# Bolt with Spectrum



## Mjm3143 (Oct 20, 2018)

Hi, I'm new to this (dumb questions warning). 

Gotta quit AT&T/direct mostly cuz of internet. 

Spec doesn't have whole house dvr. Deal killer. 

Can I get bolt/minis and be equal? I'm guessing there are pros/cons and would appreciate help understanding. 

I've read a few threads and don't yet understand all the terminology and acronyms. 

I've read something about tuning adapters, for example but don't know how to tell if they will affect me.

Thanks!


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## austinsho (Oct 21, 2001)

Yes, when Spectrum took over Time Warner they dropped the whole home system and insisted in installing their inferior 210 box. I too am looking to get Tivo, but just a single receiver. I'd like to know if there have been any issues using the cablecard from Spectrum (Charter) with Tivo.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

I've had Charter, now called Spectrum, for decades and haven't had CC problems. You also need a TA, at least for many (probably mostly Premium Cable) channels.


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

I too have had Charter/Spectrum for decades, cable card only for about the last 10 years. Yes, you'll probably need a free tuning adapter. Not a big deal. Just plug it in. However, it can be a bumpy ride for some. In that time I've done at least a dozen cable card activations. Depending on who is on the other end of the phone, it could take 5 minutes or several weeks to get a Tivo working. But no matter how much they try to sabotage you, cable card is still the law of the land, and they will eventually get it working as long as you are persistent.

Pros and cons: You'll be saving a lot of money in the long run and getting a box that can skip commercials, run streaming apps and can be viewed/managed remotely. The only con I can think of is that you can't get "on demand" content on your Tivo. But you can easily get it with the Spectrum app or the individual networks' apps. So that's not a big deal either.

Having said that, while I still use Tivo for OTA, I see no reason to keep cable TV at all when I can get the same content for about one third the cost with a service like DirecTV NOW.

In any case, good luck.


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

Mjm3143 said:


> Hi, I'm new to this (dumb questions warning).
> 
> Gotta quit AT&T/direct mostly cuz of internet.
> 
> ...


The truth is that getting a cablecard up and running with any ISP is or can be problematic, but some folks are lucky. Spectrum complicates things because they use SDV, switched digital video in many areas, see here, What is Switched Digital Video? 
You don't mention how many TV's you are needing to setup, nor what your recording patterns you will have, heavy, medium, or light and if you like to keep a ton of programing on the DVR or you quickly watch and delete.
The more TV's you will be using, the more tuners you are likely to need. The base Bolt has 4 tuners, one is reserved for the Bolt itself, so 3 are left for live TV, minus any active recordings, but if your minis are watching a recording or using a streaming service, no tuner is used. There is a 6 tuner cable only Bolt that also has a 3TB drive vs the base Bolt's 500GB. If you are computer smart, the hard drives can be upgraded on the base Bolt to 3TB without too much difficulty and with advanced skills even drives up to 8TB's can be used via mods and external drives. 
The Bolt series is somewhat faster particularly with the streaming services, but many folks use alternate boxes for streaming, i.e., Roku, Firetv, etc. because they are more user friendly and less glitchy.
If you are interested in a "value" purchase, consider the older Roamio series units with All/in lifetime service, particularily the Roamio Pro/Plus units which will give you 6 cable only tuners and have Pro/3TB and Plus/1TB hard drives but all of these can be upgraded up to 8TB's with standard 3.5" hard drives without too much difficulty, The Bolt series uses the smaller 2.5" laptop type of hard drives which are a bit harder to come by.
Most folks here would consider Tivos superior to all cable company boxes.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

fcfc2 said:


> You don't mention how many TV's you are needing to setup


One caveat Re: TiVo's whole home solution is that TiVo officially* requires wired Ethernet or MoCA (coax network) connections for each device, unlike some proprietary setups that support wireless client boxes.

* Many customers have had success using Powerline or wireless where wired Ethernet or MoCA wasn't possible; YMMV.


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## ManeJon (Apr 14, 2018)

I did the switch from DTV to TIVO/Spectrum a few months ago. It is all working well for me. The Spectrum installer did all the work - installed the cable card etc. I made the switch because I moved to an apartment where sat isn't allowed and I don't have view of southern sky anyway.
How Spectrum gets away with 2 tuner dvr and no whole home I don't understand but I'll bet Tivo loves it. I'd rather do 1 vendor but ..
I think DTV was a better in total experience but this works so...


