Belkin’s N1 Vision Wireless Router is the company’s high end wireless router product. One look at the router and you will know why it’s pricier than the other draft n routers in Belkin’s stable. The N1 Vision features a very stylish look that makes the router look more like a coffee table clock or radio.

Like most routers these days, the N1 Vision comes with the standard WEP/WPA encryption. During our setup, we simply created a plain text password and used that in WEP and WPA modes. Belkin claims that at maximum encryption would only inflict 1-2% performance hit. The router provides 4 gigabit ports with IPsec and PPTP pass through for VPN usage. The virtual server list that accompanies the router requires some updating as there are plenty of old (dare we say even ancient) PC games listed there. We also thought it was restrictive to have the router hardcoded to serving a 192.168.2.x address. For example, in our test network, we used a 192.168.1.x range and had to convert some of the workstations and notebooks over to 192.168.2.x to finish the testing. If you have client devices that are not using DHCP, you will need to keep this conversion in mind.

We encountered some trouble setting up the N1 Vision router. Following the instructions given, we connected our Windows Vista equipped Gateway E100m notebook to the Belkin router but were unable to raise the router through IP address (192.168.2.1) or the website domain name (http://routersetup). When we moved the router’s direct LAN connection to a white box PC, we were able to raise the web management interface by accessing the IP address. A CD accompanies the router to help with troubleshooting but we did not find it went past the first step on our problematic notebook.

With the 802.11n standard still not finalized, the N1 Vision presents a draft 802.11n 2.0 wireless service that is backwards compatible with legacy 802.11b and 802.11g devices. We tried accessing the network using a Gateway E-100m notebook equipped with a Belkin USB wireless N device and also another competitor’s PC card. Using QCheck, both devices netted around 12-20mbps when operating with the N1 Vision router in a mixed mode setting with legacy devices connected to the router. With nothing but draft N clients, wireless performance maxed out around 40mbps for us. This doesn’t come near the 150mbps quoted in the manual but those were in ideal conditions and our test environment featured other active wireless access points in addition to drywalls and brick walls. With only N devices connected, we were able to read an HD DVD and Blu-Ray movie from across the LAN without too much stutter. However, this performance is guaranteed provided no one else is using the wireless LAN. In mixed mode, we had to rely on reducing the quality of the source by transcoding or streaming to get media across. The 3x3 MIMO antennae helped stabilize the signal, extend the range and prevent drop outs when a constant connection is required. If you're transferring large files or playing online games, you'll definitely appreciate that.

Guest access can be used if you have friends over for say a LAN party or sharing your Internet out to some friendly neighbors. A separate SSID can be set up with a different password and the user can be locked down to only accessing the Internet and not your own LAN machines. We have yet to come across a product like this without manually setting up v-lans so this is definitely a novel idea.

In spite of some early troubles we had with the set up of the router and the lower than expected wireless performance, the N1 Vision is a unique product. The on screen display is incredibly useful for troubleshooting and will be a great asset to gamers who have frequent LAN parties. Although it is priced above some of its counterparts, the N1 Vision’s contemporary design and innovative on screen display make it a cut above the rest of the other products. If ease of use and aesthetics are important to you, the N1 Vision should be close to the top of your short list.

Rating •••••80%•••••