Streaming HD videos from your computer or a media server to your TV without using cables may sound like a brilliant idea, but getting the 1080p bandwidth-intensive signal across a home wireless network has been impossible up until now - the 802.11 b/g (aka Wi-Fi) networks could simply not handle the data.

If you're one of the early adopters facing this problem, perhaps it's time you upgrade to a Wireless N device.

Wireless N (or 802.11n Wi-Fi) is a new extension to the Wi-Fi standard. It has multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) antennas for extended coverage - in fact, that is the easiest way to recognize a Wireless N device - they usually have 3 antennas instead of just one. Using more than one antenna for receiving and transmitting enables the device to better handle obstacles such as walls and people and also allows higher data rates, as each antenna can be used for transmitting different data at the same time.

Most Wireless N devices also boast 2.4/5GHz dual-band capability. Since the 2.4GHz band does not require special licensing, most civilian communications devices transmit at that band, and as a result it is now extremely crowded (microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, cordless phones... the list goes on and on). On the other hand, transmitting on the 5GHz band requires licensing, and so it is much less crowded, and so the Wireless N device operating on that band will hardly suffer from interferences.