Question about a home media player

I'm seriously considering the purchase of a home media player, mainly the Asus O!Play unit (more info: http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=sPkRGUeRrpiVYl5K ). Due the massive collection of media I have on my PC and on CD/DVD, I'll be using the networking capabilities of the unit to access my PC. Since the O!Play will be replacing my home DVD/DivX player, I'll be using the CD/DVD drives on my PC in it's place so I can still enjoy all the stuff I have burned in the past. So, here's my question: I currently have an older 10mbps ethernet hub (most newer hubs are 10/100 or 10/100/1000) and it works fine for the usual in-home networking and printer/file sharing, but I'm wondering if it will be fast enough to stream video and audio files w/o lag or stutter. Any thoughts? Should I simply shell out $40 or so for a modern hi-speed switch/hub? I don't need wireless ability, so a basic 4 port hub/switch will suffice....
THANKS!

 

If you actually achieved 10mbps speed all the time, then no, you probably wouldn't experience much lag, but as you can expect it most probably runs slower than that most of the time, i would recommend buying a new faster Modem, it will future proof your media center too, especially with higher and higher resolution Blu-rays coming out that require that extra speed for smooth playback.

The fact that the player has a 10/100 Mbps port, there would be no point in getting 1000mbps hub. The thing is, it may well run fine on a 10mbps hub.

I think the best advice is, try out your existing modem with the center and if you get some lag, then change it out for a faster one.

 

Modem? It's actually a hub, but you knew that and I'm being a nit-picking a-hole! LOL
Yeah- I guess the only way to know for sure is to simply try it out and see what happens. Your point about "future-proofing" is a good one, as is the point that the player has 10/100 port so hub with gigabit (1000mbps) capability isn't necessary. Thanks for your input!

 

Your Welcome.