Netgear Debuts Wi-Fi Adapter for Smart TVs

Netgear is bringing dual band Wi-Fi connectivity to smart TVs and Blu-ray players with its new Universal Dual Band Wireless Internet Adapter. The adapter connects any Ethernet-enabled smart TV or Blu-ray player to a home wireless network, while dual band Wi-Fi provides maximum performance for video streaming.

Many TVs and Blu-ray players in homes today have an Ethernet port for connecting to the Internet, but don’t have built-in Wi-Fi and aren’t in the same room as the home router. The easiest way to bring these devices online is with a Wi-Fi adapter. But proprietary Wi-Fi adapters, built by manufacturers for specific TV and Blu-ray player models, are expensive and only use the congested 2.4-GHz band, which can lead to video jitter, according to Netgear.

Netgear’s wireless adapter connects on the 5GHz Wi-Fi band. The adapter plugs into a TV or Blu-ray player through an Ethernet cable, making it compatible with any device that has an Ethernet port. The compact adapter can be placed on the included stand or mounted on a wall. The Netgear adapter also operates in the 2.4GHz band for users who have only a single-band Wi-Fi network today, but intend on upgrading to a dual-band Wi-Fi router.