# New to TiVo, trying to get on board!



## FriboRage (Aug 7, 2016)

My gf and I are going to be getting out on our own for the first time. We have a house rented that we're moving into in a few weeks. Im trying to get our stuff sorted out ahead of time.

Im going to be getting cable tv and internet, she insists she needs a DVR. The cable provider we're going with offers a DVR bundle for $30 a month extra, which feels like too much added onto our bill. TiVO's fee, if paid yearly, amounts to about $12.50/mo which is way better, so here I am. I figure it'll also be better than paying rental fees on a cable tuner box and stuff, too.

So, what I plan to do at first... due to initially not wanting to sink too much money in when we have other expenses... Im going to hook up the Bolt to the main tv in the living room, coax to Bolt, HDMI from Bolt to TV. That should immediately take care of the main TV. That seems pretty straight forward.

My bigger concern is having the Bolt on other devices/tv's. I dont plan on buying any minis at first because it's too expensive all at once.

1) We're going to have wifi in the house, so we should be able to stream live TV to my iPhone/her Android, right? How about laptops?

2) On the hookup instructions on tivo.com, it mentions that wireless is not supported when connecting to a mini. (https://www.tivo.com/shop/bolt-detail#section-six) step four. Does this mean that, say in the future, we buy a tivo mini for a bedroom TV, and we run an ethernet cable from the bolt to the mini, we'll no longer be able to stream to our phones through wifi? What does it mean when it says wireless not supported when connecting to a mini?

3) It looks like the Bolt only has one ethernet port on the back, does that mean I need to buy a router to have multiple minis?

4) What if we have a TV that is factory equipped with wifi capability? Do we need to buy a mini, or can we just stream to the tv?

Thanks in advance for any help! Im pretty tech savvy, but never did anything at all with DVR's.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

People are going to want more data. Cable provider. Internet speed. Router model. Coax and Ethernet wiring. You get the idea.

A Mini is not supported with wireless since it has no built in wireless. It is not supported if the TiVo host is using its internal wireless. Get a good network first.


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## FriboRage (Aug 7, 2016)

JoeKustra said:


> People are going to want more data. Cable provider. Internet speed. Router model. Coax and Ethernet wiring. You get the idea.
> 
> A Mini is not supported with wireless since it has no built in wireless. It is not supported if the TiVo host is using its internal wireless. Get a good network first.


Ashland, huh? Holy crap, small world. Im also in Schuylkill County!

Going to be on Service Electric, 25-40M package. Im only planning to use coax from the main house hookup to the Bolt... in the future if I get mini's Im going to go with ethernet. I may only have one mini, I might have two.. which is why I asked if I'd need to use a router to connect up the minis with ethernet, since the Bolt only has 1 port on the back.

The ability to stream the live TV wirelessly to our phones/computers will also factor a lot into whether or not I'll need minis. We enjoy watching live TV, otherwise we'd just not get a cable package and go with netflix or something.

My router will probably be a Surfboard SBG6700AC (modem/router in one).

Also, you're saying that once we hook up a mini to the ethernet port on the Bolt, all wireless functionality to the mobile devices ceases?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

FriboRage said:


> Ashland, huh? Holy crap, small world. Im also in Schuylkill County!
> 
> Going to be on Service Electric, 25-40M package. Im only planning to use coax from the main house hookup to the Bolt... in the future if I get mini's Im going to go with ethernet. I may only have one mini, I might have two.. which is why I asked if I'd need to use a router to connect up the minis with ethernet, since the Bolt only has 1 port on the back.
> 
> ...


I'm not good at explaining things. But start by joining this site: https://www.dslreports.com/forum/r28242032-Service-Electric-Cablevision-News

A single modem/router is a bad idea. It's cheaper to buy a SB6183 and a router, like Netgear R8000. The router is subjective. There's a whole forum here on the Bolt. Having a package with internet and TV is cheaper. Where are you going to live that doesn't need cable TV? The TiVo is not the best box if you don't expect to watch & record TV. Sorry I can't help more, but you really need to read up on the TiVo and network systems. A TiVo needs internet. The port on the back connects to your internet, usually a port on your router. So would a Mini.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

FriboRage said:


> Im going to hook up the Bolt to the main tv in the living room, coax to Bolt, HDMI from Bolt to TV. That should immediately take care of the main TV. That seems pretty straight forward.
> 
> My bigger concern is having the Bolt on other devices/tv's. I dont plan on buying any minis at first because it's too expensive all at once.
> 
> 1) We're going to have wifi in the house, so we should be able to stream live TV to my iPhone/her Android, right? How about laptops?


Yes, all of the above are available for in-home streaming, via the TiVo app on mobile devices or TiVo Online for your laptops/PCs. I believe the BOLT can now deliver out-of-home streaming via the TiVo app, as well (just not out-of-home via TiVo Online).



FriboRage said:


> 2) On the hookup instructions on tivo.com, it mentions that wireless is not supported when connecting to a mini. (https://www.tivo.com/shop/bolt-detail#section-six) step four. ... What does it mean when it says wireless not supported when connecting to a mini?


2.a) No wireless support for Mini: The Mini has no wireless functionality, and TiVo does not provide support for anything other than Ethernet or MoCA wired networking for their whole home solution (i.e. DVR + Minis). Many people have found creative ways to make wireless and other solutions work where Ethernet and MoCA weren't possible, but they do so without TiVo's blessing or support.