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## austinsho (Oct 21, 2001)

Folks...this has been genuinely helpful and I truly appreciate the quick responses.

I had a Series 2 DirecTV supplied Tivo for years, then went with their own equipment. Recently, as you may have heard, their own equipment (the Genie) was damaged by a misguided software redesign. That, when combined with a number of other technical issues, has forced us to Spectrum cable, as they are the only other viable provider for us at the moment. 

However, we found that Spectrum's own DVR (the five tuner 210) is nowhere near ready for prime time and they have supplied me with a four tuner Arris box which is....barely adequate. I'd really love something with a nice, fast guide and RF remotes.


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## sxmfan2018 (Aug 31, 2018)

austinsho said:


> Folks...this has been genuinely helpful and I truly appreciate the quick responses.
> 
> I had a Series 2 DirecTV supplied Tivo for years, then went with their own equipment. Recently, as you may have heard, their own equipment (the Genie) was damaged by a misguided software redesign. That, when combined with a number of other technical issues, has forced us to Spectrum cable, as they are the only other viable provider for us at the moment.
> 
> However, we found that Spectrum's own DVR (the five tuner 210) is nowhere near ready for prime time and they have supplied me with a four tuner Arris box which is....barely adequate. I'd really love something with a nice, fast guide and RF remotes.


the 210 is a 4 tuner. though there's rumours flying around that it has 8 tuners but 4 are locked down


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## austinsho (Oct 21, 2001)

The 210 an 8 tuner? Hah!

If it is, they're locked down because Spectrum can't make the four work properly, much less eight!

Frankly, failed DVR "upgrades" are the reason I'm back here. The DirecTV Genie was ruined by AT&T during an upgrade attempt, then Spectrun dropped the Arris box in favor of the 210, which was knee deep in bugs. I just found a TiVo Roamio Plus for good money on CL and figure that if I can get it up and running on a Spectrum cable card and tuning adapter, I'll (hopefully) put those troubles behind me.


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## tommiet (Oct 28, 2005)

I also just dumped Dish for cable (Spectrum.) In my area, its a 2 channel DVR or nothing. I've been an on and off Tivo user for years. I change TV options with the price. Just that a 2 channel dvr is a no go. I do believe the Dish Hopper FF (30-second skip) is much faster than Tivo. The Tivo SKIP feature is great but works on a very limited amount of channels. Overall, I'm happy with my BOLT and Minis'.


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## austinsho (Oct 21, 2001)

One thing I'm still not sure of....if I have a TiVo that records four programs at one, I assume I only need ONE multi-stream Cablecard, right? Or am I missing something here?


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

austinsho said:


> if I have a TiVo that records four programs at one, I assume I only need ONE multi-stream Cablecard, right?


Correct. And good thing, since there's only one CableCARD slot in any modern TiVo DVR.


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## austinsho (Oct 21, 2001)

Thanks...just didn't want to do something stupid.


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## sxmfan2018 (Aug 31, 2018)

austinsho said:


> The 210 an 8 tuner? Hah!
> 
> If it is, they're locked down because Spectrum can't make the four work properly, much less eight!
> 
> Frankly, failed DVR "upgrades" are the reason I'm back here. The DirecTV Genie was ruined by AT&T during an upgrade attempt, then Spectrun dropped the Arris box in favor of the 210, which was knee deep in bugs. I just found a TiVo Roamio Plus for good money on CL and figure that if I can get it up and running on a Spectrum cable card and tuning adapter, I'll (hopefully) put those troubles behind me.


can spectrum make anything work right??? that's the 20 million dollar question. i signed up in last june that gave me a dual tuner unit wich sucks and so 1970's. i had a problem with the box in the bedroom kept rebooting. so they sent a tech to replace the box and upgrade the DVR but they could not promise anything. the tech said that he didn't have any on his van with more that two tuners. so i told the tech this has got to get fixed or i am canceling my service right now and you can take all of there **** out of my house. well hell i never seen anyone move so fast in my life he went down to his van and found an arris 6 tuner box and gave it to me. and even that had it's issues with motion blur and pixeiation. the world box is a nightmare don't even bother with it


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## austinsho (Oct 21, 2001)

Before "Spectrum" were you originally Time Warner or Charter? Those old dual tuner units TWC had couldn't hold a candle to even a Series 1 TiVo. As for motion blur and pixelation, I'm betting that's a source issue, that they're stuffing too many ones and zeroes into too little bandwidth,.


