# Mixed info on bolt moca capabilites



## cstrasz (Oct 15, 2015)

I am looking to get a tivo bolt that would be in my family room, in addition to a tivo mini that would be in the master bedroom. The modem and wireless router I have would be in a separate office.

To get a moca setup going, my understanding is I don't need a moca adapter in the master bedroom, but I would need one in the office by the modem. I was also under the impression I'd need one in the family room for the bolt but I am hearing that the bolt is moca capable already? 

When I called tivo directly they said it would require an adapter, but then I've read some people say it works fine. Does anyone know?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

The Bolt has built in MoCa so you don't need one for it. Also if you happen to have FIOS you don't need one by the modem either as their modems have MoCa built in. If not then you will still need a MoCa adapter for near the router.


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## embryjim (Sep 16, 2015)

See this thread

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=532429

It has been reported that the Bolt will act as the MoCA bridge. I can't believe Tivo still doesn't know.


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## djjuice (Mar 29, 2008)

cstrasz said:


> I am looking to get a tivo bolt that would be in my family room, in addition to a tivo mini that would be in the master bedroom. The modem and wireless router I have would be in a separate office.
> 
> To get a moca setup going, my understanding is I don't need a moca adapter in the master bedroom, but I would need one in the office by the modem. I was also under the impression I'd need one in the family room for the bolt but I am hearing that the bolt is moca capable already?
> 
> When I called tivo directly they said it would require an adapter, but then I've read some people say it works fine. Does anyone know?


if you're provider doesnt use moca, you only need the adapter by your modem. It's an injector, but you should also place a filter where your internet comes into your house otherwise it can travel outside.


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## embryjim (Sep 16, 2015)

From the Bolt MoCA thread



jcthorne said:


> Bolt works fine a a bridge creating the coax network. I removed my actiontec adaptor I was using for the roamio and the bolt is now providing internet to the other tivo's on the coax network.


So it should create the MoCA network and you should not need any adapters if you can get Ethernet to your modem/router from the Bolt. But if you can't then yes, one adapter at the modem.


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## cstrasz (Oct 15, 2015)

Great, thanks for the info! One thing I wasn't certain of. So I'm setting up my apartment to have moca throughout. Since my tivo bolt will be in the entertainment center with several other devices (that don't take coax for internet connection), can I somehow just use the ethernet port out of the tivo bolt into a network switch, which then supplies the internet to these other devices via ethernet cables? Is that what 'bridging' is? It sounds like it effectively makes the tivo bolt a router.

Otherwise, I was going to get the adapter by the coax of the entertainment center that then went into the network switch, with the ethernet coming out of the switch to all the devices including the bolt.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

cstrasz said:


> I am looking to get a tivo bolt that would be in my family room, in addition to a tivo mini that would be in the master bedroom. The modem and wireless router I have would be in a separate office.
> 
> To get a moca setup going, my understanding is I don't need a moca adapter in the master bedroom, but I would need one in the office by the modem. I was also under the impression I'd need one in the family room for the bolt but I am hearing that the bolt is moca capable already?
> 
> When I called tivo directly they said it would require an adapter, but then I've read some people say it works fine. Does anyone know?


*The BOLT *is* fully MoCA-capable*; ignore TiVo support (and optionally curse them under your breath).

---

*Longer:* Based on what I'm reading in your post, you have dedicated modem and wireless router devices in the office; that is, 1 cable modem and 1 wireless router. Therefore, you don't have a combo gateway capable of creating a MoCA network.

So, yes, if you can't get an Ethernet connection from your router to your new BOLT in the Family Room, you WILL need a MoCA adapter in the office to create your MoCA network -- to which you could then connect your BOLT and Mini via MoCA networking.

If you could have somehow made an Ethernet connection available to the Family Room BOLT, you could have used the BOLT to create your MoCA network -- to which your Mini would connect.

-----

*Also:* You didn't mention it, so just wanted to add that you will also want to install (or have your cable provider install) a MoCA filter on your coax wiring's point-of-entry to your home (a.k.a. *MoCA PoE filter*), to keep the MoCA signal from travelling outside your home, both securing and strengthening your MoCA signals inside the home.

You may also need a MoCA filter on the input to your modem, if it doesn't have a built-in MoCA filter. (check the modem's documenation) This one is less critical than for the home's PoE, and can be added if/when you're noticing MoCA or Internet connectivity issues.

Hopefully your splitters are all compatible and you don't have any amplifiers on the lines, and you're MoCA install will be a breeze.


