# Suggestions on modern/router for Comcast use with Tivo



## steff3 (Sep 17, 2005)

I am really close to pulling the trigger on Tivo Roamio to use with Comcast. I'm currently using Dish for TV and Uverse for phone and internet. With the internet being only 12 down and Dish continuing to go up, owning my own equipment is really appealing. I would be going with 150 down on internet, home phone, and everything except premium (HBO, etc) channels on tv. Can anyone give me an idea as to what is the best recommendation on modern/router to purchase that will work best? Someone gave me the link for Comcast approved equipment but the list is pretty big and I'm a bit confused. Any direction is greatly appreciated.


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## leswar (Apr 14, 2005)

Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 router with a Zoom cable modem works great for me.
Purchased both at Staples on huge sale and with discount coupons.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

I'll raise that. Netgear R7500 (ugly) and Arris/Motorola SB6183. You said best. The R8000 might be a little better. ASUS is popular. Linksys and D-Link have poor UI.


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

steff3 said:


> I am really close to pulling the trigger on Tivo Roamio to use with Comcast. I'm currently using Dish for TV and Uverse for phone and internet. With the internet being only 12 down and Dish continuing to go up, owning my own equipment is really appealing. I would be going with 150 down on internet, home phone, and everything except premium (HBO, etc) channels on tv. Can anyone give me an idea as to what is the best recommendation on modern/router to purchase that will work best? Someone gave me the link for Comcast approved equipment but the list is pretty big and I'm a bit confused. Any direction is greatly appreciated.


Hi,
If you check here, you can set the speed tier to 150 and see which cable modems are supported.
http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/
The router is another issue, my only suggestion is to get something with dual band AC speeds.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/rankers/router/view


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

Just as an alternative viewpoint....

I have had great service from using the Comcast supplied Cisco access point. Modem, router and WIFI in one box and its their problem. No difficulties in router setups for a number of things on our network including security camera system, tivo, plex server, sling and remote desktop links via vpn. If you are using Comcast for TV service as well, the Cisco box also provides a MOCA adaptor for your coax network. I use OTA so cannot use that.

My history shows that between modem, router and wifi access point, I had to replace at least one of these components every year. For $10 a month, its all Comcast's problem and replacement is no more than 24 hrs away when it fails. Has once already.


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## southerndoc (Apr 5, 2003)

I second the Motorola/Arris SB6183. I have Comcast Extreme 250 and get about 300 Mbps downstream, 30 Mbps upstream.

I had a Netgear Nighthawk router and the thing kept overheating and didn't fully cover my home. So now I have a Linksys LRT224 (with a cell modem failover) and 4 Cisco WAP371's around my house. Much better!

Now if I could only get fiber!


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

geekmedic said:


> I second the Motorola/Arris SB6183. I have Comcast Extreme 250 and get about 300 Mbps downstream, 30 Mbps upstream.
> 
> I had a Netgear Nighthawk router and the thing kept overheating and didn't fully cover my home. So now I have a Linksys LRT224 (with a cell modem failover) and 4 Cisco WAP371's around my house. Much better!
> 
> Now if I could only get fiber!


The SB6183 gets warm too. I added a fan.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

jcthorne said:


> ....... If you are using Comcast for TV service as well, the Cisco box also provides a MOCA adaptor for your coax network. I use OTA so cannot use that. ....


You should be able to use MoCA with OTA signals. Why are you saying you can't?


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

HarperVision said:


> You should be able to use MoCA with OTA signals. Why are you saying you can't?


Good question, and the same thing I was wondering. I'm assuming either Comcast won't provide an XB2/XB3 gateway to non-X1 customers, or technical difficulty merging the OTA and Comcast signals on the coax line feeding the XB2/XB3 gateway in his scenario.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

steff3 said:


> I am really close to pulling the trigger on Tivo Roamio to use with Comcast. ... I would be going with 150 down on internet, home phone, and everything except premium (HBO, etc) channels on tv. Can anyone give me an idea as to what is the best recommendation on modern/router to purchase that will work best? Someone gave me the link for Comcast approved equipment but the list is pretty big and I'm a bit confused. Any direction is greatly appreciated.


That Comcast modem lookup link from fcfc2 is great. I wish more websites (Amazon, Newegg) used sliders like that for refining search criteria.

That said, I'm not experienced with Comcast's telephone service and so can't say how that affects your range of options in terms of retail purchase of your own equipment. My best *uneducated* guess, using fcfc2's link, would be that your only(?) retail option that also offers "telephony" services would be the Arris TC862G. editmore info)

Prior to playing w/ the Comcast lookup link I was thinking your best short-term move would be to pull the trigger on the TiVo and Comcast services, and renting Comcast's DPC3941T "XB3" gateway until you feel comfortable with replacement tech. And, like w/ jcthorne, you may find the Comcast gateway sufficient, and maybe even preferable to rolling your own. The math on providing one's own modem/router has definitely shifted as Comcast has added more capabilities into the now-$10/month "modem" rental charge.


