Before you jump to 802.11g, check to see if you're using a heavily trafficked channel. In my area there are a number of folks using wireless, and all are on channel 11, which is the default for many devices. I switched my access point from channel 11 to 5 and my wireless device connections became much more reliable. I don't know if crowded channels are a problem in your area, but itÂ’s easy enough to try switching and see if things improve.
Apple Lossless Wirelessly
I've been experimenting with serving music stored on my iMac G4 in the study to iTunes running on a laptop (experimenting with a Dell, but eventually will get an iBook to handle this function) in the living room to an Airport Express that is cabled to my living room stereo system. I've been moving the music from iMac to laptop to Airport Express over my 802.11b wireless network.
So far, I've found that my 802.11b network can't adequately handle sending song files in Apple Lossless format from my iMac to iTunes on my laptop. There are breaks in the playback, especially when there is other traffic over the wireless connection. If the AL song files are on the laptop, there is no problem.
Since convenience is a big reason for this setup, I'd like to stick with a laptop as the control center and stay wireless if possible. I figure my two alternatives are: (1) upgrading my wireless network to 802.11g, and (2) buying Apple Remote Desktop so I can run iTunes on my iMac, where the song files are, while controlling it from the laptop.
Any comments on these options (and am I right about being able to use ARD this way)? Thanks!
So far, I've found that my 802.11b network can't adequately handle sending song files in Apple Lossless format from my iMac to iTunes on my laptop. There are breaks in the playback, especially when there is other traffic over the wireless connection. If the AL song files are on the laptop, there is no problem.
Since convenience is a big reason for this setup, I'd like to stick with a laptop as the control center and stay wireless if possible. I figure my two alternatives are: (1) upgrading my wireless network to 802.11g, and (2) buying Apple Remote Desktop so I can run iTunes on my iMac, where the song files are, while controlling it from the laptop.
Any comments on these options (and am I right about being able to use ARD this way)? Thanks!
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Here's a link to a troubleshooting page from Apple: AirTunes audio stream drops or cuts out. Hope it helps! |
One option is to attach a 11g airport etreme station to the third computer by LAN port and have that be the main base station. this would make the whole network 11g. or merely upgrade the 3rd computer. However apple states that 11b is the standard for airtunes and their literature suggests trouble shooting by switching all components to 11b. also some users have found that using additional base stations interferes with airport express rather than augmenting the network as advertised. You should however be able to tell if the upgrade would change anything by temporarily switching to 11g and turning off any 11b devices in the network. the channel switch has helped my situation for a day or so now. good luck Dimitri |
Dimitri, where are you getting that AirTunes is 'b' ? According to apple... "AirPort Express uses the 802.11g wireless standard. Accessing the wireless network requires an AirPort or AirPort Extreme enabled computer or Wi-Fi-certified 802.11b or 802.11g computer. Achieving data rates of 54 Mbps requires that all users have an AirPort Extreme or Wi-Fi-certified 802.11g enabled computer and connect to an AirPort Express Base Station. If a user of a Wi-Fi-certified 802.11b product joins the network, that user will get up to 11 Mbps and AirPort Extreme and Wi-Fi-certified 802.11g users will get less than 54 Mbps. Actual speed will vary based on range, connection rate, site conditions, size of network, and other factors." - so based on that, I'd suggest he upgrades his network in general to 'g' - better range, speed, etc... my roommate has a 'b' PCI card on his Dell and it certainly gave a small performance hit to our network :( |
With respect to changing channels on your base stn, you might want to consider that the channel designations are 5 MHz apart, and the bandwidth of the transmission is more like 25 MHz. So, the standard US channels for WiFi in the 2 GHz band are 1, 6, and 11. If you go to 5, you are still going to pick up some problems from users on ch 1. You might also look into 802.11a. 11g still runs in the very heavily congested 2 GHz band, and there are a total of 3 channels available. There are something like 37 in the 5 GHz band where 11a operates, and not as many other devices (e.g., bluetooth, microwaves). The wall penetration may not be as good, however. |
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