# MOCA Setup - New Roamio Plus



## ryan87500 (Nov 30, 2004)

I wanted to see if someone could help me understand setting up a MOCA network so I can add a Mini.

I currently have a Roamio Plus hooked up in my house using wireless internet. All my TV connections are run on one line from the main Comcast box using various splitters inside the house (hopefully my splitters are ok).

I then have a totally separate line running into the house just for internet.

Do the two lines cause any issues? 

Based on my reading I am confusing if I can have my Roamio hookedup to coax for cable and wireless for internet or do I need to have my Roamio connected to an ethernet plug. If it needs to be connected I might need to try using those ethernet adapters over the powerline since I can't run an ethernet where I need to go.

Thanks for your help!


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Should be fine. The Roamio should be able to bridge the MoCa connection to the wifi network so that the Mini can access the internet. Just enable the "use this DVR to create a MoCa network" option on the Roamio and the Mini should be able to hop right on.


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## WVZR1 (Jul 31, 2008)

Dan203 said:


> Should be fine. The Roamio should be able to bridge the MoCa connection to the wifi network so that the Mini can access the internet. Just enable the "use this DVR to create a MoCa network" option on the Roamio and the Mini should be able to hop right on.


I thought the "first stop" Plus/Pro or 4 Elite needed to be connected by Ethernet. In this guide it seems to mention that also.

http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2557

If you click on the drop-downs from +wireless it seems to imply that it won't work.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

In this case the Mini would connect to the TiVo via MoCa, the only thing the wireless would be used for is accessing the internet. The Roamio would handle bridging the MoCa network to the wireless network so that the Mini could get on the internet. From the Mini's perspective it's only using MoCa, the "magic" of converting MoCa to wifi is happening inside the Roamio.


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## WVZR1 (Jul 31, 2008)

Dan203 said:


> In this case the Mini would connect to the TiVo via MoCa, the only thing the wireless would be used for is accessing the internet. The Roamio would handle bridging the MoCa network to the wireless network so that the Mini could get on the internet. From the Mini's perspective it's only using MoCa, the "magic" of converting MoCa to wifi is happening inside the Roamio.


This from the link I supplied:

IMPORTANT: TiVo Mini does not support wireless connections and cannot interact with DVRs in your home that are on a wireless connection.


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## ryan87500 (Nov 30, 2004)

WVZR1 said:


> This from the link I supplied:
> 
> IMPORTANT: TiVo Mini does not support wireless connections and cannot interact with DVRs in your home that are on a wireless connection.


I am reading it the same way as you. It just seemed odd that Tivo would make it where there is such a limitation that the mothership needs to be near an intetnet cord.


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## WVZR1 (Jul 31, 2008)

This modem might be just the ticket for you but the price is maybe not a plus. It does offer MoCA and all of the other 2.4GHz & 5GHz stuff. No "telephony" but it would give you quite a network in the whole house:

SBG6782-AC Motorola/Arris

Do you use an eMTA for your phone on your other cable drop? You actually have 2 cable drops?


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

Dan203 said:


> In this case the Mini would connect to the TiVo via MoCa, the only thing the wireless would be used for is accessing the internet. The Roamio would handle bridging the MoCa network to the wireless network so that the Mini could get on the internet. From the Mini's perspective it's only using MoCa, the "magic" of converting MoCa to wifi is happening inside the Roamio.


Unless they've changed something, a Roamo can only act as a bridge between MoCA and _*wired*_ Ethernet, not wireless.


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

The host DVR needs a wired connection of some kind, unless you can trick it with a wireless N (or AC) adapter that is fast and robust.

OP: Since there is no physical connection between your internet and TV coax, you need to either do the above (trick the Roamio with a good wireless N or AC adapter), use powerline networking, or run ethernet to the router.

Then select "Use this DVR to create a moca network".


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## ryan87500 (Nov 30, 2004)

Thanks. I need to rethink where the main screen goes and try to wire it up.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

lpwcomp said:


> Unless they've changed something, a Roamo can only act as a bridge between MoCA and _*wired*_ Ethernet, not wireless.


Ahhh... didn't know that. I assumed it could bridge wifi too. Wonder why it can't? That seems like an odd omission. I mean what's the point of wifi then?

Edit: You could accomplish the same thing by using a wifi adapter connected to the Ethernet port.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

Dan203 said:


> Ahhh... didn't know that. I assumed it could bridge wifi too. Wonder why it can't? That seems like an odd omission. I mean what's the point of wifi then?


Maybe they thought it was a bad idea for all of the MoCA-Ethernet traffic be thru a single wireless connection.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Dan203 said:


> Ahhh... didn't know that. I assumed it could bridge wifi too. Wonder why it can't? That seems like an odd omission. I mean what's the point of wifi then?
> 
> Edit: You could accomplish the same thing by using a wifi adapter connected to the Ethernet port.


