I bought this item because I was having trouble maintaining a solid wireless connection to my Appletv. My wireless modem is in the basement and the Appletv is on the 2nd floor with no hope of connecting them via an ethernet cable. I plugged these items in an ac socket, connected them via ethernet cables to the modem and Appletv and instant success. I can purchase an HD movie from Apple and begin to watch within 30 seconds of starting the download. What more can I say, I'm a happy guy thanks to Actiontec.
Easier than running cables 2008-07-29
I have my Xbox 360 set up in a part of my apartment that would be extrememly difficult and ugly to run ethernet cables to. I tried hooking the xbox directly to my modem, and using wireless for my main computer, but that was WAY too slow. After buying these and plugging them in, my internet speeds quadrupled from wireless. Now, I can even stream videos without a hitch.
One tip: DO NOT try plugging these into a extension cord; only plug these directly into the wall. Otherwise, your internet will be at a snail's pace.
These are truely the most hassle free way to network your home! Worth every penny.
Works great 2008-07-27
I bought this so I could connect my Xbox 360 to my network and so far they've worked flawlessly. You pay a little more than a wireless adapeter, but in the end its worth it. You get faster speeds than wireless and it's soooo simple to setup. You just plug them into your outlet, plug in the Ethernet cables, and boom...it works just like that. I've dealt with the wireless adapters before and they are just a hassle to get working properly. These are simple and easy to work with. Definitely recommend.
Works as advertised! Much cheaper than buying in stores! 
2008-07-21
Works great! Much cheaper than buying in stores and much better looking than running ethernet cables around the house!
Works great out of box for Xbox 360 & Mac, no setup 2008-06-27
I bought the Actiontec MegaPlug A/V 200 Mbps powerline ethernet to replace a poor performing wireless connection to my XBox 360. I'm very pleased with the performance and the ease of setup. It worked right out of the box with no setup needed anywhere (do nothing on: device, router, computer, or XBox) - just plug in one near your router and the other near your network device. You don't even need to touch the install CD unless you feel compelled to change the encryption key. I have experienced no drops and better performance than wireless. As a test I compared speeds as reported by [...] while connected via the Actiontec device and while directly connected to the router, results were identical. I also use a Mac, this product is compatible, but you will need to use a windows machine if you want to change the encryption key.
Highly recommended for applications where wireless is poorly performing or not practical.
USE CAUTION! 
2008-06-11
Just when you thought moving big files from one device to another around your world would be a complicated and time-consuming task, Actiontec comes to your rescue. With the MegaPlug AV 200 Mbps Ethernet Adapter, you can expand your current home network (using your already-installed power lines) and experience blinding transfer speeds, all at the same time! Now, you can transfer movies, or multiple songs, or any other large files, from one networked device to another, in minutes instead of hours, or seconds instead of minutes.
Just great. 2008-06-07
As others have pointed out, it works just great right out of the box. I changed the default encryption code just because. I had a TiVo and laptop using WiFi and although it worked, both the TiVo and the laptop reported a weak signal with both being on the opposite side of the house from the router. A quick benchmark using this gizmo on my 3Mbps DSL line shows I get around 300KBytes/sec on the desktop which is plugged direct into the modem (via an etherswitch) and the laptop on the other side of the house connected via the Actiontec is getting around 275KBytes/sec. I imagine the TiVo is getting the same. It's plenty good enough for me. I'm sold.
Pleasantly surprised 2008-05-31
I'd used powerline ethernet adapters in the past and always found them to deliver rather poor results, but I've found that the performance of the MegaPlug is vastly superior to previous generations. These are cheaper and more reliable than wireless bridges for connecting your game consoles or settop boxes. I bought one pair to try to extend my network down to my garage, which was well out of range of a reliable network connection, and after seeing how well it worked, ordered a second pair for reaching a couple of spots in my house, that I'd been previously planning to either run wiring to or looking at wireless ethernet bridges for. Very simple to set up and performance just as fast as wireless for short distances and able to reach much farther distances through cement walls or other obstructions that would stop a wireless signal.
Simple and effective 2008-04-30
After leaving a cat5 cable running downstairs for far too long, I decided to give these a shot to bridge the gap from my computers to my media center. I have one connected directly to my main Internet gateway/switch and the other device upstairs connected to a small Linksys 4-port switch with an Xbox and Xbox 360. I haven't noticed any issues streaming media (MP3 and HD-quality video files) from my servers to either Xbox device, and Xbox Live appears to work just as good. No added latency that I can tell. I didn't even bother to use the software to configure the security keys, just plugged them in and was off and running.
Just no more stupid wire laying on the floor :)
I did notice that one unit has shut-off a couple times after a few days on non-use and required me to reconnect to the AC plug to reboot it. I flipped the devices to see if it is possibly a hardware problem or if the device next to the offline Xboxes powered itself down by design? Since swapping the devices between room I haven't noticed either turning off.
One strange side-effect is that my guitar amplifier was picking up the line-interference one day as a loud clicking noise; I reconnected one of the devices and it went away; hasn't come back since.
Good but not excellent 2008-04-11
I bought this one mainly because I want this to link my SageTV extender.
I first tried wireless solution. I have a Zyxel-550 router and use dd-wrt modified Buffalo 125G (setting as bridge client) to connect both. My computer is on the second floor and the TV is on the first floor. The throughput can be from 10Mbps to 20mbps (I tested by using both echeck and copy large files). It is ok for watching some HD video but not for HD TV and besides, it is not very stable.
I then tried Linksys 310N, 150N, D-link DIR-655 and Linksys 350USB. I can get up to 40-50mbps throughtput. But the problem is that it could drop to very low like <10mbps sometime and it is not even as stable as my previous combination. That combination almost never goes below 10mbps but this combination can be like 2-3mbps.
Then I purchased this product. The installing is extremely easy (or simply no need to install). I simply plug one in upstair and connect to the router and plug the other one downstair and connect to my laptop (to test the throughput). The throughput I tested by echeck is 30mbps and is 26mbps when I tested by copying big files. The good news is that it is very stable. With 802.11n or 802.11g Turbo, I sometime get better throughput than this puppy but not always. The best throughput I saw in 11n or 11g turbo can be as high as 60mbps. But can also be as low as 2-3mbps. That is not a big problem for browsing web or downloading files but it is a big problem for video streaming. The throughput of this product, even far below the advertised 200mbps, is very stable. I tested several times, no more no less. It is good for streaming most HD video but still not good enough for extremely high bitrate HD video. But I have been very satisfied with it.
One other problem for it is that it is very bulky. When you plug it into a plug, it takes too much room. If you use a mulitplug, it may take 3 positions.