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## sxmfan2018 (Aug 31, 2018)

has anyone experienced motion blu and pixelation with the bolt.


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## sxmfan2018 (Aug 31, 2018)

austinsho said:


> Before "Spectrum" were you originally Time Warner or Charter? Those old dual tuner units TWC had couldn't hold a candle to even a Series 1 TiVo. As for motion blur and pixelation, I'm betting that's a source issue, that they're stuffing too many ones and zeroes into too little bandwidth,.


i was a TWC customer. i called em last night and they said my signal was at 65%


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## sxmfan2018 (Aug 31, 2018)

tommiet said:


> I also just dumped Dish for cable (Spectrum.) In my area, its a 2 channel DVR or nothing. I've been an on and off Tivo user for years. I change TV options with the price. Just that a 2 channel dvr is a no go. I do believe the Dish Hopper FF (30-second skip) is much faster than Tivo. The Tivo SKIP feature is great but works on a very limited amount of channels. Overall, I'm happy with my BOLT and Minis'.


i will be dumping dish soon there customer service is crap


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## tommiet (Oct 28, 2005)

Charter/Spectrum internet has worked ok for me for years. The cable TV was so-so and the DVR was a left over from the 90's and still is today. I cannot see how anyone would use a Spectrum DVR. I do have a cable HD box, but got a Mini today and that box will be going back to the cable company. 
With a Dish DVR and 2 remote units, it was costing me $30.00 a month in hardware PLUS 9.00 for maintenance on them. $2.00 a month for my cable card. My equipment will pay for itself in short time.


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## garyprud (Jan 13, 2017)

I have a Bolt+ with three Mini's and very happy with my 'whole house' moca setup. Better than before and more recording flexibility.


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## ManeJon (Apr 14, 2018)

I am a recent Spectrum (TWC) and Tivo Bolt + Mini customer. I came from DirecTV which I had to drop since I moved to an apartment which doesn't allow dishes and I don't have the right sky view anyway.
Couldn't believe that TWC doesn't have whole home and only 2 tuner DVR which led me to TIVO. It all works fine most of the time the Spectrum installer did all the TIVO installation which somewhat surprised me. Spectrum here is going all digital in a couple of weeks so I expect some issues even if it is only new channel numbers. Will be interested to see how TIVO handle channel number changes.
What I find interesting is that during bad weather the locals are too broken up to watch and some breakup happens often. Must be how Spectrum is pulling down the locals (off air or?) I find that ironic since 99% of Spectrum ads are how bad Directv is during bad weather and it was a lot better on DirecTV than on Spectrum.
I must say that reading these forums sort of scares me that if things go bad it will be difficult to fix but time will tell


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

ManeJon said:


> Spectrum here is going all digital in a couple of weeks so I expect some issues even if it is only new channel numbers. Will be interested to see how TIVO handle channel number changes.
> 
> What I find interesting is that during bad weather the locals are too broken up to watch and some breakup happens often. Must be how Spectrum is pulling down the locals (off air or?) I find that ironic since 99% of Spectrum ads are how bad Directv is during bad weather and it was a lot better on DirecTV than on Spectrum.
> 
> I must say that reading these forums sort of scares me that if things go bad it will be difficult to fix but time will tell


First, this "going digital" is some old marketing stuff being used since they have no media material to describe what they are really doing. A Roamio or Bolt ONLY receive digital signals. As for channels, the same database used by TiVo is used by tvguide.com and tv.com. You can also go to TiVo Online and select guide, then enter your zipcode and provider. That will show you another opinion of your channels. To get more accurate guide data, use zap2it.com (Gracenote).

Except for locals, cable feeds use satellites. They usually use very large dishes and are not as affected by storms. But I can watch the weather radar and when the storms cross my cable feed's farm I can see the interference.

Happy people don't seek out help from web forums. Don't call TiVo unless it is unavoidable. They are stupid.


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## Mjm3143 (Oct 20, 2018)

krkaufman said:


> One caveat Re: TiVo's whole home solution is that TiVo officially* requires wired Ethernet or MoCA (coax network) connections for each device, unlike some proprietary setups that support wireless client boxes.
> 
> * Many customers have had success using Powerline or wireless where wired Ethernet or MoCA wasn't possible; YMMV.


