Dummies, Wireless

Chapter 11: Gaming Over a Wireless Home Network
� They’re in the right room. Most folks don’t want PCs in their living
rooms or home theaters, although some really cool models are designed
just for that purpose. A game console, on the other hand, is relatively
small and inconspicuous and can fit neatly on a shelf next to your TV.
� They work with your biggest screen. Of course, you can connect a PC
to a big-screen TV system (using a special video card). But consoles are
designed to plug right into your TV or home theater system, using the
same cables you use to hook up a VCR or DVD player.
� They can replace your DVD player. The PS3 and Xbox 360 (as well as
the previous Xbox and PlayStation 2) can play DVD videos on your big
screen. The PS3 even includes a built-in Blu-ray disc player for highdefinition
movies (which makes it a great deal, because stand-alone Bluray
players cost as much as the PS3), and the Xbox 360 can be accessorized
with a $199 external HD-DVD player. (The HD-DVD and Blu-ray
systems are two new disc formats aiming to replace the DVD with a new
high-definition format for HDTVs.)
Today’s game consoles offer some awesome gaming experiences. Try playing
the Xbox 360 game Halo 3 on a big-screen TV with a surround sound system
in place — it’s amazing. You can even get a full HDTV picture on the Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3. And, because these gaming consoles are really nothing
more than specialized computers, they can offer the same kind of networking
capabilities that a PC does; in other words, they can fit right into your wireless
home network.
Getting your console onto your wireless network is possible (and easy) with
almost all current or recent gaming consoles. The steps you need to take
depend on which console you have.
People who own the most current generation of consoles are pretty much
all set. Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3 have built-in Wi-Fi capabilities.
If you’re using an Xbox 360, you need to pick up the Xbox 360 Wireless
Networking Adapter ($99, www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/x/xbox360
wirelessnetadapter/default.htm).
Owners of the older PlayStation 2 or original Xbox need to add some hardware
to their systems to get online via a wireless network. Both of these
consoles include a built-in Ethernet port.
Early PS2 units (before the “slim” case design was introduced in 2004) do not
have built-in Ethernet. Sony used to offer a PlayStation Network Adapter that
provided this feature, but it is no longer available. If you have one of these
older PS2s and don’t have the adapter, search sites like eBay and Craigslist
for a used adapter.
To connect one of these Ethernet-only consoles to your wireless network,
you need a special Wi-Fi adapter known as a Wi-Fi Ethernet bridge (discussed
in the upcoming section titled “Console wireless networking equipment”).
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