# Roamio basic and 2 minis install with OTA antenna questions



## brianbunge (Jan 31, 2014)

I currently have Comcast's X1 service (cable, phone, internet) and being a "mature" (read old) student, it's time to cut back on expenses. My wife's company has a contract with TiVo so she gets a pretty sweet equipment discount as well as a small service discount. I want to use the basic Roamio with a pair of TiVo minis along with a Mohu amplified antenna that I picked up yesterday that seems to be pulling in channels fairly well.

So in researching the installation of this equipment I'm a bit confused as to what I do and don't need to make everything work. In the living room the Roamio will be connected to the antenna as well as to the Comcast internet through the router via an ethernet connection. The confusion comes in where I try to figure out exactly how the Roamio communicates with the two Minis. Can anyone help me understand exactly how this should be connected together? The diagrams on the TiVo website haven't really helped me too much.

Thanks in advance for any help!


----------



## Chuckmeister (May 13, 2008)

Basically you have 2 options...Ethernet or Moca.

If you have Ethernet already run into the rooms that you will be using the Mini's you connect them into it. If you don't you could also use powerline adapters that will use the homes electrical wiring as the bridge.

Moca is basically Ethernet over coax, since you already have cable you could reuse the coax thru the home, but with a Roamio Basic you will also need a Moca Adapter since the base unit doesn't have Moca built in. Then you connect the coax to the mini's.


----------



## StevesWeb (Dec 26, 2008)

Hard wired Ethernet is stable, reliable and fast. That's the best case solution.

As Chuckmeister said you can use powerline adapters if Ethernet is not already wired to the Mini locations. Since the basic Roamio is limited to 100M on its Ethernet port you likely would not perceive any loss of speed if the powerline adapters make a good connection.

I have no experience using TiVo over Moca but it should be stable too.


----------



## brianbunge (Jan 31, 2014)

Thanks guys! The powerline solution is probably the most simple, especially since I'm in an apartment. For some reason the MoCA setup seems overly complicated, and I'm actually pretty good at this stuff. Maybe it's just because I've never heard of it before a few days ago. Also, since the antenna isn't going through any kind of splitter the powerline setup is probably the best way to go.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## StevesWeb (Dec 26, 2008)

About the powerline solution, be aware that if neighbors are using the same product there conceivably could be issues. As long as you can plug the powerline adapters directly into outlets (no surge protectors!) and as expected all your circuits come from the same electrical subpanel (almost certain) you should be good.

Usually there is an LED to indicate sync with the other end. I suggest you plug in only one adapter at first and verify that it does not indicate sync with another device.


----------



## brianbunge (Jan 31, 2014)

Based on my neighbors around me I can't imagine any of them using similar devices, but I guess you can't ever be sure until you try. Also, our apartment is definitely on it's on sub-panel so that shouldn't be an issue either.

Just looking on Amazon it looks like I can get 3 adapters and a 5 port switch for about $70 with free shipping. So I'll probably order that and make sure things are working and hopefully I can get things ironed out (there's a coupon code problem for the equipment discount) with TiVo so I can order the rest of the setup.


----------



## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

If you are buying hardware specifically to conned the tivos, I would strongly recommend you use the moca adaptors over powerline. You will only need one adaptor in your case. At the cable modem to put the network on the coax. The minis have moca built in so only need the coax connected to them once moca is on the coax. Moca is VERY simple to hook up and MUCH more stable and trouble free than powerline for this application.


----------



## brianbunge (Jan 31, 2014)

jcthorne said:


> If you are buying hardware specifically to conned the tivos, I would strongly recommend you use the moca adaptors over powerline. You will only need one adaptor in your case. At the cable modem to put the network on the coax. The minis have moca built in so only need the coax connected to them once moca is on the coax. Moca is VERY simple to hook up and MUCH more stable and trouble free than powerline for this application.


Yes I finally figured out last night that I would only need 1 MoCA adapter which will save a few bucks too. None of the hook-up diagrams take into account using an antenna so that is what was confusing me. Thanks for your help!


----------



## Chuckmeister (May 13, 2008)

Since your in a apartment I would also add a POE filter...https://www.tivo.com/shop/detail/moca-poe...you install it at the junction for your apartment. Otherwise you can give free HSI to your neighbors.