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## steff3 (Sep 17, 2005)

krkaufman said:


> That Comcast modem lookup link from fcfc2 is great. I wish more websites (Amazon, Newegg) used sliders like that for refining search criteria.
> 
> That said, I'm not experienced with Comcast's telephone service and so can't say how that affects your range of options in terms of retail purchase of your own equipment. My best *uneducated* guess, using fcfc2's link, would be that your only(?) retail option that also offers "telephony" services would be the Arris TC862G. editmore info)
> 
> Prior to playing w/ the Comcast lookup link I was thinking your best short-term move would be to pull the trigger on the TiVo and Comcast services, and renting Comcast's DPC3941T "XB3" gateway until you feel comfortable with replacement tech. And, like w/ jcthorne, you may find the Comcast gateway sufficient, and maybe even preferable to rolling your own. The math on providing one's own modem/router has definitely shifted as Comcast has added more capabilities into the now-$10/month "modem" rental charge.


Great advice...this is probably exactly what I will do.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

krkaufman said:


> Good question, and the same thing I was wondering. I'm assuming either Comcast won't provide an XB2/XB3 gateway to non-X1 customers, or technical difficulty merging the OTA and Comcast signals on the coax line feeding the XB2/XB3 gateway in his scenario.


As long as Comcast puts the proper filters and traps on their line if they go internet only, then their cable frequencies shouldn't be on the line anyway. You could also isolate the two and send the cable feed directly to the modem and moca adaptor then tap that into the home's coax wiring for whole home Ethernet, then run the antenna directly to the Roamio and connect its Ethernet to the moca adapter network so the minis see it throughout the house. That's how I do it with my DirecTV DeCA system (same as moca but on different freqs).


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## caddyroger (Mar 15, 2005)

I also have the sb6183 modem but I use a Asus RT-N66U router.


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## philt56 (Aug 22, 2008)

If you use the comcast VoIP service, you need a modem that supports telephony. They aren't as common or as cheap as plain cable modems. Find out how much the price cost is with and without the phone service. You can get Vonage for about $20/month for 500 minutes. More if you want unlimited, but for me with a unlimited talk cell phone, the landline doesn't get much use. 

Vonage supplies the box which just connects to your router. And you can get the Motorola sb6141 modem cheap on Amazon or newegg.


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## snerd (Jun 6, 2008)

philt56 said:


> If you use the comcast VoIP service, you need a modem that supports telephony. They aren't as common or as cheap as plain cable modems. Find out how much the price cost is with and without the phone service. You can get Vonage for about $20/month for 500 minutes. More if you want unlimited, but for me with a unlimited talk cell phone, the landline doesn't get much use.
> 
> Vonage supplies the box which just connects to your router. And you can get the Motorola sb6141 modem cheap on Amazon or newegg.


Another good option would be a Comcast Double-Play package for TV and internet, and an Ooma box ($100 - $130 on Amazon) for virtually free phone servce -- you only pay local taxes for the phone server (mine is less than $4/month) unless you opt for the $10/mo premium services. Comcast pricing for Triple-Play vs. Double-Play suggests that they are charging $20 to $30 monthly for phone service, so the Ooma pays for itself in just a few months, and has essentially unlimited minutes nationwide.

I also have the SB6141 modem, which seems to be highly rated for support of many providers in addition to Comcast. I have a Linksys EA6350 WiFi router which seems to work well for my needs (~$50 refurbished on Amazon).


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

HarperVision said:


> You should be able to use MoCA with OTA signals. Why are you saying you can't?


Because you cannot mix catv and ota on one cable easily. It also puts the catv on the antenna which creates all kinds of leakage.

There is no easy way to have the MOCA active without the catv signals that also come in the coax line. There is no coax in and out, only a single port. Never found a set of filters that made it work and kept moca and the docsis modem all working.

Perhaps part of what complicates my situation is it is Comcast Business Class service which binds 8 docsis channels for partial redundancy even if its not needed for speed. Does help keep things from slowing down though. The catv signals are ALWAYS active on such installations. The filters they have available interfere. Part of the reason they nearly give away tv service on business class lines. I still do not use the catv as they will not issue cable cards to business class customers. My large OTA antenna I installed over 10 yrs ago long since paid for itself and works great.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

jcthorne said:


> Because you cannot mix catv and ota on one cable easily. It also puts the catv on the antenna which creates all kinds of leakage. There is no easy way to have the MOCA active without the catv signals that also come in the coax line. There is no coax in and out, only a single port. Never found a set of filters that made it work and kept moca and the docsis modem all working. Perhaps part of what complicates my situation is it is Comcast Business Class service which binds 8 docsis channels for partial redundancy even if its not needed for speed. Does help keep things from slowing down though. The catv signals are ALWAYS active on such installations. The filters they have available interfere. Part of the reason they nearly give away tv service on business class lines. I still do not use the catv as they will not issue cable cards to business class customers. My large OTA antenna I installed over 10 yrs ago long since paid for itself and works great.