It seems that if you try using the Roamio's build-in WiFi you can not also have it be a device that the Mini can use. The speed doesn't matter. You can see My Shows, To Do List but no live or recorded content can be played (V82 error). And, like you said, add a CAT5 to WiFi adapter with a good router and it will be happy. I am doing that now. I think you can have a wireless Mini (via adapter) and a wired Roamio. I'll try that tomorrow.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Yeah you could do the same to add wifi to the Mini, but you'll likely have trouble streaming. Since most TVs have coax near them you're much better off using MoCa for the Minis and bridging the TiVo to wifi for the internet stuff.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

Think about the following scenario - A Pro set up as a bridge but connected via a wifi adapter rather than a wired connection. 2 or 3 Minis on the MoCA network. All of them start streaming something from Netflix. All of that traffic is going over that one wifi connection.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

802.11n has a real world speed of roughly 50Mbps. An HD Netflix stream is roughly 6Mbps. So that wifi connection should be able to handle 2-3 Minis streaming Netflix just fine.


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

I think "officially" supporting only wired connections for all local streaming setups (be it DVR-to-DVR or DVR-to-Mini) is just a blanket choice to cover all scenarios to control support costs.

(e.g. If the streaming is moca, a Mini may not be able to stream from a non-moca secondary Tivo if the host Tivo is wireless.)


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

BigJimOutlaw said:


> I think supporting only wired connections for all local streaming setups (be it DVR-to-DVR or DVR-to-Mini) is just a blanket choice to cover all scenarios and control support costs.
> 
> (e.g. a Mini may not be able to stream from a non-moca secondary Tivo if the host Tivo is wireless.)


I have wireless to wireless, but it was not cheap. The Roamio seems to HAVE to be on a "wired" connection to show live TV or play recordings even though the Mini can see the To Do list and My Shows. Error on the Mini: V82.


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## Photo_Joe (Feb 18, 2014)

I purchased an Actionec MoCA Network Adapter (ECB2500C) from TiVo.

MoCA Network Adapter - 1 for $49.99 plus shipping from Tivo

MoCA Network Adapter - 2 for $89.99 plus shipping from Tivo

I added a POE filter where my coax cable comes into the house.

I have dsl, so where the coax cable passes near my dsl modem / router I added an Actionec MoCA Network Adapter. Then I used an Ethernet cable to connect the Actionec MoCA Network Adapter to the router. This gives me a "wired internet" connection over my coax cable.

In another part of my house I connected my Roamio Plus to the coax cable. The coax cable provides a "wired internet" connection to my Roamio Plus.

I can connect a TiVo mini in another part of my house over my coax cable "wired internet" connection.

From Fat Wallet Forums, Actiontec MoCA Network Adapter $49.99 At Tivo, "Comparable pricing at Amazon and other merchants is $73.99 for the single pack and $119 for the dual pack. You might be able to price match with some merchants. I ended up purchasing the single MoCa adaptor with a MoCA POE filer through Tivo. The customer service rep was not able to waive the shipping fee but was able to apply a 25% discount code which turned out to be more favorable for me. I was able to configure these items in a couple minutes and now have fast internet connections to my Tivo devices with built in MoCA thoughout my house. Great deal!"


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

JoeKustra said:


> It seems that if you try using the Roamio's build-in WiFi you can not also have it be a device that the Mini can use. The speed doesn't matter. You can see My Shows, To Do List but no live or recorded content can be played (V82 error). And, like you said, add a CAT5 to WiFi adapter with a good router and it will be happy. I am doing that now. I think you can have a wireless Mini (via adapter) and a wired Roamio. I'll try that tomorrow.


I can use my Minis(MoCA) to playback content from my Roamio Basic when it is using the wireless connection. I use the Basic with wireless mostly because I will take it back and forth to my GFs house. And then even if I do connect and Ethernet cable, sometimes it will continue using the wireless connection even though it should default to the wired connection.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Dan203 said:


> 802.11n has a real world speed of roughly 50Mbps. An HD Netflix stream is roughly 6Mbps. So that wifi connection should be able to handle 2-3 Minis streaming Netflix just fine.


I'll get 90+Mb/s speeds over the Wifi connection of my Roamio Basic, just like I will get over the wired connection. Initially I had hoped I would get faster than 100BT speeds since my link rates were 300Mb/s. So I was hoping I would be able to get up to 150Mb/s throughput(real world max speeds are half the wireless link rate) like I can with my wireless laptops with the same link rate. But the wireless connection on the Basic seems to be routed through the wired connection and is limited to the same 100BT speeds. So I've only seen the same speeds over wireless as I can get with the wired connection.


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