The most important aspect of networking a Mini is the throughput to its host DVR (the BOLT, in your case), as the DVR-to-Mini Multi-Room Streaming (MRS) traffic generally requires much more bandwidth (up to 20 Mbps) than Internet streaming apps (typically < 7 Mbps) or TiVo Service Connections. Many people have found that having a wired network connection between their DVR and Minis was sufficient, with a wireless or Powerline bridge providing connectivity back to the router/LAN.



FriboRage said:


> Does this mean that, say in the future, we buy a tivo mini for a bedroom TV, and we run an ethernet cable from the bolt to the mini, we'll no longer be able to stream to our phones through wifi?


2.b) Adding Minis to your setup has no effect on the mobile streaming capability of the BOLT. Mobile streaming is only dependent on the BOLT having sufficient network throughput to the wireless base station (typically one's wireless router).



FriboRage said:


> 3) It looks like the Bolt only has one ethernet port on the back, does that mean I need to buy a router to have multiple minis?


You'd need to have a router, anyway, as the router establishes your Ethernet LAN, to which the BOLT *and* Minis would connect. More creative solutions are routine, but all devices connecting to a central router is the typical starting point.

Further, how many Ethernet ports you'd need to get your TiVo setup running would be dependent on how you wind-up networking your Minis, via Ethernet or MoCA, or some unsupported alternative. (e.g. If your router were to support MoCA networking, your BOLT and Minis wouldn't consume any of your routers Ethernet ports, as they could all be configured as MoCA clients, assuming the necessary coax connectivity.)



FriboRage said:


> 4) What if we have a TV that is factory equipped with wifi capability? Do we need to buy a mini, or can we just stream to the tv?


You'll need a Mini. Having a networked Smart TV is of no use, as the TV will not have a TiVo app that allows streaming from your DVR. The only other alternative to a TiVo Mini is the beta TiVo app for the FireTV; though it doesn't yet offer full replication of functionality.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

FriboRage said:


> The ability to stream the live TV wirelessly to our phones/computers will also factor a lot into whether or not I'll need minis. We enjoy watching live TV, otherwise we'd just not get a cable package and go with netflix or something.


Sounds like you may want to review the offerings available via PS Vue and Sling TV before fully committing to a TiVo solution. Perhaps these services, in combination with an OTA antenna and/or something like SimpleTV or Tablo might be a better fit -- or at least worth a review, to be sure.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

FriboRage said:


> My router will probably be a Surfboard SBG6700AC (modem/router in one).


If you're going the all-in-one route, you might consider the SBG6782-AC, instead, as it includes MoCA networking for just $17 more* -- along with 2 additional Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports and _marginally_ faster AC wireless.

I usually like to go with separate devices for my modem, wireless router and MoCA bridge, to allow flexibility in upgrading or adding specific features, but the all-in-one route can be cheaper. The question is often whether the all-in-one product's features can meet your near-term needs.

* p.s. Per Amazon price diffs for SBG6700-AC & SBG6782-AC: $133.33 & $149.99, respectively.


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## FriboRage (Aug 7, 2016)

Thanks for all your help, you basically answered all of my questions.

Like I said, I've been doing my own home networking for years, so I know that front. Im just clueless on how the tivo works and it's functions.

I'll read more on it on here and the site that Joe linked, and become more familiar with it before I make the investment. Thanks a lot for your time.


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## OmeneX (Jul 2, 2016)

I just want to add to what krkaufman mentioned about the Fire TV/Fire Stick having the TiVo beta app. I use both in my house and the ladies that live with me seem satisfied with it. Being able to watch their recorded DVR shows without having to go the living room is usually enough temporarily. 

If keeping the miss happy is part of the goal anyways. lol The Fire stick is cost effective at least. Fire TV though, probably better to get a Mini at that price. Though performance wise - the Fire TV is way better then the stick. Would be your call.



real deal....though, one of them is *finally* now asking for a TiVo Mini.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

FriboRage said:


> Thanks for all your help, you basically answered all of my questions. Like I said, I've been doing my own home networking for years, so I know that front. *Im just clueless on how the tivo works and it's functions.* I'll read more on it on here and the site that Joe linked, and become more familiar with it before I make the investment. Thanks a lot for your time.


In a nutshell, your TiVo Bolt is a cable tv gateway for your home. It has all the tuners and hard drive and most of the brains of the system. The mini is an extension or client of that Bolt cable gateway on your network. It can operate via Ethernet or MoCA signal (modulated IP over coax), and either one is usable. Your mini just needs some sort of LAN connectivity back to the Bolt (cable gateway) and it doesn't matter which it uses. The minis do not use standard RF cable TV signals (QAM) like the Bolt and other full fledged tivos do. They speak IPTV, which it gets from the Bolt via Ethernet or moca. The mini borrows a tuner from the host TiVo whenever you watch live tv..

The Bolt has a full Ethernet to moca bridge built in and can create a moca network on your coaxial cable lines. Just plug in the Ethernet from your router to your Bolt, then set it up as "Use this DVR to Create a MoCA Network" in the network settings screen. The minis have basically just a moca receive capability built in, so they can join the moca network created by your Bolt.

There are other options like separate moca adapters, which you're probably aware of since you're in networking, but it doesn't sound like you need one of those unless your Bolt isn't located near your router, or you also want to add more devices like game systems, streaming boxes, network extenders, smart TVs, etc. in a room with a coax Jack elsewhere in your house. That's getting into more complex set ups. If you need help with that come back and ask the experts like krkaufman, fcfc2, myself and the like will surely help you further!

Does that help give you a mental picture of how the system interconnects and what each device is for?


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