Thanks! I have coax running from box behind house to each TV. As long as I can 'splice' 2 pieces of cable together with a straight connector, I can get remote TV's coax connected to the Tivo. (I know UVerse was problematic re: 'splicing'; they insisted on 1 long wire).


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## Mjm3143 (Oct 20, 2018)

fcfc2 said:


> The truth is that getting a cablecard up and running with any ISP is or can be problematic, but some folks are lucky. Spectrum complicates things because they use SDV, switched digital video in many areas, see here, What is Switched Digital Video?
> You don't mention how many TV's you are needing to setup, nor what your recording patterns you will have, heavy, medium, or light and if you like to keep a ton of programing on the DVR or you quickly watch and delete.
> The more TV's you will be using, the more tuners you are likely to need. The base Bolt has 4 tuners, one is reserved for the Bolt itself, so 3 are left for live TV, minus any active recordings, but if your minis are watching a recording or using a streaming service, no tuner is used. There is a 6 tuner cable only Bolt that also has a 3TB drive vs the base Bolt's 500GB. If you are computer smart, the hard drives can be upgraded on the base Bolt to 3TB without too much difficulty and with advanced skills even drives up to 8TB's can be used via mods and external drives.
> The Bolt series is somewhat faster particularly with the streaming services, but many folks use alternate boxes for streaming, i.e., Roku, Firetv, etc. because they are more user friendly and less glitchy.
> ...


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Mjm3143 said:


> Thanks! I have coax running from box behind house to each TV. As long as I can 'splice' 2 pieces of cable together with a straight connector, I can get remote TV's coax connected to the Tivo. (I know UVerse was problematic re: 'splicing'; they insisted on 1 long wire).


Just be sure to use quality components.

Holland 3Ghz F81


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Mjm3143 said:


> Also, I think you said I can be recording 3 shows at a time with the base and could be watching recorded shows on other TVs at that same time, right? I


The DVR can be recording 4 shows at once, still allowing viewing of any recorded or recording content on both the DVR and Mini at the same time.

Things get a bit less clear when trying to view Live TV. Even if the DVR is only recording 3 shows (# of tuners - 1), the Mini likely wouldn't be able to grab the last tuner because it is reserved for the DVR's live TV tuning. Of course, if the live program is also recording, the Mini can select the in-progress recording to avoid the need for its own tuner.


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## Laker Dre (Jan 13, 2019)

Reaching out to anyone that can steer me in the right direction. After conducting a bunch of research (reviewing diagrams, reading countless threads, etc.) in anticipation of my switch from DirecTV back to Tivo, I'm at a loss and need some help.

I'm in Los Angeles and today (Tuesday) the Spectrum tech came to my apartment to set up my cablecard/service. I have a brand new Tivo Bolt 1TB and 2 Tivo Minis. While the guy was cool he wasn't clear on MoCA or setting up the Tivo Minis. I handed him the POE filter I purchased from Amazon and he installed it for me (the three-way splitter is located outside). After setting up the modem and separate wireless router (I signed up for Spectrum Ultra 400MBS) he installed the CC in the Tivo Bolt and connected the TA. 

Nothing was working so he had to call home base a few times. On one of the calls, they instructed him to use a splitter so there would be one coax going into TA and one into the Tivo Bolt. It still wasn't completely working and he was finally told that since the Tivo Bolt was brand new it most likely needed to be on for 8 hours before the TA would work. If it didn't work then the TA was faulty. Well, that was enough for him and he left. 

After a couple of hours, I found one of the diagrams I had saved and reconnected everything, this time with success. Well, that's what I thought. I tried connecting my Actiontec MoCA Network Adapters (one at the modem and one at the Tivo Bolt) when that didn't work, then I tried a mix of only one at each end and my internet stopped working and I couldn't get the Tivo to configure the DHCP (I think I'm saying this right).

I opted to remove the MoCA network adapters for now, go with the simple connections of just the splitter, TA and Tivo Bolt and connect via WiFi. This allowed me to complete Guided Setup. I didn't recognize the Channel List from the provided options - ultimately chose TWC SD. About half the channels are correct. Half are not. Most of the channels in the guide have an SD designation. 

When I run a test Signal Strength I'm getting the following: No Digital Signal. 0 peak: 0

The bizarre thing is I know that some of the programs are coming through in HD (Spectrum News and most of the news channels looks really nice).

