If you’re avoiding the pay TV options on our list, there are two main types of set-top box to consider. A Freeview box requires an aerial to receive broadcasts while a Freesat box requires a satellite dish. Below, we’ve run through some of the other differences: Freeview While armoured cabling is essential for electricity supplies, it’s generally not used for ethernet connections at home. The steel wiring can make the cable difficult to work with and hard to terminate at either end. A professional installation is often required when using armoured cabling. No. While they are both examples of data network hardware, a hub is a Layer 1 device, which is part of the physical transport layer and acts as a broadcast/aggregator but does not manage any of the traffic. From a network point of view, typically Wi-Fi requires a wireless access point device to act as the interface to the network. The end device is connected to the access point and the access point is connected to, or is part of, the Ethernet switch instead of being connected directly to the switch by physical cable. There are two options for connecting the TV Box to the Hub. If your TV Box is close enough an Ethernet connection provides the best connection. If the TV Box is too far away to connect the Ethernet cable, you can connect via WiFi instead.

Most of the best TV set-top boxes can receive HD channels, but not all of them can. Some only give you access to SD quality. Some of the boxes on our list go one step further and offer the highest 4K video quality, but it’s worth noting that this isn’t yet available on broadcast TV and is more relevant for your connected streaming services. Hard drive Ethernet switches are also foundational to creating smart buildings, where the network is the fourth utility after electric, water, and gas. The cost differences between both have shrunk in recent years and are small. We recommend choosing Cat6 cables to maximise the potential performance and reduce any degradation of the internet connection.

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Use the new HDMI cable provided to connect the TV Box to your TV. Take a note of the name of the HDMI port you have connected to, e.g. HDMI 1. An EOP is where you transfer data for an internal network (LAN) using a building’s existing electrical cables. The first consideration must be how many ports you need. This will be dictated by the number of devices you want to connect. You can buy switches with as few as four or eight ports, and these smaller devices are ideal for the smallest businesses or for a home office. If you can't get online there might be a problem with your computer, tablet or mobile. Turn it off and on then try again. If you've still got a problem speak to the manufacturer or supplier Next is the Ethernet hub, which has been pretty much outmoded by the switch (covered next). You connect one cable to your router, and the rest of your devices can connect to other ports without needing to be “split.” This sounds great, but a hub is just as unintelligent as a splitter.

Ethernet technology provides rules that allow network-connected devices to talk to one another without talking over each other. In a verbal conversation, when two people speak at the same time, each may have difficulty understanding what the other is saying. This is amplified when, say, 10 people are talking at once. Imagine 100 or 1000 at once. When it comes to raw speed results, even in the modern day, there’s no comparison between wired and wireless connection. Wi-Fi is always slower than an otherwise comparable wired connection, even if you’re using the Wi-Fi near your router. Having fast internet speeds via a wired connection means you’ll be able to stream and watch content properly with minimal buffering.

Modernizing Ethernet switches

Ethernet switches are more essential than ever, and they are much more than network hardware. They can make smart buildings not only smarter, but also transformative. Moreover, they can help organizations to increase IT and business resilience. You may not receive the speed indicated by the adapter depending on the inherent speed of your internet and the Ethernet cable you use. Most garden buildings feature timber walls where a small hole can be made to feed the ethernet cable into the interior. Be sure to seal around the cable to prevent water from getting in during the winter months.