# TiVo BOLT VOX 500GB switch from Cable Card to HD Antenna with MoCa Internet



## MrSmoofy (Aug 28, 2020)

Currently, with my TiVo BOLT VOX 500GB I'm using a cable card and MoCA for the internet to the box since the cable box is in another room.

I'm looking to drop cable so no cable card and get an HD Antenna.

My question is can I use a splitter to connect the MoCa and the HD Antenna to the BOLT? will that work or will I need to stop using MoCa for the internet which means I'd need a MoCa to Ethernet at the location of the BOLT to use the ethernet port

Looking for conformation I can use the 1 coax for both MoCa (Internet) and HD Antenna

Thanks


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Consider the associated frequencies:

OTA: 40-806 MHz
Cable: 5-1002 MHz
MoCA: 1125-1675 MHz​
MoCA can coexist with either OTA or Cable TV/Internet, but OTA and Cable cannot share coax. That said, many have employed an antenna/satellite diplexer as a workaround to supplant the cable signal with OTA on a single coax run. See >this post< for more information and an example.

edit: p.s. Also this:


krkaufman said:


> *Re: antenna/satellite diplexers*
> 
> Though we're not working with satellite signals, antenna/satellite diplexers can be helpful in some MoCA setup scenarios. The difference maker is that the MoCA technology employed in TiVos uses frequencies up in the satellite range (MoCA "D band") ...
> 
> ...


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## MrSmoofy (Aug 28, 2020)

krkaufman said:


> Consider the associated frequencies:
> 
> OTA: 40-806 MHz
> Cable: 5-1002 MHz
> ...


While you didn't come out and say it I think based on the info you are saying is I can do what I want.

OTA via HD Antenna into the splitter, MoCa into the same splitter, splitter into the TiVo BOLT Vox coax connection.

Maybe explaining how things are wired will help sort this out.

From Outside into apartment Coax from Spectrum. In wall LARGE splitter splitting that into 4 locations. 1 Location has Cable Modem and eithernet to Coax/Moca adapter so that the internet from the router which is connected to the cable modem goes back onto the coax that way all rooms can get internet via Moca.

Coax where BOLT is plugs into coax wall where it get signal from Spectrum as well as from Moca. I do have a filter also so that the Moca doesn't leave the apartment.

Maybe this won't work because the coax would still have cable on it for the cable modem so what ends up happening is at the TiVo BOLT I would still have signal from the cable company, the MoCa and a HD Antenna. Sounds like I might have to take the MoCa off the coax back to ethernet and use the ethernet jack on the Bolt and the coax for only the Antenna.


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## MrSmoofy (Aug 28, 2020)

As a follow up the diplexer would it allow the the Cable/MoCao and the antenna to be hooked up to the single coax on the Bolt even though the OTA and Cable use the same frequencies?


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

MrSmoofy said:


> Sounds like I might have to take the MoCa off the coax back to ethernet and use the ethernet jack on the Bolt and the coax for only the Antenna.


This would most certainly work, but would require an additional MoCA adapter at the BOLT location to supply the BOLT with its wired network connection, as you alluded to in your OP.


MrSmoofy said:


> ... or will I need to stop using MoCa for the internet which means I'd need a MoCa to Ethernet at the location of the BOLT to use the ethernet port





MrSmoofy said:


> As a follow up the diplexer would it allow the the Cable/MoCao and the antenna to be hooked up to the single coax on the Bolt even though the OTA and Cable use the same frequencies?


That is the point of the workaround suggested, as explained in the linked and quoted information above.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

MrSmoofy said:


> Maybe explaining how things are wired will help sort this out.
> 
> From Outside into apartment Coax from Spectrum. In wall LARGE splitter splitting that into 4 locations. 1 Location has Cable Modem and eithernet to Coax/Moca adapter so that the internet from the router which is connected to the cable modem goes back onto the coax that way all rooms can get internet via Moca.
> 
> Coax where BOLT is plugs into coax wall where it get signal from Spectrum as well as from Moca. I do have a filter also so that the Moca doesn't leave the apartment.


One thing you haven't detailed is where the antenna will be physically located and how its signal will be routed to the BOLT location.


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## MrSmoofy (Aug 28, 2020)

krkaufman said:


> One thing you haven't detailed is where the antenna will be physically located and how its signal will be routed to the BOLT location.


Thanks appreciate your help, the diplexer at like $10 seems like the cheaper route unless there are drawbacks to this.

As for the HD Antenna, I don't know much about those yet and has me wondering with the Bolt I have a mini device in another room that I'm able to watch cable off of the cable card in the bolt wasn't even thinking but would this be possible to watch the HD Antenna TV on that mini device in the same manner?

The BOLT sits in the living room in my apartment near windows and a door to the patio. (4th floor) Do these Antenna's work inside I will I need to put it outside on the screened patio?


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## MrSmoofy (Aug 28, 2020)

MrSmoofy said:


> Thanks appreciate your help, the diplexer at like $10 seems like the cheaper route unless there are drawbacks to this.
> 
> As for the HD Antenna, I don't know much about those yet and has me wondering with the Bolt I have a mini device in another room that I'm able to watch cable off of the cable card in the bolt wasn't even thinking but would this be possible to watch the HD Antenna TV on that mini device in the same manner?
> 
> The BOLT sits in the living room in my apartment near windows and a door to the patio. (4th floor) Do these Antenna's work inside I will I need to put it outside on the screened patio?


Looking into HD Antenna more it seems like direction will be important and may be a problem for me. My patio faces the north and the stations according to the map I saw all sit to the south, I have no way to put an antenna that would face the south.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

MrSmoofy said:


> with the Bolt I have a mini device in another room that I'm able to watch cable off of the cable card in the bolt wasn't even thinking but would this be possible to watch the HD Antenna TV on that mini device in the same manner?


The Mini will continue to function as it does now, receiving tuned content over the home network from the BOLT.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

MrSmoofy said:


> the diplexer at like $10 seems like the cheaper route unless there are drawbacks to this.


No drawback I can recall, at present.

The recommended diplexer can be had for sub-$6, or 2 for under $9.



MrSmoofy said:


> The BOLT sits in the living room in my apartment near windows and a door to the patio. (4th floor) Do these Antenna's work inside I will I need to put it outside on the screened patio?





MrSmoofy said:


> Looking into HD Antenna more it seems like direction will be important and may be a problem for me. My patio faces the north and the stations according to the map I saw all sit to the south, I have no way to put an antenna that would face the south.


If you can't do an in-room antenna, the diplexer workaround can be adjusted to allow for connecting the antenna signal at another location, depending on what's available. (see attached for _examples_)












​


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Re: antenna reception, you have want to visit one or more of the following sites to get a antenna recommendation...

http://tvfool.com

http://www.antennaweb.org

Best TV Antenna Selection Guide - Find The Best TV Antenna | CM


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## tapokata (Apr 26, 2017)

While not always possible, an outdoor antenna will nearly always outperform an indoor antenna, as the latter has to overcome signal path loss from building materials, etc. There are outdoor low profile models that can mount on a patio railing. Antennas love fresh air!


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

tapokata said:


> While not always possible, an outdoor antenna will nearly always outperform an indoor antenna, as the latter has to overcome signal path loss from building materials, etc. There are outdoor low profile models that can mount on a patio railing. Antennas love fresh air!


Also, if you're in an apartment, you may want to check around to see if your building/complex already offers an antenna connection. (Humorously, after I'd spent a day making a homemade antenna, I rediscovered a wall outlet that I'd ignored for years and found that it gave me full antenna coverage for my area.)


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