Obviously, my Tivo Minis are not connected and I'd like to get them set up. Since it's already midnight here I don't expect a ton of replies but hoping to get some support. 

Many thanks!


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

No one will be mad if you start your own thread.


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

Laker Dre said:


> Reaching out to anyone that can steer me in the right direction. After conducting a bunch of research (reviewing diagrams, reading countless threads, etc.) in anticipation of my switch from DirecTV back to Tivo, I'm at a loss and need some help.
> 
> I'm in Los Angeles and today (Tuesday) the Spectrum tech came to my apartment to set up my cablecard/service. I have a brand new Tivo Bolt 1TB and 2 Tivo Minis. While the guy was cool he wasn't clear on MoCA or setting up the Tivo Minis. I handed him the POE filter I purchased from Amazon and he installed it for me (the three-way splitter is located outside). After setting up the modem and separate wireless router (I signed up for Spectrum Ultra 400MBS) he installed the CC in the Tivo Bolt and connected the TA.
> 
> ...


A couple thoughts, first off if your Bolt is close enough to the router to get an Ethernet cable connection, you wouldn't need a MoCA adapter at all. Is that possible? Your Bolt can establish a MoCA network on it's own with both a coax and Ethernet connection and your minis also have MoCA builtin so no adapters needed there either. 
I can almost guarantee that you selected the wrong head end for your cable setup, unless you are on some super bargain deal that only offers SD channels. 
One can only hope that the installer knew enough to put that MoCA filter on the input and not one of the legs of that 3 way, otherwise there is a good chance that you will never get your MoCA working correctly and could be sharing everything you do on your computers with one or more of your neightbors. 
The first thing I would do is to see if you can get an Ethernet cable from one of the LAN ports on your router to the Bolt, and see if you can get the Bolt working with the TA. If you can get that far switch the Bolt over to create a MoCA network and proceed to try getting the minis setup via MoCA. 
By the way, you do have a Tivo account setup and all of your devices are listed as active on that account, don't you?


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

Yeah, lots of issues here. Deserving of multiple threads actually.

- I agree, you selected the wrong lineup. TWC no longer exists as far as I know. So if you don't see any relevant choices, try a different, nearby zip code.
- Signal strength test has never functioned for me on any Tivo using cable card. So I think you can ignore that.
- First priority is correct line up, then verify cable card pairing, then getting TA authorized and enabled (solid light). Need to know make of card and TA (Moto/Arris or Cisco). Zip in LA would also be helpful.
- Work out Moca issues after main Tivo is getting all your channels, in a different thread.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Where I live in LA (90045), TWC SD is still the correct choice for Spectrum.

I don't know if it is still true, but the TWC HD choice had incorrect and unstable mappings; I had one TiVo setup that way for a while but I eventually gave up on it because is was so often wrong. In this area Spectrum SD channels are automatically mapped to the HD signal if you have an HD receiver, by the way.


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## Sobeer (Jan 17, 2019)

Just got my Bolt and Mini setup. The Bolt had issues, would not recognize the TA (Tuning Adapter). Spectrum came out the next day to fix it. Replaced the TA and then replaced the USB cable. Finally the Bolt recognized the TA. Premium Channels finally worked. Next problem was the Mini. After a few hours with that, the Mini and Bolt have to connected to the router via ethernet cable, I had them on a switch, since the spectrum router only had 4 ports. Tivo support said that they needed to be both directly on the router. So after moving things I have them both on the router and the Mini finally saw the Bolt, and now everything is working.


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## Laker Dre (Jan 13, 2019)

Genuine thanks to everyone who responded, it's a great feeling to get helpful comments when these setup issues cause a lot of frustration (and some friction with the spouse!) Just a few additional details:
I'm in LA (90019).
*Tivo Account* - yes, I double checked and the brand new Tivo Bolt and 2 Tivo minis have been activated under my wife's account.
*Channel Lineup* - I reset the Tivo Bolt and during Guided Setup I selected TWC HD City of Los Angeles - this was almost perfect: all of the channel logos include the HD designation instead of SD and HD channels are looking good. However, there are issues with the wrong listing on a few channels including my favorite - Spectrum Sports LA (Lakers channel). The Lakers and Dodgers channels are receiving the correct signals but they are both listed as the Dodgers channel. I'm tempted to go through Guided Setup again and select TWC West Hollywood to see if this corrects itself. If that still doesn't fix the issue I'll try a different zip code.
*Signal strength *- test has never functioned for me on any Tivo using cable card. So I think you can ignore that. - ignoring since the channels are coming in and looking A-OK.
*Cable card *- paired
*TA* - authorized and I'm getting the solid yellow (amber) light.
*Make of card and TA (Moto/Arris or Cisco) *- Will report back on this when I get home.

