# Tivo Says Only Way I can use Mini/MoCA is to Upgrade Splitter Beyond 5-1000 Range?



## nologic (Jun 30, 2007)

I have a new Roamio Plus and Tivo support says I need to get a new spplitter that operates above 5-1000 Mhz range to connect the mini. I live in a modern apt building with a 3 way 5-1000 mhz splitter.

Sux that Tivo doesn't make products that are compatible with standard consumer household environments. Who would come up w a product that requires customers to go buy a new, extra range splitter and is incompatible with the core market?


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## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

Ignore TiVo. I have used or set up MoCA networks in at least a dozen homes, using regular old 1ghz/1000mhz splitters, and they all work fine.


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## nologic (Jun 30, 2007)

Arcady said:


> Ignore TiVo. I have used or set up MoCA networks in at least a dozen homes, using regular old 1ghz/1000mhz splitters, and they all work fine.


That's great. But it's not working for me, and they don't have any other suggestions, besides going to my Comcast service center where they say they will have 2000 mhz splitters.

Comcast doesn't have any way to call service centers to see if they even have those kind of splitters.


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## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

Is there a powered amplifier in between the two boxes? That will usually kill the MoCA signal, unless the amp is designed to pass MoCA.


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## obeythelaw2004 (Oct 27, 2013)

What exactly is the issue you that you are having? 
Don't make yourself go crazy. If you really want to test it out, go to Walmart and they sell up to 3ghz splitters for about $10.00


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## nologic (Jun 30, 2007)

Arcady said:


> Is there a powered amplifier in between the two boxes? That will usually kill the MoCA signal, unless the amp is designed to pass MoCA.


No Walmarts near me. No amplifier. Both TVs are hooked up to Bose sound systems.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

nologic said:


> No Walmarts near me. No amplifier. Both TVs are hooked up to Bose sound systems.


Try Monoprice.


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## joewom (Dec 10, 2013)

Do you have a poe filter installed??? You need that!


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

The problem may or may not be a splitter, but not because it's "only" 1 GHz. They work fine. Splitters are a common culprit when there are moca signal issues, though. You may need to swap it out with another.


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## FORDguy97 (Feb 7, 2015)

If you have some extra coaxial lying around, can you hook everything up in the same room to create a test bunch setup, to isolate any outside or hidden hurtles that may be interfering.

As far as tivo suggesting 2ghz splitters, I believe that is the first question on the tech support script sheet and as soon as you say no, they automatically assume that is your problem, been there done that.


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## Holazola (Dec 22, 2005)

FYI - it may not apply here, but COX Santa Barbara is now using above 1GHz for some of their signals. I had to upgrade to a Roamio to get all the channels I was paying for...


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

nologic said:


> No Walmarts near me. No amplifier. *Both TVs are hooked up to Bose sound systems.*


Well there's your problem right there, you're hooked up to a "Blose" system! 

The Blose slogan: "You can buy better, but you can't pay more!"

jk 

I agree with the previous poster who suggested to hook it all up in the same room using short coax cables as a test bench to see if it works there, then start moving one piece at a time back to its destination and see what happens. That will at least isolate which component or area of the system has issues. I remember I had to bring each mini over and connect it directly to my first Roamio using a splitter just to get it to be recognized and get initially configured. Then when I moved it back to its rightful place it just kept working. It just needed a jump start I guess.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

HarperVision said:


> Well there's your problem right there, you're hooked up to a "Blose" system!
> 
> The Blose slogan: "You can buy better, but you can't pay more!"
> 
> jk


I was brought up with "no highs, no lows, must be Bose"


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

What the heck does the half asked Bose sound system have to do with your Moca network?


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## pwlcheng (Dec 6, 2007)

OP haven't mention if he has the POE filter installed or not.


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## joewom (Dec 10, 2013)

jcthorne said:


> What the heck does the half asked Bose sound system have to do with your Moca network?


They were joking.


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## joewom (Dec 10, 2013)

pwlcheng said:


> OP haven't mention if he has the POE filter installed or not.


Nope and I am going with they don't.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

Well if it doesn't work then you have to troubleshoot to get it to work. 

Try a new splitter. And second try a POE filter. 

YOur cable provider has splitters. Hardware stores carry splitters. ....don't worry so much about buying a greater than 1ghz ranged splitter.


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## DeltaOne (Sep 29, 2013)

dianebrat said:


> I was brought up with "no highs, no lows, must be Bose"


Ha! Love the "Bose" stuff. I was taught:

Buy Other Sound Equipment


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## joewom (Dec 10, 2013)

trip1eX said:


> Well if it doesn't work then you have to troubleshoot to get it to work.
> 
> So try a new splitter.
> 
> Next consider a POE filter. If you're in an apt building that might be more of a necessity given the closer proximity of neighbors.


POE should be installed regardless. One its a security issue and two it weakens the signal greatly. And three if you are close to someone else using MOCA and doesn't have a POE then they will conflict!

Oh and four they are a couple of dollars.


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## pwlcheng (Dec 6, 2007)

I would suggest to OP the following steps --
1) Install the POE filter
2) Connect ethernet cable to the Roamio Plus and make sure it is able to access the Internet 
3) Make sure both coax and ethernet cables are in place, set the Roamio Plus to create the MOCA network
4) Connect coax cable to the Mini and check if it establish the connection with the Roamio
Let us know if you still have problem after checking these basic steps so we can help you further.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

nologic said:


> No Walmarts near me. No amplifier. Both TVs are hooked up to Bose sound systems.


Wait... are you a US user? If you are, there literally has to be a Wal-Mart near you. They have built Wal-Marts in every corner of this country... believe me, I've been to a lot of them!



