# Tivo Mini And Powerline Networking



## Jim1348 (Jan 3, 2015)

I am considering buying one more Tivo Mini to put in our master bedroom. Would powerline networking work with a Tivo Mini?


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

For some, yes; for others, no; and for still others, sometimes yes to begin with, and then flaking later. A big YMMV area--if you are buying Powerline adapters esp. for this purpose, good to buy from a source where returns are allowed, should need be.


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## db999md (Nov 12, 2007)

I use the Tp-Link PA7020 (there is a V1 and a V2 which are compatible). each adapter has 2 ethernet ports on them which is convenient. there is a PA-7010 with 1 ethernet port. These go for about $50-$60 per pair on auction sites 

I use this to connect a tivo Bolt into my wired lan. My minis are wired. I have no issues with this system
Tp Link has a app on the PC that will let you monitor the connect speed between the adapters so you can tell
if the link is really slow. My adapters are on opposite sites of fairly large house and tp-link reports 100-200 mbps connection
speed between them which seems like it is enough for the tivos.

YMMV of course but my experience has been pretty good with these

the v2's are much smaller


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

Been working fine here for almost 3 years with a Roamio Pro downstairs and a Mini V2 in an upstairs game room with ZyXEL 600 Mbps Mini Powerline AV2 Gigabit Adapter with AC Pass Through, Starter Kit - 2 Units (PLA5215KIT).

Scott


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

Moca would be cheaper and more reliable, if you have coax in that room. 

I haven't had much luck with power line. Always flaked out on me at least once a month. Only way to know for sure if it will work is to try it for yourself.


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## Jim1348 (Jan 3, 2015)

I have DSL service in my house. There is also a phone jack out in an outbuilding 200 feet from the house. My understanding is that a modem/router can be configured to work as an Access Point only.

I have the following devices that were taken out of service years ago:

-Dell TrueMobile 1184 WX-6215D Wireless Broadband Router

-Siemens SpeedStream 6520 Wireless Broadband Router

Can either of these be configured to work as an Access Point only? And, if so, which would be preferable? Or, doesn't it matter?


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## HDRyder9 (Aug 2, 2007)

Powerline adapters work better if they're on the same phase from your electric service panel. They work best when on the same beaker. [circuit breaker, not beaker]


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

HDRyder9 said:


> They work best when on the same beaker.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

krkaufman said:


> ​


​You had to see that typo. 

I was looking for a beaker boiling in a lab.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

Mine worked fine in a house and an apartment, but YMMV. It depends on your wiring, the placement of the adapters, as well as your cable provider or OTA stations in terms of bandwidth. HD video can range from 3.8mbps MPEG-4 on Comcast cable channels to 17mbps MPEG-2 on a few O&O OTA markets and cable systems in those markets.


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

It was a no go for me. I had good bandwidth on my powerline (with indicator lights telling me I was between 50-80 in my DL speeds). It worked fine for an apple TV previously hooked up. But it just couldn't support Bolt-->Mini communications. I had a cable jack on the opposite side of the room so I finally bought a 40 foot white coax (makes my wife happy against the white walls) and a POE filter and it works flawlessly now.


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## ReyC (Feb 26, 2019)

I am frustrated with the powerline adapter with tivo bolt upstairs and mini in basement. Tried a powerline adapter for a couple of years and now I have constant freezing or stutter on my hd channels. I am looking to make the mini a wifi connection. Any help would be great. I see Amazon has a wifi adapter for the mini, but curious if any one has had much luck?

Rey


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

ReyC said:


> I am frustrated with the powerline adapter with tivo bolt upstairs and mini in basement. Tried a powerline adapter for a couple of years and now I have constant freezing or stutter on my hd channels. I am looking to make the mini a wifi connection. Any help would be great. I see Amazon has a wifi adapter for the mini, but curious if any one has had much luck?
> 
> Rey


If you can wait a bit, TiVo has announced that it intends to come out with its own Mini wireless adapter this Spring. (Was announced during the Jan. 2019 Consumer Electronics Show; of course, there are no guarantees as to the timing or otherwise.) This will be the first TiVo-endorsed wireless adapter for the Mini (TiVo itself does not endorse (indeed, it goes the other way), support, or speak to the WiFi bridge solutions that people have used in the absence of a WiFi solution from TiVo itself). It's being developed on the Bolt platform and under the TE4 user interface; unknown (to TiVo right now) if it can or will be ported further (i.e., to the Roamio platform; for the TE3 user interface).