Finally, my Bolt is in the living room along with my modem and router but they are not next to each other (opposite ends - blame the 100-year-old building?)
I could potentially purchase a long Ethernet cable to at least test the connection and establish a MoCA network.

One can only hope that the installer knew enough to put that MoCA filter on the input and not one of the legs of that 3 way, otherwise there is a good chance that you will never get your MoCA working correctly and could be sharing everything you do on your computers with one or more of your neightbors. - I'll need to verify this - will report back in the morning as it's most likely too dark to view the wiring outside at night.

Thanks again!


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Laker Dre said:


> *Channel Lineup* - I reset the Tivo Bolt and during Guided Setup I selected TWC HD City of Los Angeles - this was almost perfect: all of the channel logos include the HD designation instead of SD and HD channels are looking good. However, there are issues with the wrong listing on a few channels including my favorite - Spectrum Sports LA (Lakers channel). The Lakers and Dodgers channels are receiving the correct signals but they are both listed as the Dodgers channel. I'm tempted to go through Guided Setup again and select TWC West Hollywood to see if this corrects itself. If that still doesn't fix the issue I'll try a different zip code.


If none of the lineups tried resolve this programming issue, you can submit a lineup issue to TiVo via the following form:

Report a Lineup Issue​


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Laker Dre said:


> Genuine thanks to everyone who responded, it's a great feeling to get helpful comments when these setup issues cause a lot of frustration (and some friction with the spouse!) Just a few additional details:
> I'm in LA (90019).
> *Tivo Account* - yes, I double checked and the brand new Tivo Bolt and 2 Tivo minis have been activated under my wife's account.
> *Channel Lineup* - I reset the Tivo Bolt and during Guided Setup I selected TWC HD City of Los Angeles - this was almost perfect: all of the channel logos include the HD designation instead of SD and HD channels are looking good. However, there are issues with the wrong listing on a few channels including my favorite - Spectrum Sports LA (Lakers channel). The Lakers and Dodgers channels are receiving the correct signals but they are both listed as the Dodgers channel. I'm tempted to go through Guided Setup again and select TWC West Hollywood to see if this corrects itself. If that still doesn't fix the issue I'll try a different zip code.
> ...


I assume you haven't got the Moca network running. No need for Moca adapter at Bolt. Take that away and it should work.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Laker Dre said:


> I handed him the POE filter I purchased from Amazon and he installed it for me (the three-way splitter is located outside).





Laker Dre said:


> my Bolt is in the living room along with my modem and router but they are not next to each other (opposite ends - blame the 100-year-old building?)


I'm wondering if you've left something out. If you have 2 Minis, a BOLT and a modem across the room from the BOLT, how is a 3-way splitter servicing 4 locations/devices? (Putting aside the 2-way splitter at the BOLT/TA location.)



Laker Dre said:


> I tried connecting my Actiontec MoCA Network Adapters (one at the modem and one at the Tivo Bolt)


You should only need a single MoCA adapter for your setup (installed at the modem/router location), assuming you stick with coax-only for the BOLT, but a second MoCA adapter should facilitate testing for MoCA connectivity between wall outlets.

As a quick demonstration, you can just connect the two MoCA adapters via a short coax cable ... and you should then observe that the coax/MoCA status LED on both adapters lights-up. You can then connect the adapters directly to your wall outlets to gauge MoCA connectivity between locations, again using the status LEDs to judge success. (Not connecting either adapter to your Ethernet LAN during this testing negates any security concerns Re: improper placement of the "PoE" MoCA filter.)


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Laker Dre said:


> After setting up the modem and separate wireless router (I signed up for Spectrum Ultra 400MBS)


Another item to keep in mind is that some modems don't respond well to MoCA signals hitting their coax input ports - older pre-MoCA modems and some newer DOCSIS 3.1 modems (the latter owing to DOCSIS 3.1 extending into the frequency range previously designated for MoCA).