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## cstrasz (Oct 15, 2015)

Should I purchase the POE filters myself? I actually was just about to checkout on amazon's site with 2 filters based on what I read/was advised to use (one by the POE and one to the input of the SDV/tuner box). 

If the cable company usually provides this (TWC) then I won't bother.

I don't know a whole ton about whether I'd need splitters or if there is an amp setup on the cable lines. I won't be living in the new place until another week and a half after which point the TWC tech is going to come out to setup things on their end. I've avoided purchasing any splitters because I figured I wouldn't need any and anything that came up would be on the tech's truck.

I'm assuming the necessity of splitters won't be known until I have things running and am trying to diagnose problems?


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

cstrasz said:


> Great, thanks for the info! One thing I wasn't certain of. So I'm setting up my apartment to have moca throughout. Since my tivo bolt will be in the entertainment center with several other devices (that don't take coax for internet connection), can I somehow just use the ethernet port out of the tivo bolt into a network switch, which then supplies the internet to these other devices via ethernet cables? Is that what 'bridging' is? It sounds like it effectively makes the tivo bolt a router.
> 
> Otherwise, I was going to get the adapter by the coax of the entertainment center that then went into the network switch, with the ethernet coming out of the switch to all the devices including the bolt.


Correct, if your BOLT is configured to network via MoCA, then you can use its Ethernet port to bridge to another Ethernet device, even a network switch.

p.s. The Mini does NOT have this capability. It can only connect to a MoCA network *or* an Ethernet network; it cannot bridge between MoCA and Ethernet.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

cstrasz said:


> If the cable company usually provides this (TWC) then I won't bother.
> 
> I don't know a whole ton about whether I'd need splitters or if there is an amp setup on the cable lines. I won't be living in the new place until another week and a half after which point the TWC tech is going to come out to setup things on their end. I've avoided purchasing any splitters because I figured I wouldn't need any and anything that came up would be on the tech's truck.
> 
> I'm assuming the necessity of splitters won't be known until I have things running and am trying to diagnose problems?


Much depends on what the TWC tech's scope of work is on-site.

I would think your tech should supply you with whatever splitters and MoCA filters you'll need. And the tech should be able to tell you what splitters or amps are on the lines.

You'll just want to make sure to communicate to the tech the rooms to which you need coax/MoCA connectivity, to make sure they're all connected after he leaves, and, ideally, not blocked by incompatible splitters or amps. (I saw a post someone made reporting that their Comcast tech had literally cut the coax lines from their central splitter to all but the one room he was there to get working. He didn't even unscrew and terminate the ports; he cut the cables.)


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

cstrasz said:


> If the cable company usually provides this (TWC) then I won't bother.


On the other hand, depending on the price you're seeing, you could consider those Amazon filters as insurance.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I just confirmed myself that the Bolt can act as a MoCa bridge even when using OTA. On the advice of another user I bought one of these...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00684D77A

I connected a short coax from the TiVo to the in/out side, then I connected the antenna to the UHF/VHF input and the cable to the sat input. Based on the specs the splitter will block all signals on the sat side up to 806MHz so it blocks out my cable signal, keeping it from interfering with the antenna, while allowing MoCa to pass. (MoCa uses signals over 1GHz)

Worked great and allowed me to eliminate the dedicated MoCa adapter I was using.


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## chuck.patterson. (Oct 12, 2015)

krkaufman said:


> Correct, if your BOLT is configured to network via MoCA, then you can use its Ethernet port to bridge to another Ethernet device, even a network switch.
> 
> p.s. The Mini does NOT have this capability. It can only connect to a MoCA network *or* an Ethernet network; it cannot bridge between MoCA and Ethernet.


I am still confused. If I have my Bolt creating the Moca network with network and coax input do I still need an adapter for a Mini upstairs or is plugging only a coax line into the mini to connect to the MoCA network sufficient?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Plugging Mini into coax and setting it to MoCa mode is sufficient.


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## Jonathan_S (Oct 23, 2001)

Dan203 said:


> Plugging Mini into coax and setting it to MoCa mode is sufficient.


Right.

To exapand on that, the post before Dan203's was saying is that if you had an _additional_ device next to the Mini (say a RoKu streaming box) you can't go coax to Mini to Ethernet to Roku.

If you tried the Mini would be connected to your network but the Roku would not be because the Mini can't pass Ethernet data to MoCA (or vise a versa). It can use MoCA or use Ethernet but can't act as a bridge between them


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Hopefully whatever Mini they have planned as a companion for the Bolt will include bridging. That seems like one of the major oversights in the Mini design.


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