The potential benefits of it over wireless bridges: set-up will be done within one's TiVo box; it can set up a direct connection between the Mini and the TiVo box (i.e., not needing to go through one's router), and will support the AC wireless protocol; presumably, it will be supported by TiVo; it's sleek and cool-looking (I know, but I had to say it). The slated price is $60. More info. (plus there has been discussion in the forum here, e.g. Any Tivo CES 2019 news? and following): TiVo Mini Wireless Adapter Slated For Midyear Release @ $60 - Zatz Not Funny!.

Apart from that and generally, success or not with a wireless adapter is very variable: some people have had no issue; it doesn't work for some people; and other people are in the middle (or things work fine to begin with, but there are problems later). Understandably, having a robust wireless network helps. _Lots_ of posts here on the topic. If you go forward and buy something now, recommended to get something with a return policy, should need be.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

ReyC said:


> I am frustrated with the powerline adapter with tivo bolt upstairs and mini in basement. Tried a powerline adapter for a couple of years and now I have constant freezing or stutter on my hd channels. I am looking to make the mini a wifi connection. Any help would be great. I see Amazon has a wifi adapter for the mini, but curious if any one has had much luck?


So coax/MoCA networking isn't an option?

As for wireless, plenty of people have had success w/ DIY wireless setups; @JoeKustra is a good example, and a check of his posting history should find a number of products that have worked as wireless bridges for him (though much depends on the quality of the wireless base station).

Though its timing may not work for you, you may also want to research TiVo's upcoming wireless adapter product, noting its possible restriction to Mini VOX units running TE4/Hydra:

TiVo Mini Wireless Adapter​


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## kpeters59 (Jun 19, 2007)

You didn't say specifically, but it sounded like it had been working for quite some time and only recently started giving you trouble.

Now, I've tried Powerline for TV distribution at various locations and always gave it up, but if it was working, maybe the Hardware just failed?

Sometimes you can get a couple Powerline Adapters 'bundled' as a kit for kinda cheap. Maybe it's worth trying again?

-KP


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Mikeguy said:


> It's being developed on the Bolt platform and under the TE4 user interface; unknown (to TiVo right now) if it can or will be ported further (i.e., to the Roamio platform;


Where has it been stated that the TiVo Mini Wireless Adapter is being developed on the BOLT platform, or that support for TE4 Roamio DVRs is uncertain?

TE3 and v1/v2 Minis may not be supported, but expectations are that a TE4 Roamio DVR wouldn't be an issue; the TE4 Roamio just wouldn't support the direct wireless connection from the Mini VOX that's possible with a BOLT DVR.

_"If you're using a TiVo Bolt, the adaptor will allow the TiVo Mini to connect wirelessly to your TiVo without even using your network."_​
This "if using a BOLT" qualifier would be unnecessary if the only supported configuration is a BOLT DVR.
​


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

krkaufman said:


> Where has it been stated that the TiVo Mini Wireless Adapter is being developed on the BOLT platform, or that support for TE4 Roamio DVRs is uncertain?
> 
> TE3 and v1/v2 Minis may not be supported, but expectations are that a TE4 Roamio DVR wouldn't be an issue; the TE4 Roamio just wouldn't support the direct wireless connection from the Mini VOX that's possible with a BOLT DVR.
> 
> ...


I could have sworn that I had seen discussion that the development work was being done on the TE4 and Bolt platforms, but in a quick search just now, only found as to the former. Perhaps I conflagrated matters from the v1/v2 Minis to the Roamio platform (if so, my apologies to the OP--edit: thinking back on this, I bet I did, thanks for catching that, and I hope no such development occurs in the development process). This does raise that other uncertainty, though, which could pertain to the OP: whether the TiVo Mini wireless adapter will extend to the earlier Mini models, should that be the OP's set-up. 


> This is a USB adapter, not a bridge. The initial driver work is being done on TE4. I'm not sure whether we'll be able to duplicate the work on TE3. As far as supporting A92 or A93 MINI's, the main issue is CPU and memory performance. I'll know more once we start testing.