Precautions:
. What's the brand/model no. of your modem? (to research MoCA compatibility)
. Check the frequencies/channels in-use for the modem's downstream/upstream Internet connections. (to determine if your provider is using any frequencies within the MoCA range, 1125-1675 MHz)

Then, if you find the modem has issues when MoCA becomes active, and if your provider isn't using MoCA frequencies for the D/U connections, you can install a MoCA filter on the modem's coax input port to protect the modem from MoCA signals (separate from the MoCA filter required at the point-of-entry to keep MoCA signals inside the home).


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## Laker Dre (Jan 13, 2019)

Ok, I was able to verify a few items on the checklist:
1. Double checked where the Spectrum tech installed the POE filter. Looks like he did properly place it at the input of the 3-way splitter on the outside of my place.
Imgur








2. Checked on the brand of modem and router I received for "free" from Spectrum:
Hitron eMTA E31N2V1 DOCSIS 3.1 Modem
Imgur








Also, I logged into the router online to check the frequencies/channels in-use for the modem's downstream/upstream Internet connections but I'm not clear on where to find that info.

Based on the what I do know of this modem I ordered another POE filter from Amazon and I'll be able to pick it up tomorrow. I plan to install it on the modem's coax input port as suggested in the above post.

I'll connect one MoCA adapter at the modem and enable MoCA on the Tivo Bolt. Then run guided setup again.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Laker Dre said:


> Also, I logged into the router online to check the frequencies/channels in-use for the modem's downstream/upstream Internet connections but I'm not clear on where to find that info.


If Hitron has any normalization between their products (e.g.), look for a "DOCSIS WAN" tab...






​


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## Laker Dre (Jan 13, 2019)

Ok, I was able to connect the new POE filter to the on the modem then set up the coax from the wall to a splitter. From the splitter one coax into the MoCA adapter + ethernet cable into router. The other coax into the modem.

Now I'm able to select MoCA on Tivo Bolt as the client. I'm using the default channel setting, no encryption (not sure if this is correct) and...connection successful. BUT then I'm prompted on the next screen to obtain an IP address, this is where the issues begin. When I select Get automatically from a DHCP server (typical) I receive an error:

IP Address Settings Problem - There is a problem with the router on our home network. C7.

If this is the first time you have connected this router (it's not as I connected via WiFi) or if you have recently changed its configuration, please check your router's setting. If the connection has worked before, try restarting your router. (THE ROUTER COULD NOT BE FOUND)

Not sure what to do now, I've tried to specify a DHCP client ID option and Specify a static IP address but those are also not working. On the latter, the error is that the gateway address is invalid.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Laker Dre said:


> I tried connecting my Actiontec MoCA Network Adapters


What model MoCA adapter(s) do you have?



Laker Dre said:


> From the splitter one coax into the MoCA adapter + ethernet cable into router.





Laker Dre said:


> After setting up the modem and separate wireless router (I signed up for Spectrum Ultra 400MBS)


I'm not 100% on how you have your main MoCA adapter connected. The Ethernet port of the MoCA adapter is connected to what port on what specific device? Do you have the MoCA adapter Ethernet-connected to a LAN port on the "wireless router" (and not the Hitron)? Is the Ethernet status LED lit?

As a simple setup test, could you try the suggested direct-connect test of the MOCA adapters?

Keeping the main MoCA adapter connected via Ethernet to the router, try either/both of:

Direct-connect the two MoCA adapters via a short coax cable. You should see the coax/MoCA status LED light-up. You could then connect a laptop or PC to the second MoCA adapter's Ethernet port, and see if the laptop/PC is able to obtain an IP address and access the LAN and Internet.

Temporarily direct-connect either a TiVo Mini or the BOLT to the main MoCA adapter via coax, and then configure the TiVo box as a MoCA client. The TiVo box should connect and be able to connect to the TiVo service, and the MoCA adapter's coax/MoCA status LED should be lit.


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## Laker Dre (Jan 13, 2019)

Thanks for the response!

What model MoCA adapter(s) do you have? - I bought the 2-pack: Actiontec ECB6200

I'm not 100% on how you have your main MoCA adapter connected. The Ethernet port of the MoCA adapter is connected to what port on what specific device? Do you have the MoCA adapter Ethernet-connected to a LAN port on the "wireless router" (and not the Hitron)? Is the Ethernet status LED lit? - Internet cable from modem to router. Ethernet from MoCA adapter to router ethernet 1 port.

Let me know if this is correct. Many thanks!