----------



## aristoBrat (Dec 30, 2002)

jcthorne said:


> You will only need one adaptor in your case. At the cable modem to put the network on the coax. The minis have moca built in so only need the coax connected to them once moca is on the coax.


I thought the basic Roamio (that supports OTA) has no in-built MoCa support. If that's correct, the OP would need two adapters, right?


----------



## Chuckmeister (May 13, 2008)

aristoBrat said:


> I thought the basic Roamio (that supports OTA) has no in-built MoCa support. If that's correct, the OP would need two adapters, right?


As long as he using one network to connect the Minis to the Roamio he only needs one adapter.
His setup would be something like this:

Minis<->Coax<->Moca adapter<->Router<->Cable Modem
Roamio<->Ethernet<---------------^

Because he's OTA he can't use the Coax Input on Roamio anyway, so he only needs one adapter... he's just extending his network to the Mini's using coax.


----------



## szvers (May 20, 2005)

How do you get the Ethernet to the roamio without a second adapter?

If my basic roamio is not near my router would I need a second adapter ?

I'm ota like the op.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## brianbunge (Jan 31, 2014)

Chuckmeister said:


> As long as he using one network to connect the Minis to the Roamio he only needs one adapter.
> His setup would be something like this:
> 
> Minis<->Coax<->Moca adapter<->Router<->Cable Modem
> ...


Wait, what? How does the antenna connect to the system if not through the Roamio's coax input?


----------



## Chuckmeister (May 13, 2008)

brianbunge said:


> Wait, what? How does the antenna connect to the system if not through the Roamio's coax input?


Sorry to confuse you...but I was talking about using a Moca Adapter to connect to the Roamio. The Coax input would be used by the OTA Antenna thus can't be used by the adapter...the Roamio only has one coax input for either cable or OTA.


----------



## brianbunge (Jan 31, 2014)

Chuckmeister said:


> Sorry to confuse you...but I was talking about using a Moca Adapter to connect to the Roamio. The Coax input would be used by the OTA Antenna thus can't be used by the adapter...the Roamio only has one coax input for either cable or OTA.


LOL, Ok. I was gonna say, this sounds pretty straight-forward except I'd never heard of a MoCA before. Makes installing and setting up a projector sound like child's play!


----------



## bitjumper (Dec 7, 2003)

I might have the same setup as you are trying. I have Comcast internet only, use an outdoor antenna for HD TV, a basic roamio, two minis, and 1 moca adapter. Works great and is solid.

First, I separated the Comcast coax from the house coax. The Comcast coax comes in only to my router and that is it. From the router I have a wired ethernet connection to the Roamio basic.

Second, my TV antenna connects into my house coax and via splitters goes throughout the house to the Roamio basic and each mini location. When I installed my antenna, I brought the coax to the main distribution point in the house and plugged it into the house coax where Comcast used to be.

I have 1 moca adapter at my Roamio basic. My TV antenna coax plugs into the adapter's "Coax In". Then a short piece of coax goes from the adapter's "TV Out" to the Roamio's "Antenna In". In other words, the Moca adapter sits on the coax between the antenna and Roamio. 

Wired ethernet from my router comes to where my Roamio basic is located. I use a small Netgear switch to split this to my Blueray, Amplifier, Roamio, and Moca adapter.

The two minis are only plugged into the antenna coax, HDMI to TV, and power.

The minis are of course configured to use Moca for their network access. They seemingly magically communicate with my Roamio and also have internet access. The only glitch I had was waiting for the Minis to be registered on my account so they can see my Roamio. Power cycling everything after registering everything got everything happy quickly. The mini status pages show Moco communicating at about 240 mbit. Streaming is absolutely solid. You feel like you're using a TV+DVR when you use a mini. It is quite amazing.

Erik


----------



## szvers (May 20, 2005)

So, would you guys say I need two adapters if my roamio and router are in different rooms? One at router, one at roamio basic with Ethernet and coax plugged into roamio?
I can't get my mini to play shows from the roamio, even though it connects to the internet and I can see the shows. It gives me error message saying my mini and roamio may not be on same network.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## tatergator1 (Mar 27, 2008)

If the Roamio Basic and Router are into two different rooms, Yes, you need two adapters. One at the router to create the MoCA network, and one at the Roamio to connect to MoCA and translate to Ethernet.