BigJimOutlaw said:


> The problem may or may not be a splitter, but not because it's "only" 1 GHz. They work fine. Splitters are a common culprit when there are moca signal issues, though. You may need to swap it out with another.


Bingo!



Holazola said:


> FYI - it may not apply here, but COX Santa Barbara is now using above 1GHz for some of their signals. I had to upgrade to a Roamio to get all the channels I was paying for...


No they're not. No cable provider goes higher than 1002mhz. They put channels between 860mhz and 1000mhz, which the Series 3's can't tune.


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## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

BTW I was having intermittent problems with a Mini on a MoCA connection in a room that is not used very often. I had to do some work in that room today, and I got tired of the TiVo cutting out several times, so I decided to diagnose it. First I thought maybe the coax splitter was bad, so I swapped it out with another 5-1005mhz splitter. It was still cutting in and out. I swapped the coax cable, with no change. The problem ended up being a corroded barrel connector in the room's wallplate. Any bad part in the signal path can cause MoCA to fail.


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## Marty1781 (Jan 2, 2004)

nologic said:


> I have a new Roamio Plus and Tivo support says I need to get a new spplitter that operates above 5-1000 Mhz range to connect the mini. I live in a modern apt building with a 3 way 5-1000 mhz splitter.
> 
> Sux that Tivo doesn't make products that are compatible with standard consumer household environments. Who would come up w a product that requires customers to go buy a new, extra range splitter and is incompatible with the core market?


If for some reason MoCA doesn't work out for you, as a last resort, you can try using a wireless bridge to connect the Mini wirelessly to your home network and thus to the Roamio. Several people have gone this route and it works fine for them (though not officially supported by Tivo). Keep in mind though that if you go this route, you will need to have a fairly strong wireless signal in the room where you want to place the Mini otherwise, you will likely experience all sorts of audio/video issues with the Mini.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

Marty1781 said:


> If for some reason MoCA doesn't work out for you, as a last resort, you can try using a wireless bridge to connect the Mini wirelessly to your home network and thus to the Roamio. Several people have gone this route and it works fine for them (though not officially supported by Tivo). Keep in mind though that if you go this route, you will need to have a fairly strong wireless signal in the room where you want to place the Mini otherwise, you will likely experience all sorts of audio/video issues with the Mini.


Or you can use powerline networking, in my experience it's more reliable than wireless for a mini for a grand total of under $50.


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## Marty1781 (Jan 2, 2004)

dianebrat said:


> Or you can use powerline networking, in my experience it's more reliable than wireless for a mini for a grand total of under $50.


That's definitely another alternative. However, in my experience, powerline has actually been less reliable than wireless with far more stuttering, pixelation, and freezing than I ever got with wireless. I guess it really depends on the age and quality of the wiring in your home. For some it works fine, others not so much (same as wireless). If someone has issues with powerline though, the only real fix is to call a electrician which can get really expensive. With wireless, however, one can use things like repeaters, extenders, and additional access points to solve poor wireless signal issues at a fraction of the cost of calling an electrician. Powerline is worth a shot I suppose (can always return the adapters if it doesn't work out) but from my experience and my non-scientific reading of the forums here, seems like wireless surprisingly tends to give better results with the Mini.


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

This link answers many of the issues involved in both installing and trouble shooting MoCA devices
http://www.arrisi.com/dig_lib/white_papers/_docs/MoCA_Troubleshooting.pdf
Verizon Fios uses splitters rated up to 1750Mhz and they have for a long time.
Any cable operator that offers Whole Home DVR service uses MoCA and WHDVR filters are functionally the same as a POE filter. One POE filter should be installed on the main feed immediately before any splitters, if you have a non-MoCA cable modem, you will most likely need one on that also. Most splitters even though only rated to 1000MHz work fine with MoCA but some few do not. Standard amplifiers, i.e., non-MoCA bypass will block MoCA signals. After defective splitters, poor quality, corroded f-connecters, and damaged coax are the most like problem areas. Sometimes spinning a pencil eraser on the coax center conductor can remove corrosion and improve picture quality.


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## UttBuggly (Dec 21, 2015)

DeltaOne said:


> Ha! Love the "Bose" stuff. I was taught:
> 
> Buy Other Sound Equipment


I've used Bose speakers for over 40 years. And I'm an engineer and have done A/V work all over the world.

My TiVo in my main HT setup is running through a Denon AVR to a Panasonic ZT60 plasma set. The sound is Bose 301s for fronts, 201s for rears, an Infinity center channel speaker, and a Polk sub. The room was EQ'd with the Audyssey software on the Denon then verified with an Ivie analyzer.

That said, if I had the cabbage, I'd use B&W Nautilus drivers. As it is, I have less in the current drivers than a single B&W.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

We always call them "Blose" 

Oh, haha, I already said that before here:



HarperVision said:


> Well there's your problem right there, you're hooked up to a "Blose" system!  The Blose slogan: "You can buy better, but you can't pay more!" jk  I agree with the previous poster who suggested to hook it all up in the same room using short coax cables as a test bench to see if it works there, then start moving one piece at a time back to its destination and see what happens. That will at least isolate which component or area of the system has issues. I remember I had to bring each mini over and connect it directly to my first Roamio using a splitter just to get it to be recognized and get initially configured. Then when I moved it back to its rightful place it just kept working. It just needed a jump start I guess.





dianebrat said:


> I was brought up with "no highs, no lows, must be Bose"





DeltaOne said:


> Ha! Love the "Bose" stuff. I was taught: Buy Other Sound Equipment


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