INTRODUCTION

   Sometimes when you don't use a specific product in your daily life you can fail to see its importance and in a way up until recently i did exactly that in regard to Powerline network adapters since i wasn't aware of just how many people out there actually use them to fill the gap between normal wired and wireless connections. That's also the reason as to why for the past couple of months I’ve been trying to test as many Powerline adapter sets as i can get my hands on so everyone who uses such devices can know exactly what each of those solutions has to offer. So following the quite good PL-550D 500Mbit/s Powerline adapter set by RaidSonic we had the chance to test roughly 2 weeks ago today we will be testing the latest TPL-402E2K 500Mbps Powerline AV Adapter Kit by TRENDnet.

   TRENDnet is a global provider of award winning networking solutions to small and medium size business and home users. Building networking solutions since 1990, TRENDnet enables users to share broadband access, multimedia content and networked peripherals for true anywhere connectivity. TRENDnet's diverse product line includes Wireless, Fiber, Switch, Gigabit, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Keyboard/Video/Mouse (KVM), Internet Camera, Print Server, Powerline, Bluetooth, Storage Server, Power over Ethernet (PoE), and Multimedia Accessories. Based in Torrance, California, TRENDnet maintains branch offices in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Central America, South America, and Asia. TRENDnet’s management system is ISO 9001:2008 certified (click here to view certificate). TRENDnet emphasizes continual improvement as an essential component of its quality management system. This ensures rigorous process standards across the entire organization with respect product development, product quality and all other pertinent enterprise functions. TRENDnet's 250-plus product portfolio is distributed in over 125 countries. The TRENDnet brand is consistently recognized for high quality, exceptional performance and professional support.

   Just like the previously reviewed RaidSonic PL-550D set the TPL-402E2K Powerline set features an bonus outlet and follows the latest 500Mbps standard which allows for far superior speeds compared to both the previous 200Mbps models and of course Wi-Fi. However as we've mentioned in the past there are two negative things about Powerline adapters, first of all they are directly affected by the quality of the electrical grid/cabling so when used in old structures chances are that you will not achieve the same speeds as when used in new ones (still don't expect to hit the 500Mbps mark). Second issue is that if your house/office has a triple phase electrical grid then you also need to make certain that both Powerline adapters are plugged in outlets using the same phase otherwise they simply won't connect. That aside however there's no doubt that Powerline adapters offer faster, more reliable speeds compared to Wi-Fi connections and in the end that's all that matters to most people. So time to see just what the TPL-402E2K 500Mbps Powerline AV Adapter Kit by TRENDnet has to offer.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The medium sized box has a product image at the front, the TRENDnet and 500Mbps logos and the product number.

At the right side we see the main features of the TPL-402E adapters.

The specifications table is placed at the bottom of the box.

Several pictures along with a topology diagram and a few words about the product in 7 languages are placed at the rear.

Part of the box is formed into two spaces inside which we see the two Powerline adapters. The rest of the bundle is placed right beneath them.

Inside aside from the Powerline adapters you will also find two 1.5m Ethernet cables, software CD and a quick installation guide.

THE TPL-402E

Depending on which continent you live the TPL-402E Powerline adapter is sized differently (because of the bonus outlet size) so in our case (EU) it measures 122mm in height, 78mm in width and 55mm in length while weighing a total of 184g.

The TPL-402E features the standard safety outlet.

There are three activity LEDs beneath the outlet (power, Powerline connection and quality, gigabit Ethernet connection).

At the bottom of the adapter we find the Gigabit Ethernet port, the sync button (used if the adapters are plugged into the power grid but not paired) and the reset switch.

A large sticker placed at the rear of the adapter includes information such as the installed firmware version, product barcode, serial number, MAC address, product number and several certification logos.

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   As already mentioned the performance of Powerline adapters is directly linked to the quality of the buildings electrical grid/wiring so the output speeds from such devices will most probably vary between new and old structures. Still the results recorded when testing Powerline adapters inside the same building should easily point out the best one and so to that end we used the well-known Passmark Performance Test to measure the data transfer rate in wired, wireless and Powerline modes with a distance of 15 meters between our Netgear DGN3500 Gigabit modem/router and the primary and secondary systems (30m in total between both systems). The network data transfer test was set to duration of 40 seconds and was repeated a total of 5 times after which the average numbers were recorded into our charts.

TEST RESULTS

   Although once again the recorded results are light years away from the maximum theoretical speed of 500Mbps (i have to admit that the office is not brand new so our electrical grid/wiring could be in better shape) still the TPL-402E2K set is the fastest one in our database (to date anyways).

CONCLUSION

   The TPL-402E2K is the 3rd 500Mbps Powerline adapter set we've tested up until this day and it has proven to be not only faster than a Wi-Fi connection (at least in our testing environment) by almost a full 10Mbps but also faster than the other two sets by over 10%. Of course unfortunately none of the above sets has come even close to the 500Mbps advertised speed but since the wiring at both my house and office is not what you'd call new i expect all of them to achieve better speeds (still nowhere close to 500Mbps) if the electrical grid/wiring of your building is almost new. Regardless of performance however the new "bonus" outlet feature (we see it a lot lately from many manufacturers) can be of tremendous use to some people and so i was glad to see that TRENDnet decided to go down that path.

   As we speak the TPL-402E2K 500Mbps Powerline AV Adapter set by TRENDnet retails for around USD120 inside the USA and 105Euros inside the EU a price tag which lands it right in the middle of similar products from other manufacturers. Also for people who don't require both adapters TRENDnet also sells packages of one (TPL-402E) at around USD70/60Euros. So if you are already using the old 200Mbps Powerline adapters and you want something faster or even if you're just thinking about it then you should place the TPL-402E2K 500Mbps Powerline AV Adapter set ontop of your to buy list because simply put it's the fastest we've seen to date and that's why it also gets our Platinum award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Size
- Performance
- 500Mbit/s
- Power Outlet
- Sync Button
- AES 128Bit Encryption

CONS

- Price (For Some)