# Wireless VOX Mini.



## Lynn_m (Mar 22, 2019)

Why not add built-in wireless capability to the TIVO Mini Vox? 

My house is not wired up with Ethernet cables and frankly it would be a huge expense and a lot of effort to do this. 

It is possible to do a wireless connection to a mini using a wireless Ethernet bridge with WDS capability, but why not just add this into the box instead of requiring the additional external hardware?


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

FYI: TiVo Mini Wireless Adapter



Lynn_m said:


> My house is not wired up with Ethernet cables and frankly it would be a huge expense and a lot of effort to do this.


What about coax?


----------



## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Lynn_m said:


> Why not add built-in wireless capability to the TIVO Mini Vox?
> 
> My house is not wired up with Ethernet cables and frankly it would be a huge expense and a lot of effort to do this.
> 
> It is possible to do a wireless connection to a mini using a wireless Ethernet bridge with WDS capability, but why not just add this into the box instead of requiring the additional external hardware?


Perhaps it's just a matter of history (adding wireless to the Mini mix is a new thing -- well, for TiVo, anyway  ) and perhaps TiVo didn't want to design a new Mini box; and perhaps TiVo wanted to keep the price of the Mini down (if nothing else, it can be better for marketing), including for those who don't need the wireless feature.


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Even though TiVo is launching a product to officially enable a wireless connection for the Mini (possibly only the Mini VOX), it doesn't change the fact that a wired connection is wildly more reliable and can support more concurrent streams. Having to stream the raw MPEG2 video has been prohibitive to supporting wireless connectivity.

It's possible that we'll see built-in wireless in some future Arris-produced Mini product. Until then...


----------



## Lynn_m (Mar 22, 2019)

krkaufman said:


> FYI: TiVo Mini Wireless Adapter
> 
> What about coax?


You're referring to MoCA?

We do have some older cable running through the house, but the wall jacks are not in the right places. 
Like I said, we _could_ install wireless Ethernet bridges with WDS capability, and the cost for these adapters is actually less than it would be for the MoCA adapters.


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Lynn_m said:


> You're referring to MoCA?
> 
> We do have some older cable running through the house, but the wall jacks are not in the right places.


Yes, and got it. Just wanted to be sure.



> Like I said, we _could_ install wireless Ethernet bridges with WDS capability, and the cost for these adapters is actually less than it would be for the MoCA adapters.


And I think you'll find that a DIY wireless bridge could be had for cheaper than TiVo plans on initially offering its Mini Wireless Adapter ... $60.

Bottom line: I don't believe you'll see a TiVo Mini w/ built-in wireless any time soon.

p.s. Minis don't require MoCA adapters; and whether you'd need even one MoCA adapter would depend on your DVR's model and connectivity, and whether your Internet gateway has built-in MoCA bridging.

Something to keep in mind, even if it's not a solution for all your Minis... any Minis that can be wired will free-up that bandwidth for your devices that have no other option than wireless.


----------



## wguyette (Aug 23, 2009)

I would highly recommend MOCA with an Actiontec bonded MOCA 2 injector and if you need better wireless in your house an Actiontec bonded MOCA 2 802.11ac router: 4 Antenna 2 and 5 GHz radios and 2 Ethernet connections. 

I have 2 of these with TIVO minis running off one of the Ethernet connections and another 2 minis running off the MOCA. 

WORKS PERFECTLY.


----------



## wguyette (Aug 23, 2009)

Let me add to my first MOCA POST. You should, of course, have an appropriate filter at cable entrance to house to prevent your data from leaking out to th cable systems. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY:

IF YOUR router does not have MOCA and you are injecting your Ethernet into the cable, as I recommended in the prior post, you may also need to place a MOCA filter between the cable and the cable modem. When I upgraded my Spectrum service from 300 MHz to 1 GHz, the faster cable modem wouldn’t work properly without this filter. Took a little bit to figure out the problem.


----------



## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

Lynn_m said:


> Why not add built-in wireless capability to the TIVO Mini Vox?
> 
> My house is not wired up with Ethernet cables and frankly it would be a huge expense and a lot of effort to do this.
> 
> It is possible to do a wireless connection to a mini using a wireless Ethernet bridge with WDS capability, but why not just add this into the box instead of requiring the additional external hardware?


Historically, although Tivo has enabled wireless on may of there DVR's, it has never been encouraged for any of their other devices although they did sell a "g" and then "n" speed adapter, they will tell you very clearly that they do not support any other than Ethernet or MoCA connections for networked Tivos and even Tivos on Ethernet must be connect directly to the router. A Tivo DVR connected via wireless will generally be able to function for itself, but will not support other wireless connections to minis, especially multiple minis attached to wireless device/adapters. This is usually because a mini on live TV uses a relatively large amount of bandwidth, often 5 times as much as various "streaming" services use to get you a decent picture. Further, the minis are move sensitive to any momentary glitches that often occur with wireless and they don't seem to "buffer" live video streams well if at all.
Although most consumers like the ease of wireless devices, they generally have very little understanding of all of the wireless variables and simply expect their equipment to work usually via "plug and play". Actually, wireless is anything but simple but most folks haven't a clue and don't want to spend the time necessary to even begin to have a workman's knowledge of it.
This would result in overwhelming Tivo support, which most here have an extremely low opinion of, and a massive increase in returns and unsatisfied customers.


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

wguyette said:


> Let me add to my first MOCA POST.


Wishing you many more.


----------

