"If I had total choice, a wired solution is definitely a better choice," Mr. Melfi said.
Neither solution is right for every home. The electrical wiring products, known as HomePlug or powerline (the newest, fastest version available is HomePlug AV), may not be able to carry multiple streams of HDTV. And the cable solution, called MoCA, may not work if you use your coaxial cables to receive satellite TV.
Not only are wired solutions impervious to interference from other appliances or your neighbors' networks, they are also more secure. "MoCA is like a walled garden,'" said Rob Gelphman, an executive with the MoCA Alliance, a trade group.
Most people also love the idea of streaming video — and that is the other major problem. Video requires an Internet connection that streams more bits per second to deliver a high-quality image to your TV.
While a basic DSL or cable Internet connection speed may be just fine for reaching the Web and downloading music, you will probably need to bump up the speed — and pay more to your Internet service provider — if you want to watch streaming movies.
Netflix, one of the most convenient services for streaming movies, says that it adjusts its picture quality depending on each user's connection speed. It specifically suggests a minimum of 5 megabits per second if you want to watch its streaming movies in high definition. To watch films while doing other things online, you will need even more speed.
To minimize problems if you are trying to stream video wirelessly, look for a router that offers "Quality of Service" streaming. With these latest products, the router gives a higher priority to more-demanding video traffic than Internet data downloads.
For example, Netgear's WNDR3700 router(about $150) gives the highest priority to voice-over-Internet protocol applications (phone calls made using services like Skype or Vonage), then video, Web sites, file transfers and bit torrents, in that order.
Some products automatically detect and assign priorities to streamed content, while others may require the user to manually set those parameters.
Most companies are trying to make this more comprehensible. Cisco offers its Valet line of routers, which aim to make wireless connections plug and play, free from configuration jargon. Netgear routers use a setup program accessible from a Web site.
Setting up a home network may be moving toward a plug and play future, but to get there you most likely will need to follow another strategy: buy and return.
Sadly, router makers seem to think that is normal. According to Mr. Melfi of D-Link, picking the right product is still a trial-and-error process.
"It's like going to the doctor: there are five treatments for one problem. You need to pick the best."
