INTRODUCTION

   Yesterday the IEEE group (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) announced the next standard in Ethernet connectivity which should be able to achieve remarkable data transfer speeds ranging from 400Gbps and up to 1Tbps. Of course to most users this will not be of much importance (at least at first) but for enterprises and professionals such speeds will be of tremendous value (especially when used alongside large SSD arrays). Until that day comes however the only equipment available to us are 1Gbps modem/routers and 500Mbps Powerline adapters like the ones we've been testing lately and because many of you seem to be out searching for the ideal adapter today we are testing the latest TPL-405E 4-Port 500Mbps Powerline AV adapter 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.

   The TPL-405E is the 3rd 500Mbps compatible Powerline Adapter on our test bench so its advertised speed is nothing really new to us. Still what makes the TPL-405E adapter unique is that right now it's the only 4-port Powerline Adapter available in the market (to my knowledge) which means that you can use it simultaneously with your PC, laptop/tablet, HDTV and Media Player/Internet Radio all at the same time, simple i know but at the same time quite useful right? However if you plan to use it with 4 simultaneous devices then speed can be an issue and so it's as usual up to us to find out what kind of performance you can expect from it and of course compare it with all the Powerline adapters we've tested in the past.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The box in which the TPL-450E arrived in has a product image at the front, the TRENDnet, Homeplug Certified and 500Mbps logos and the product number.

At the right side we see the list with the main features of the TPL-405E adapter.

The specifications table can be found at the bottom of the box.

Several pictures along with a topology diagram and a few words about the product in 6 languages are placed at the rear.

The TPL-450E sits inside a formed piece of cardboard while the rest of the bundle is placed right beneath it.

Inside you will find the TPL-405E Powerline adapter, one 1.5m Ethernet cable, software CD and the quick installation guide.

THE TPL-405E

Depending on which continent you live the TPL-405E Powerline adapter is sized differently so in our case (EU) it measures 105mm in height, 75mm in width and 73mm in length while weighing a total of 170g.

There are a total of 6 activity LEDs placed at the front of the unit (power, Powerline connection and quality, gigabit Ethernet connection for every port).

The reset and sync (used if the adapters are plugged into the power grid but have lost connection) buttons are placed at the right side of the unit.

The 4 Ethernet ports are placed at the bottom.

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.

As you can see we used two single adapters for this test.

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 fixed (for every test) 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

   The TPL-405E Powerline adapters may not be the fastest ones in our test but they come extremely close to the TPL-402E models also manufactured by TRENDnet.

CONCLUSION

   Well data transfer speeds via Ethernet may soon reach and even surpass the quite impressive 400Gbps mark but since Powerline adapters are affected by the aging and overall quality of your local electrical grid i doubt we will ever see anything over 1Gbps with similar devices, certainly not in real world usage. Regardless however Powerline adapters offer the best of both worlds so you can use your laptop/tablet and any other Internet enabled device freely inside your house without the fear of someone hacking his way into your internet Wi-Fi connection and with better speeds so what's not to like? The only slight downside with the TPL-405E is that although it features 4 ports and so it can be extremely useful it doesn't offer a build in power outlet which means you can no longer use the same wall outlet with other devices but we just can't have it all.

   The single TPL-405E 4-Port 500Mbps Powerline AV adapter by TRENDnet currently retails for USD66.68 inside the USA (Newegg) while inside the EU it currently has a price tag set at around 70Euros so yes it doesn't really come cheap but it does offer something no other Powerline adapter does and although it lacks the extra outlet found in other models still it can be of much use to people who have and want to give internet access to more than just one device at a time. Of course if you can't afford to lose a single power outlet then the TPL-402E Powerline adapter could be the solution for you. Bottom line the TPL-405E Powerline adapters may not be the fastest of the bunch (2nd fastest in our tests) and they may lack the extra power outlet but they offer 4 ports and because of that we are awarding them with our Golden award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Size
- Performance
- 500Mbit/s
- 4 Ports
- Sync Button
- AES 128Bit Encryption 

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- No Power Outlet