D-Link DHP-303 review

D-Link’s DHP-303 200Mbit/s Universal Powerline Association (UPA) HD networking kit isn’t compatible with HomePlug AV adaptors.

The advantage of the UPA standard is that the adaptors are backwards- and forwards-compatible. This means you can use these 200Mbit/s adaptors with existing 100Mbit/s adaptors and future 400Mbit/s versions. HomePlug adaptors work only with others based on the same version.

Configuration is simple. You simply push the security button on each adaptor to create a secure 3DES encrypted network. You can also use the bundled software to set a password manually.

The Powerline HD Utility also provides access to additional features such as the adaptors’ built-in local QoS, which lets you prioritise certain network traffic. It’s preset to handle BitTorrent, eDonkey, eMule and VoIP and video-streaming applications. You can configure these manually if you wish, but you’ll need a good understanding of TCP and UDP.

A power-saving mode, which is enabled by default, puts the adaptors into standby mode if they’ve been inactive for 15 minutes. This reduces their power consumption from 4.5W to 2W when the device connected to the adaptor has been powered off or disconnected. Most importantly, transfer speeds of 74.1Mbit/s mean that this Powerline connection can almost rival 100Mbit/s Ethernet for speed.