Ipad 1 vs. ipad 3 wifi as related to cable tv viewing app.

[brvid]

I recently had the opportunity to borrow a 3rd generation ipad from work. I brought it home and loaded the optimum online app. from my cable company that allows you to watch cable anywhere you are within range of your home WIFI supplied by them.

I was really surprised when I was able to take the ipad out back to the furthest most point of our property, where a summer screen house is set up,
and although the signal from my Netgear WNR834B v2 router was hovering around 1 or 2 signal strength on the iPad3, the quality of the TV signal being streamed did not waver at all. The picture was absolutely pristine (after a few seconds) and there were absolutely no drop outs of the streaming video. Again, THIS with absolute minimum signal strength.

I had to return the device to work, but picked up a used 1st generation iPad on ebay, and loaded the same optimum online app. onto it. On the 1st generation device, the signal was both visually fuzzier (at that furthest point in the backyard) and had freezes and breaks in the streaming video at that same furthest point outside at the edge of the property. It works great inside near the router or in most points in the house and is pristine.

I surmise they updgraded some technology between the 1st and 3rd generation iPads that would account for the difference in the way the weak signal drops out on the 1st generartion device when streaming video feeds, but did not on the 3rd generation ipad.

My question....I'm trying to figure out how to best boost and extend the WIFI signal to that furthest point in the backyard, which is several hundred feet away from the house. Many extenders just pick up your low signal at an outer point of the existing router range, and just extend it, which won't work in this case. Unfortuntely, I don't think there is anyplace else in the house I could put another device to maintain high signal strength and still make it out to that screen house. Or said another way, any place I'd put a second device in the house, which would "catch" the maximum signal strength from the existing WIFI router to relay it, wouldn't really be any closer to that screen house than the existing router.

I'm contemplating purchasing an Amped Wireless High Power Smart Repeater and Range extender that advertises 10,000 square feet extention, but the reviews on the device are mixed. There are many wifi extenders and boosters available, but it appears I'm trying to do more than just get a signal out to that furthest point on my property. It appears I have to maintain high signal strength as well. I've seen Netgear wifi range extenders, Netgear dual band wifi range extenders and even the newer Netgear wifi 802.11ac dual band gigabit router.

I don't have any need to upgrade my router for any other purpose other than this one ipad first generation signal issue for this app and streaming video, and don't want to overshoot what I need to make it work, but I do want to make whatever I upgrade to appropriate.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

[moe0000001]

Honestly, I'd just go to Best Buy (or any similar electronics retailer) and grab an Ethernet cable long enough to reach your screen house. Better yet, order it on Amazon for a fraction of the price you will pay in Best Buy. Just hook it up to your router and extend it all the way to your summer house then get the cheapest router you can get and voila.. You'd have to do the math but this would be my first option in this situation. Why spend so much money on something that might or might not work, might work but unreliably, when you can get a cable that delivers the best internet possible straight out of the main router?... I don't know, I'd always go with the simplest and most direct.
Oh, and if you are talking about the DirecTV streaming thing, I'm almost certain it works on 3G as well so if you get 3G on your iPad then why bother with any of this?

 

[brvid]

Thanks for the reply. I had considered your option, but I don't have any electricity running back to the screen house to power a router, and beyond that, I want the signal to hit the entire backyard area, which may or may not happen if I put a second router back there.

 

[moe0000001]

Thanks for the reply. I had considered your option, but I don't have any electricity running back to the screen house to power a router, and beyond that, I want the signal to hit the entire backyard area, which may or may not happen if I put a second router back there.

Power is easy. They sell 3-line electrical cable on 100-ft reels and even more. You can run it along with the Ethernet cable. Heck I'd buy a 1-inch PVC pipe and run the wires in it all the way but as it looks, it is getting more and more of a big project so I guess you have to consider value vs. expense. Me personally, me and my friends ran a series of cables to power up a bunch of routers and repeaters that were kept in weather-proof plastic containers to get coverage within about 800 ft. Worked just fine but it cost more than what it's worth.
Cheers