# Powerline mini problem



## sirkulation (Aug 30, 2013)

I just set up my mini with a powerline adapter. I have a Roamio plus as my main tivo connected by Ethernet. I connected one adapter to my wifi router and the other to my mini. Setup worked fine. Here's what I bought

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AWRUICG?pc_redir=1411123939&robot_redir=1

When I watch anything in HD playback stutters and is unwatchable. SD channels are fine.

Is there anything I can do? Or is MOCA my only choice?


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

sirkulation said:


> I just set up my mini with a powerline adapter. I have a Roamio plus as my main tivo connected by Ethernet. I connected one adapter to my wifi router and the other to my mini. Setup worked fine. Here's what I bought http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AWRUICG?pc_redir=1411123939&robot_redir=1 When I watch anything in HD playback stutters and is unwatchable. SD channels are fine. *Is there anything I can do? Or is MOCA my only choice? *


Not really. Yes.

I'm not sure why you even bothered with powerline when your Roamio plus will act as a Moca bridge, unless you don't have a coax jack in that area? I guess you could try a wifi bridge setup, but that'll probably be worse than the powerline unless you have a newer AC system.


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## SOCATivo (Jan 2, 2002)

Powerline is not fast enough for HD. I found out.


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## tatergator1 (Mar 27, 2008)

Powerline can work for some Tivo setups, but is often problematic. Interference on a homes electrical wiring is prevalent, and, in my experience, even with 100Mbps Powerline transfer rates, packet errors can really mess with streaming operations.

I switched from powerline to MoCA nearly a year ago and I would never go back to powerline.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

SOCATivo said:


> Powerline is not fast enough for HD. I found out.


Even wireless can work fine for HD. We aren't talking about fast bitrates for broadcast TV. They are very low. If Powerline couldn't keep up with it then you must have been getting very slow speeds. I can use a wireless Bridge with my Minis and it will be rock solid. It will behave identical to me using a MoCA or Ethernet connection.

I've always thought that Powerline should be the absolute last resort for a network connection. There can be too many issues with it. Plus you can't use it with a UPS. So if there is a power outage you also lose the network connection. WHich isn't an issue with wireless, MoCA or Ethernet.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

My wife has been using an old 200Mbps powerline adapter for her Mini for a couple of years now and never had an issue. (trust me if she had I'd have heard about it)

I also just set my Mom up with a set of powerline adapter for her two Premiere units and she hasn't called to complain either.

Maybe you got a bad set? Or maybe the wiring in your home is not up to snuff, or the rooms are too far apart? (it has a max range of 300 wire feet)


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## tamathat (Sep 11, 2011)

I'm using Netgear Powerline 200mb to run my mini on my kitchen tv 720p, both live tv and recorded shows play fine. No stutter, no lag.


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## Time_Lord (Jun 4, 2012)

I found that a 720p network stream took between 15 to 16Mb/s of bandwidth so as long as you can maintain that rate with a little bit of headroom you should be fine. 802.11g is borderline for anything other than a perfect signal.

-TL


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## spaldingclan (Aug 22, 2012)

I use Powerline between my Premier and my Roamio but I'd Never try and stream between the two...only thing it's good for in my setup is Netlfix and pytivo pushes/pulls to the box.


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## Kingpcgeek (Feb 6, 2012)

I use Powerline between my router and Elite with no issues. I use MoCa to connect my Premiere 4 and 3 Minis to the Elite with no issues. However I have one Mini that connects via Powerline and I have non-stop issues of it losing the the two Tivos. Seems like it happens every other day. I run the tests and it is connected fine to the Internet, and it does its daily checks to TiVo. 

In addition when it is connected and I am watching recorded programs it will drop randomly because of a lost connection. When I start the show again it is always at the beginning. Really POs me. I guess I am going to have to run Coax across the room. 

FYI I am using the latest and greatest Netgear 500 models.


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## dbwilbur (Apr 6, 2007)

I finally gave up trying to get my mini to work with my netgear 200 mbps powerline adapters. Even though the utility showed that I had plenty of bandwidth (typically >80mbps up and down), I still had stuttering issues. Powerline is all based on how well your internal wiring is and how it is configured. Since my wiring couldn;t seem to handle it, I ended up giving up after I tried every outlet in the bedroom trying to get the mini to work. On a positive note, using a wireless extender does work if you get one with an ethernet port!


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## Time_Lord (Jun 4, 2012)

dbwilbur said:


> I finally gave up trying to get my mini to work with my netgear 200 mbps powerline adapters. with an ethernet port!


Try this type of powerline adapter, it should permanently solve the ethernet over powerline issues 










-TL


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## dbwilbur (Apr 6, 2007)

Haha too funny! Thanks for that, I needed a good laugh today!


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