----------



## poppagene (Dec 29, 2001)

brianbunge said:


> I currently have Comcast's X1 service (cable, phone, internet) and being a "mature" (read old) student, it's time to cut back on expenses. My wife's company has a contract with TiVo so she gets a pretty sweet equipment discount as well as a small service discount. I want to use the basic Roamio with a pair of TiVo minis along with a Mohu amplified antenna that I picked up yesterday that seems to be pulling in channels fairly well.
> 
> So in researching the installation of this equipment I'm a bit confused as to what I do and don't need to make everything work. In the living room the Roamio will be connected to the antenna as well as to the Comcast internet through the router via an ethernet connection. The confusion comes in where I try to figure out exactly how the Roamio communicates with the two Minis. Can anyone help me understand exactly how this should be connected together? The diagrams on the TiVo website haven't really helped me too much.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help!


The basic roamio will only do ota or cable but not both. If you're looking to cut costs, then dump the tv part of your cable bill. Also, if you go cable tv rather than OTA, you'll need one cable card for the roamio.


----------



## brianbunge (Jan 31, 2014)

poppagene said:


> The basic roamio will only do ota or cable but not both. If you're looking to cut costs, then dump the tv part of your cable bill. Also, if you go cable tv rather than OTA, you'll need one cable card for the roamio.


Yeah, the goal is OTA only.


----------



## shrike4242 (Dec 1, 2006)

If running an Ethernet cable is an option, it would be the cheapest option to do the connections, though you'd need three, one from each Mini and one to the Roamio. 

Next option would be MoCa, with two adapters needed, one at the router and one at the Roamio. I've used MoCA for numerous years without any issue and it's worked well in place of Ethernet.


----------



## dnemec123 (Jan 25, 2004)

bitjumper said:


> I might have the same setup as you are trying. I have Comcast internet only, use an outdoor antenna for HD TV, a basic roamio, two minis, and 1 moca adapter. Works great and is solid.
> 
> First, I separated the Comcast coax from the house coax. The Comcast coax comes in only to my router and that is it. From the router I have a wired ethernet connection to the Roamio basic.
> 
> ...


Thank you Erik!
Your setup described my setup exactly. Once I realized that the MOCA network was established on the Antenna feed it all made sense.

Slight difference in my setup is that I have one Mini on the MOCA network, while the 2nd Mini is Ethernet only. Both work great!

Dale


----------



## johnnyk151 (Jan 10, 2016)

Cut the cable cord today. I have a roamio and a mini connected with a moca connection. Since i went with OTA, i removed moca adapter at router. I still have a moca adapter between ota antenna and roamio. i connected roamio with ethernet using a power adapter. Everything at roamio works great, but my mini can no longer see the roamio. I wired up this way based on another post who said it worked great like this. I can't find anythin gto change any settings on the mini that might help. I saw on TIVO site about a POE filter, but I am getting great signal to roamio.

I followed this OP method..
_I might have the same setup as you are trying. I have Comcast internet only, use an outdoor antenna for HD TV, a basic roamio, two minis, and 1 moca adapter. Works great and is solid.

First, I separated the Comcast coax from the house coax. The Comcast coax comes in only to my router and that is it. From the router I have a wired ethernet connection to the Roamio basic.

Second, my TV antenna connects into my house coax and via splitters goes throughout the house to the Roamio basic and each mini location. When I installed my antenna, I brought the coax to the main distribution point in the house and plugged it into the house coax where Comcast used to be.

I have 1 moca adapter at my Roamio basic. My TV antenna coax plugs into the adapter's "Coax In". Then a short piece of coax goes from the adapter's "TV Out" to the Roamio's "Antenna In". In other words, the Moca adapter sits on the coax between the antenna and Roamio.

Wired ethernet from my router comes to where my Roamio basic is located. I use a small Netgear switch to split this to my Blueray, Amplifier, Roamio, and Moca adapter.

The two minis are only plugged into the antenna coax, HDMI to TV, and power._

Thanks for your help, john


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

johnnyk151 said:


> Cut the cable cord today. I have a roamio and a mini connected with a moca connection. ...


Poster started a fresh thread, here: http://tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=535987


----------