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## Laker Dre (Jan 13, 2019)

Direct-connect the two MoCA adapters via a short coax cable. You should see the coax/MoCA status LED light-up. You could then connect a laptop or PC to the second MoCA adapter's Ethernet port, and see if the laptop/PC is able to obtain an IP address and access the LAN and Internet. - Got the green light on the MoCA adapters but realized that when I went to connect the ethernet my macbook doesn't have a port.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Laker Dre said:


> Got the green light on the MoCA adapters but realized that when I went to connect the ethernet my macbook doesn't have a port.


Chuckle. That'll hinder testing.

Does the main MoCA adapter's Ethernet port status LED indicate a connection? The router LEDs should also indicate if/when the MoCA adapter is Ethernet-connected.

If you don't have a laptop/PC to help with testing, you can jump to the test using a Mini or the BOLT.


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## Laker Dre (Jan 13, 2019)

One more question - before all of this started I purchased all my equipment/materials. I picked up an Arris SB6183 and a Netgear Nighthawk AC 1900 Smart WiFi router. Do you think I would have an easier time just swapping out the Spectrum modem and router? Only asking b/c the error code I'm getting on the Tivo Bolt is that there are a ton of unopened ports on my router. I have yet to open the Arris SB or the Nighthawk in the hopes I could just return if it I didn't need them to save money. But happy to spend the cash now if it will alleviate my slowly building frustration.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Laker Dre said:


> Internet cable from modem to router. Ethernet from MoCA adapter to router ethernet 1 port.


Sounds correct.



Laker Dre said:


> I bought the 2-pack: Actiontec ECB6200


The ECB6200 has 2 coax ports.






​
'Coax In' port should connect to wall outlet; and you should be able to skip the 2-way splitter and connect your modem to the adapter's 'TV/STB Out' port. (Keeping the extra MoCA filter on the modem's coax port.)

​


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Laker Dre said:


> Only asking b/c the error code I'm getting on the Tivo Bolt is that there are a ton of unopened ports on my router.


That error message is generally considered a red herring. The alternate devices shouldn't make a difference.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

krkaufman said:


> Does the main MoCA adapter's Ethernet port status LED indicate a connection?


The ECB6200's Ethernet status LEDs are built-in to the port:






​


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

A full power reset is a troubleshooting step to keep in mind, especially after moving bits around or if things are mysteriously not working.



krkaufman said:


> To do a full power reset, power down all your gear (modem, router, network switches, MoCA adapters, TiVo devices), and leave it all off for a minute or three; and then power the devices back on, in the order above, allowing each device to come online before proceeding to the next.


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## Laker Dre (Jan 13, 2019)

Got it, I see the light...now! 

Well, I really am at a bit of a loss. I get TiVo Bolt to connect (or at least turn MoCA on successfully) but the next step to obtain an IP address is where it's getting stuck. I keep receiving one of several error messages - IP Address Settings Problem (Router could not be found) - tivo.com/help/C7

And when I attempt to specify a DHCP client ID or Specify a static IP address I get an error on the Gateway.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Laker Dre said:


> Well, I really am at a bit of a loss. I get TiVo Bolt to connect (or at least turn MoCA on successfully) but the next step to obtain an IP address is where it's getting stuck. I keep receiving one of several error messages - IP Address Settings Problem (Router could not be found) - tivo.com/help/C7


You're configuring the BOLT as a MoCA client (not as a Bridge)?


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

krkaufman said:


> The alternate devices shouldn't make a difference.


... but at some point it may be worth breaking the shrink-wrap.

Have you tried a Mini via the MoCA direct-connect test? (Ideally with the BOLT networked, via Wi-Fi if needed.)


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## Laker Dre (Jan 13, 2019)

Trying the power down now. Thank you!


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## Laker Dre (Jan 13, 2019)

Ok, so some additional success. I found a 9ft ethernet cable and connected it from the router port to the back of the Tivo Bolt - both are precariously close to their shelf edges. Well, this worked, first connecting my Tivo Bolt as a bridge with MoCA and Ethernet. Then the minis both recognized the Tivo Bolt over MoCA. The issue is I can't leave this 9ft cable hanging across the living room. Do you think now that I have a connection I can switch to MoCA via Tivo Bolt as a client and the connection will stick or will I lose connection? Sorry if I'm rambling, it's getting late. Appreciate all the help!


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