One way to connect a network-enabled home theater component to your router is by using powerline adapters. A powerline adapter is an alternative to running Ethernet cables through your wall or relying on potentially unstable WiFi. A powerline adapter has the ability to send your music, photos, video, and computer data over your home’s existing electrical wiring, just as you would over Ethernet cables.
How does Powerline Ethernet work?
Most home theater components aren’t in the same room as a home network router. That wasn’t a big deal until home theater setups began to include networked media players, media streamers, smart TVs, Blu-ray players, and other home theater components that access content from the Internet as well as home PCs and media servers. Now it’s important to find a way to connect to your router in a convenient location and/or in a way that allows you to easily access the Internet and stream photos, music, and movies from media libraries throughout your home.
Unless you want to run long Ethernet cables throughout your home or pay to have Ethernet cables installed in your walls, you'll need another, more convenient solution for connecting your media player, smart TV, and/or other network-enabled home theater device.
A network-enabled home theater component or other network device connects to a powerline adapter using an Ethernet cable. The powerline adapter plugs into a wall outlet. Once plugged in, you can use the powerline adapter to send and/or receive media files and data over your home’s electrical wiring to a second powerline adapter plugged into a separate location. To do this, a second powerline adapter plugs into a wall outlet near your router. This is connected to your router using an Ethernet cable.
