PC Advisor

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£79 inc VAT
POWERLINE ADAPTOR
Trendnet Powerline 1200 AV2 Adapter Kit
Contact
• trendnet.com
Specifications
2x 1200Mb/s Powerline
adaptors; 1x gigabit
ethernet port per adaptor;
128-bit AES (Advanced
Encryption Standard); IEEE
1901/HomePlug AV2; TPL-
421 has passthrough
power sockets on each
adapter unlike the
smaller TPL-420
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
Homes increasingly require fast
networks for smart TVs, DVRs
such as Sky+ and Tivo, games
consoles and the rest. For many
of us our Wi-Fi just can’t keep up,
and so we need a super-fast wired
network to empower all our smart
internet-ready devices.
Powerline is a technology that’s
ridiculously easy to set up, and
creates a wired home network in
a matter of minutes. It uses your
existing home electrical wiring to
transmit data from your modem/
router to the room where all your
home entertainment and digital
devices live. The latest, fastest
variant of Powerline is labelled
Gigabit 1200Mb/s, superseding
older 200- and 500Mb/s versions.
The Trendnet Powerline 1200
AV2 Adaptor Kit (TPL-420E2K) is
one of the fastest Powerlines we’ve
tested to date. And at its entry level,
it’s inexpensive, too.
First a warning. Forget about the
claimed speeds on any Powerline,
from any manufacturer. These 500-
or 1200Mb/s speeds are theoretical
maximums, and you’ll be lucky to
reach over 100Mb/s in most realworld
scenarios. Don’t worry though,
as even an average 500Mb/s
Powerline (apparently trudging at
60- to 70Mb/s) will greatly speed
up your catch-up TV or Internet
download times.
Design
There are two versions: the
basic Trendnet Powerline 1200
AV2 Adaptor Kit (TPL-420E2K)
is compact, and the cheaper of
the two models. The Trendnet
Powerline 1200 AV2 Adaptor Kit
(TPL-421E2K) is larger as it includes
a passthrough power socket so you
don’t lose a valuable socket where
you need it most – near all those
internet-hungry devices.
Trendnet has kept these two
Powerline adaptors reasonably
small, so they won’t make your front
room look like a tech toy room. As
stated above, the 421E2K model
is larger because of the handy
passthrough socket.
They both models lack features
that you may desire, though. For
example, each adaptor features
just the one gigabit ethernet port.
If you have multiple devices (smart
TV, Tivo, Sky+, games console) that
one port is not going to connect
everything to your network.
You can, of course, swap out the
ethernet to the device you need at
the time, but this can be a pain. Or
you can invest an extra £20 or so on
an extra multi-port Ethernet Switch.
Other Powerline adaptors offer
two or even three ethernet ports
on that second room adaptor, which
you may want to consider instead.
If you just need the one, then this is
not a limitation that will bother you.
Setup, as with all Powerlines,
is a breeze: plug one adaptor into
a wall power socket near your
modem/router, and connect with the
supplied ethernet cable. Then plug
the second adaptor in to a socket
near the TV or whatever device you
want to hook up to your network,
and connect via ethernet. That’s it.
Some other Powerline adaptors
boast a wireless function that
creates a new Wi-Fi hotspot in that
second (or third or fourth) room.
This is especially useful if you
suffer a degraded wireless signal in
different parts of the house. Neither
model of the Trendnet Powerline
1200 AV2, however, has this capacity.
If you are limited on power
sockets you should go for the
TPL-421E2K with its passthrough
socket – otherwise you will in effect
lose a power socket in each of the
rooms you install into. Don’t be
tempted to plug it into an extension
block as this will noticeably affect
download speeds.
If your wall sockets are close
to the ground you might prefer a
Powerline adaptor with the ports
on the top. Having the ports on the
bottom of the adaptor (as here) is
neater but not if the wall socket
is close to the floor.
Performance
Creating a perfect test environment
for Powerlines is impossible as
everyone’s house will have different
circumstances; and even the same
house environment will behave
differently at different times.
The Trendnet Powerline 1200
AV2 scored excellently, easily
surpassing 500Mb/s-rated adaptors
and just shading ahead of some
other 1200Mb/s Powerlines.
Our average real-world speed
score for these latest adaptors was
105Mb/s – miles below the claimed
1200Mb/s but enough to greatly
improve on your home network
if you rely on standard Wi-Fi. The
Trendnet adaptors reached 110Mb/s.
You may well get even faster speeds.
It all depends on your home set up,
electrical wiring, and whatever else
you have plugged into the circuit.
Battery chargers and microwaves,
for example, will ruin your Powerline
speeds when switched on.
We have got over 400Mb/s with
a 1200Mb/s-rated Powerline, but in
a less realistic situation with the
two adaptors next to each other
on a wall socket. Once separated
by a couple of floors and 15m or
so the environmental limiting
factors of a house set in. But even
at a real-world 100Mb/s, Powerline
will dramatically improve your
download times in the second room.
Verdict
Powerlines create fast home
networks with the minimum of fuss,
and this Trendnet is one of the
fastest we’ve tested. J Simon Jary
February 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 53