R8500 - Does it support 4K streaming

[Loudog2]

I just bought the new R8500. Are there any known issues with it?  With 20 attached devices and two 4K television I wanted to make sure it didn't bog down like my other one.

[Babylon5 · Accepted solution]

Very high quality 4K streaming shouldn’t need more than about 40Mbps, so even over a single gigabit link there should be plenty of capacity there, I’m not sure you would see any benefit at all from an aggregated switch connection.

[ElaineM]

Hi @Loudog2,

Welcome to the community!

As of this writing, we do not have any known issues. The device has been tested to work as it should before releasing it to the market.

Based from your network description, it will handle the devices that you have.

Let us know if you need further assistance with it.

Thank you for being a loyal NETGEAR customer.

[Babylon5]

Loudog2,

Sorry I’m a bit late in replying, but here’s some real-world testing figures that you might be interested in;

Throughput – up to 215% faster than the R8000

In a non-optimised comparative throughput test around my house using a gigabit wired server and a laptop fitted with the Intel 7260AC wireless device I achieved a throughput of over 350Mbps which was 215% faster than the R8000 on the same day.

Throughput – coupled with an RN202 NAS using Link Aggregation Mode 2

• Wired 106Mbytes per second – a 1.5Gbyte file transferred in 14 seconds
• Wireless 40Mbytes per second – to the Intel 7260AC laptop

With the RN202 connected using two Ethernet cables to the R8500 I see over 100Mbytes per second over a gigabit LAN, and over 40Mbytes per second wireless

Sustained Throughput - reliable

A transfer of over 800Gbytes of data from one NAS (Buffalo) to the RN202 completed without any errors – took quite a while as the Buffalo NAS is not exactly fast.

Readycloud – Secure easy access

The RN202 and R8500 can share the same ReadyCloud capability so both are easily accessed remotely from the same web page securely.

4K Video

Sadly, I don't have a 4K display, but the throughput tests that I have run coupled with the RN202 NAS performance when connected to the R8500 tells me that this configuration will have no difficulty at all handling 4K video.

[hipotinoose]

Just bought the R8500. It's sitting on the couch out of the box.  First impression before installing it.  Why are the activity lights sitting on the top of the unit.  I find it hard to believe that most people sit it on a desktop.  I will put this on top of a shelf where i won't be able to see the activity lights.  Usually when something happens on the internet, I look at these lights to see if everything looks okay.  To do this now, I'll have to use a pole with a mirror or get a stool to look at them.  The Nighthawk design series seems to be this way.  the Netgear industrial design people should stop preferring form over function.  The older units were more functional in that they had the lights on the front of the unit.  I know, this doesn't make it look like a sleek sportscar but, remember, it's a Wifi router for petes sake.  I'm not going to waste my desktop real estate on a router.  Thats' reserved for paperwork.  I'll get off my soapbox.  Just hoping it lives up to it's other touted capabilities.

[Babylon5]

That’s an interesting point.

Perhaps LEDs could be duplicated on the front panel, LEDs are not particularly expensive? The router already has the options to control the LED illumination so a second row of LEDs could also be controlled. The reason I have not suggested just moving the LEDs is because those top LEDs are in a good position if the router is wall mounted.

If you have suggestions for moving the LEDs or any other suggestion in fact, I would be happy to pass these on to Netgear engineering.

[Loudog2]

For the 2 Ethernet aggregate ports.  I don't have an NAS storage. It said to enable for a network switch as well.  I have 2 switches on my network. Should I enable those ports and connect the switches? Or does it have to be a certain type of switch?

[Babylon5]

Some switches provide a similar facility to aggregate two ports, and in that case the throughput from that segment of the LAN to the R8500 could be improved, but I’m not sure the average home user would recognise any real difference. It would really depend on what you have connected to that other switch and what it is used for .

[Loudog2]

It would be for the home theater.  So 4K streaming/downloads, music and security camera. 

[Babylon5 · Accepted solution]

Very high quality 4K streaming shouldn’t need more than about 40Mbps, so even over a single gigabit link there should be plenty of capacity there, I’m not sure you would see any benefit at all from an aggregated switch connection.

[Loudog2]

Thank you for your help. I'll just disable aggregation and use them as normal ports.

[Javichu1984]

There is one anoying thing that you have to know.

There's no option to set the same SSID on 2,4Ghz and 5Ghz band... So you will have to set separate SSID. I think this is a huge disadvantage, becouse, maybe the router has no band steering implemented? Becouse the Smart Connect feature, just works between 5Ghz Bands, but what about device that support 2,4Ghz and 5Ghz? It should provide band steering between bands using the same SSID, as this will reduce congestion on 2,4Ghz and force all 5Ghz enable clients to use this band.

I had also both setups in the past, one with different SSID and one with the same, and the same SSID is much way better, also as the people that does not have IT knowledge, they choose a band aleatory, and if they choose the 2,4Ghz band with a 5Ghz capable devide, they're congesting the band with no reason. With just one SSID, there's no option for wrong decission.

Is there a reason for that? All the other manufacturer routers with the same Broadcom chip, has band steering, so I think there should be no incompatibility issues.

Is there any option to set the same SSID?

Maybe Smart connect could work with all the three bands, instead of just the 5Ghz bands.

Thank you.

Regards.

[snagalin]

I bought this router as soon as it is available in the market. It is a very good upgrade from netgear R7000. This router is huge and internet speed is very consistent and no issues in wifi connectivity. I am getting close to 200 mbps in WIFI on 5G mode and 300+ mbps in wired mode.

i have connected more than 15 devices and it is running without any glitch. This router is one of the must buy item for users looking for better speed and connectivity.

Regards

Selva

[ElaineM]

@Javichu1984 Are you setting the same SSID on the Guest or on the main network?

[Javichu1984]

@ElaineMI would like to set the same SSID just on the 2,4Ghz MAIN network, and on both 5Ghz MAIN network (on the 5GHZ is possible to set the same SSID with smart connect enable).

[SteinarGrande]

The switch must supports 802.3ad LACP.

[sysop]

You also need to turn it on in the NAS or switch. At least I did on my Synology DS-1511+ and it works well when I am away from home. It made a great difference when saving to the NAS from afar. This router does a great job so far. Owned it a week so far.