Any Tivo CES 2019 news?


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Mikeguy said:


> This does raise that other uncertainty, though, which could pertain to the OP: whether the TiVo Mini wireless adapter will extend to the earlier Mini models


Well, it doesn't exactly "raise" the issue, since the potential Mini version limitation was explicitly mentioned in two previous posts since @ReyC's query.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

ReyC said:


> I see Amazon has a wifi adapter for the mini, but curious if any one has had much luck?


Could I bother you to post a link to Amazon's listing for this product?


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

krkaufman said:


> Well, it doesn't exactly "raise" the issue, since the potential Mini version limitation was explicitly mentioned in two previous posts since @ReyC's query.


Great--certainly something of which the OP should be aware, and which hadn't specifically been inquired of him with regard to his current setup. If the OP has a v1 or v2 Mini, and/or is on TE3 and wants to stay there, I could see a value judgment being made that the uncertainties as to the future in each arena aren't worth the wait.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

ReyC said:


> I am frustrated with the powerline adapter with tivo bolt upstairs and mini in basement. Tried a powerline adapter for a couple of years and now I have constant freezing or stutter on my hd channels. I am looking to make the mini a wifi connection. Any help would be great. I see Amazon has a wifi adapter for the mini, but curious if any one has had much luck?
> Rey


Hi Rey. Can we get some additional information? For wireless to work with a Mini, three items are important. First, and most important, is the router. You can't spend enough on a good router. Think of it as a cell tower. A more powerful and good location give you a better chance of success. Second is the wireless bridge. It's a stand alone device and talks to the router. Since your Mini is in the basement, there could be a lot of interference. And that's the third point: the environment. Items like older buildings, metal joists and external factors (your neighbors) could overwhelm your signals.

What model is the router? How far and how many walls separate the devices? Your symptoms describe a speed problem. I would take my laptop to the location of the Mini and see what signal strength you are getting. It should be 100%. It would be better if you could run coax, since MoCA is superior.

Re: Amazon. I saw several "Mini" wireless adapters. All were using "Mini" to describe the size of the device.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Mikeguy said:


> The potential benefits of it over wireless bridges: set-up will be done within one's TiVo box; it can set up a direct connection between the Mini and the TiVo box (i.e., not needing to go through one's router), and will support the AC wireless protocol; presumably, it will be supported by TiVo; it's sleek and cool-looking (I know, but I had to say it). The slated price is $60. More info. (plus there has been discussion in the forum here, e.g. Any Tivo CES 2019 news? and following): TiVo Mini Wireless Adapter Slated For Midyear Release @ $60 - Zatz Not Funny!.


I'm standing in line to purchase one. Not using the router raises several questions. I'll wait and not make too many guesses.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Mikeguy said:


> Great--certainly something of which the OP should be aware, and which hadn't specifically been inquired of him with regard to his current setup. If the OP has a v1 or v2 Mini, and/or is on TE3 and wants to stay there, I could see a value judgment being made that the uncertainties as to the future in each arena aren't worth the wait.


What inquiry is needed if the caveat was explicitly stated? How was the above any different from the earlier posted info?


krkaufman said:


> Though its timing may not work for you, you may also want to research TiVo's upcoming wireless adapter product, noting its possible restriction to Mini VOX units running TE4/Hydra:
> 
> TiVo Mini Wireless Adapter​





JoeKustra said:


> Re: Amazon. I saw several "Mini" wireless adapters. All were using "Mini" to describe the size of the device.


Heh, you read my mind.



JoeKustra said:


> I'm standing in line to purchase one. Not using the router raises several questions. I'll wait and not make too many guesses.


It's a few weeks early for April 1st. Did you mean you're in line today, or will be once available?

_(I told you Joe was a great info source, @ReyC. Thanks for the detailed followup, JoeK; bookmarking that.)
_
​


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

krkaufman said:


> What inquiry is needed if the caveat was explicitly stated? How was the above any different from the earlier posted info?


Not everyone is as conversant with tech., and some people can benefit from a walkthrough and having possible issues inquired about, especially when having sought advice. Just as there have been other follow-up inquiries here, and other information has been repeated. Not belaboring it but hopefully, the OP finds the information here of some help and option.


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