# If AT&T and DirecTV can do it, why not TiVO?



## buscuitboy (Aug 8, 2005)

I have a family member who has DirecTV and a neighbor who has AT&T Uverse TV service. Both have a main DVR and then numerous wireless boxes hooked up to additional TVs in other rooms.

If they can do it, why can't TiVo do something similar with their Minis. I know there are some here who have gotten it to work with a wireless bridge, but its not officially supported by TiVo and/or can be finicky at times. 

Are there any plans for TiVO to do something similar? If not, I wonder why.


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## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

U-Verse is mpeg4 with about half the bandwidth (or less) needed vs. Minis streaming mpeg2, which is not reliable enough for a lot of wireless setups and is why Tivo doesn't support it.

Your phones and tablets don't support mpeg2 either, btw.


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## tatergator1 (Mar 27, 2008)

Ultimately, I don't think Tivo wants the headache of having to troubleshoot and support everyone's wireless router. Joe Schmo and wireless can get ugly fast.


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## buscuitboy (Aug 8, 2005)

OK, I guess this all kind of makes sense. I also just realized that DirecTV and AT&T have the manpower and infastructure to better support wireless devices if needed. Not just over the phone, but they both have field techs and professional installers who I guess can get this kind of equipment properly installed from the beginning (or future if needed). Unlike TiVO where they really just have phone support.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

slowbiscuit said:


> U-Verse is mpeg4 with about half the bandwidth (or less) needed vs. Minis streaming mpeg2, which is not reliable enough for a lot of wireless setups and is why Tivo doesn't support it.
> 
> Your phones and tablets don't support mpeg2 either, btw.


Plus U-verse provides and controls the wireless router in the customer's home and they can give their wireless receiver priority over any other wireless device. And I'm pretty sure that U-verse limits you to 1 wireless receiver. If TiVo put wireless in the Minis, people would be trying to run multiple Minis off a single wireless router simultaneously. That's a recipe for lots of support calls from unhappy customers.


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## jamesteixeira (Nov 22, 2014)

U-verse actually has it's own wireless transmitter/receiver box for their wireless set top boxes so it doesn't use the same wireless as everything else. Maximum allowed is 2.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

slowbiscuit said:


> U-Verse is mpeg4 with about half the bandwidth (or less) needed vs. Minis streaming mpeg2, which is not reliable enough for a lot of wireless setups and is why Tivo doesn't support it.
> 
> Your phones and tablets don't support mpeg2 either, btw.


This is it exactly. UVerse and DirecTV use H.264 encoding around 6Mbps for HD channels.

I was using a wifi bridge for one of my Minis for a while. It was a PITA. Sometimes it would work fine. Others it would drop the connection every 5 minutes and lose where it was in the show in the process. Very annoying. Right now I have a cat6 cable running down the hall for that Mini. (I was planning on running coax to that room for MoCa, but I think I'm just going to buy some powerline adapters instead)


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

jamesteixeira said:


> U-verse actually has it's own wireless transmitter/receiver box for their wireless set top boxes so it doesn't use the same wireless as everything else. Maximum allowed is 2.


AFAIK, Uverse wireless STBs do have a separate network, but it's still WiFi at 5Mhz. Not sure if it's 802.11n.


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## srtdodge05 (Sep 25, 2015)

If you need a mini with wireless then buy a wireless adapter and plug it into the ethernet port.


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## bob61 (Apr 23, 2002)

slowbiscuit said:


> U-Verse is mpeg4 with about half the bandwidth (or less) needed vs. Minis streaming mpeg2, which is not reliable enough for a lot of wireless setups and is why Tivo doesn't support it.
> 
> Your phones and tablets don't support mpeg2 either, btw.


 Question was if att can support wireless why not Tivo, not what Tivo supports today.. I don't have uverse so don't know if mpeg4 quality would really be noticeable difference. Anyone have experience? Should Tivo rethink their format to be more WiFi friendly?


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

bob61 said:


> Question was if att can support wireless why not Tivo, not what Tivo supports today.. I don't have uverse so don't know if mpeg4 quality would really be noticeable difference. Anyone have experience? Should Tivo rethink their format to be more WiFi friendly?


TiVo doesn't choose the video compression standard used, the cable company does.


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## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

bob61 said:


> Question was if att can support wireless why not Tivo, not what Tivo supports today.. I don't have uverse so don't know if mpeg4 quality would really be noticeable difference. Anyone have experience? Should Tivo rethink their format to be more WiFi friendly?


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

jamesteixeira said:


> U-verse actually has it's own wireless transmitter/receiver box for their wireless set top boxes so it doesn't use the same wireless as everything else. Maximum allowed is 2.


DirecTV does the same thing, a stand-alone transmitter for the wireless minis.


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## Series3Sub (Mar 14, 2010)

It is Uverse, DirecTV, and Dish who essentially install a separate exclusive 5G wireless network for their wireless devices that is the key. It is their own branded and tested equipment meeting their standards of quality operation. Further, they send a tech to properly install it and confirm it works, and if problems do arise, Uverse and both sats support the customer and get it working. TiVo just does not have nor can afford such an infrastructure.

FWIW, I have heard nothing but horror stories of how poorly AT&T Uverse wireless boxes work, while DirecTV and Dish have high levels of satisfaction. I do believe AT&T bought DirecTV because Uverse was such a poor product.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

Series3Sub said:


> FWIW, I have heard nothing but horror stories of how poorly AT&T Uverse wireless boxes work, while DirecTV and Dish have high levels of satisfaction. I do believe AT&T bought DirecTV because Uverse was such a poor product.


I have both TiVos and DirecTV. DirecTV works very well, I have no complaints from an infrastructure POV. I have a Genie with 3 Minis, two wireless & one wired, and they all work well. I also have three TiVos and a Mini, and they also work well.

My biggest complaint with DirecTV would be how poor their trickplay is compared to TiVo. DirecTV's FF/REW and 8-sec skip back are poorly implemented, and only tolerable. TiVo's are darn near perfect.

I'm also a fan of how granular the control is on a TiVo of both SPs and Wishlists. DirecTV's version of a WL is like amateur hour compared to a TiVo. TiVo's guide is far better, but DirecTV handles SD/HD dupes much better (well, since TiVo doesn't handle it all, DirecTV *has* to be better ).

But for basic needs--recording, playback, series recording, etc--both are excellent products.


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## jamesteixeira (Nov 22, 2014)

Series3Sub said:


> FWIW, I have heard nothing but horror stories of how poorly AT&T Uverse wireless boxes work, while DirecTV and Dish have high levels of satisfaction. I do believe AT&T bought DirecTV because Uverse was such a poor product.


I had AT&T Uverse with two wireless boxes for two years. Never had a problem and the picture quality was as good as the wired boxes.


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