The WD Livewire Powerline AV network kit comes in a small, blue and white box. The front, back and sides of the box show the Livewire adapters from various angles and list many of the kits features.
Inside the box youll find two adapters, two ethernet cables, two power cables, a quick install guide, a documentation and software CD and a warranty and support guide.
Like most network hardware, the Livewire adapters are very utilitarian in design. They measure 1.30 x 4.70 x 3.40 32mm x 119mm x 86mm and are constructed out of lightweight, black plastic. Along the front of each there is a series of LED indicators which show when the adapters are powered on, connected to the network and a device is attached to the corresponding Ethernet port.
One big advantage the WD Livewire kit has over other powerline networking solutions is that each adapter has a four port, 100 Mbit Ethernet switch. This allows you to plug in your router as well as seven other networked devices. To the right of these ports is the Sync button which is used to create a private network. The power switch and power jack are located on the other end of the Livewire adapter. For best performance, WD recommends that you plug the adapter directly into a wall socket and not use a power strip, surge protector or extension cord.
The WD Livewire powerline AV network kit can be setup in a matter of minutes. To begin, connect one of the Livewire adapters to your router using an ethernet cable and then plug it directly into an electrical outlet. Once that is done, plug the second adapter into an outlet in another room where a wired network connection is needed. If the two adapters are working correctly, the PLC-Link indicator on each should be illuminated. The last step is to plug your computers, media players, network hard drives and game consoles into the adapters ethernet ports.