But as I said, you could do this:



HarperVision said:


> As long as Comcast puts the proper filters and traps on their line if they go internet only, then their cable frequencies shouldn't be on the line anyway.* You could also isolate the two and send the cable feed directly to the modem and moca adaptor then tap that into the home's coax wiring for whole home Ethernet, then run the antenna directly to the Roamio and connect its Ethernet to the moca adapter network so the minis see it throughout the house. That's how I do it with my DirecTV DeCA system (same as moca but on different freqs)*.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

HarperVision said:


> But as I said, you could do this:


Like I said. There is no set of filters that pass the internet frequencies correctly and block ALL catv signals. You get both or none.

So since catv is on the line to the modem, there is no way to have moca and ota tv signals on it as well. A separate moca adaptor is required keeping the ota coax network completely independant of the catv coax network.

Why would I run 2 coax lines to each tivo in the house? That defeats the whole purpose of moca. To use the existing coax network throughout the home. Running new cables to some of the locations is NOT going to happen. Would have to run outside the home and visible from the street.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

jcthorne said:


> Like I said. There is no set of filters that pass the internet frequencies correctly and block ALL catv signals. You get both or none. So since catv is on the line to the modem, there is no way to have moca and ota tv signals on it as well. A separate moca adaptor is required keeping the ota coax network completely independant of the catv coax network. Why would I run 2 coax lines to each tivo in the house? That defeats the whole purpose of moca. To use the existing coax network throughout the home. Running new cables to some of the locations is NOT going to happen. Would have to run outside the home and visible from the street.


You're not getting it. You don't need to run two cables to each TiVo. The minis ONLY need moca, they don't need the cable or antenna feed AT ALL! They just need the moca signal, which carries the Internet and video signals from the host Roamio or P4.

Connect your antenna RF directly to the host Roamio. Connect cable tv coax directly to your modem (Split home's cable coax system so main input only goes to modem, rest of house separated). Connect modem Ethernet output to moca adapter (or router), then out to adapter. Connect moca adapter's RF coax output to main cable input to home's coax system feed where you separated it for modem so the moca signals get distributed throughout your home on its existing coax cable feeds. Plug TiVo minis into any rf coax jack in the home. Power on minis and select moca as their network source and voila', your mini is a leech off its roamio host for live OTA tv and recordings.

In regards to this statement:


> A separate moca adaptor is required keeping the ota coax network completely independant of the catv coax network.


You need a separate moca adapter anyway because the base model and OTA Roamios don't have built in moca adapters like the plus and pros do.


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## snerd (Jun 6, 2008)

HarperVision said:


> Connect your antenna RF directly to the host Roamio. Connect cable tv coax directly to your modem (Split home's cable coax system so main input only goes to modem, rest of house separated). Connect modem Ethernet output to moca adapter (or router), then out to adapter. Connect moca adapter's RF coax output to main cable input to home's coax system feed where you separated it for modem so the moca signals get distributed throughout your home on its existing coax cable feeds. Plug TiVo minis into any rf coax jack in the home. Power on minis and select moca as their network source and voila', your mini is a leech off its roamio host for live OTA tv and recordings.


Similarly, a system with OTA and MoCA coexisting on the entire coax could be built by using a MoCA POE filter between the antenna and the coax, so that MoCA signals are confined to the coax. This would allow mutilple Roamio OTA/base boxes to share the antenna and talk to Minis, computers, etc.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

I finally understand what you guys are missing. I do not have mini's at the various locations around the house. I have old Tivo Premiere that refuse to die. Only one mini. So the tivo's need the OTA signal AND moca.

A moca poe filter does not keep the OTA signals separated from catv signals as they use the same frequencies.

My one Roamio that does serve a mini and is the main box in our home is in the same equipment closet as the network switch so it would not need a moca adaptor, nor one for any other reason if I had used the router's moca bridge. I only needed an adaptor there as a bridge. I have moca adaptors at each Premiere. Mini has it built in.

Anyway, my original point was you cannot use the built in moca on the cable modem/router if you are distributing OTA tv throughout the home rather than catv.


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## Chuck_IV (Jan 1, 2002)

geekmedic said:


> I second the Motorola/Arris SB6183. I have Comcast Extreme 250 and get about 300 Mbps downstream, 30 Mbps upstream.
> 
> I had a Netgear Nighthawk router and the thing kept overheating and didn't fully cover my home. So now I have a Linksys LRT224 (with a cell modem failover) and 4 Cisco WAP371's around my house. Much better!
> 
> Now if I could only get fiber!


I use a Netgear Nighthawk. These days, they seem to have the firmware in a pretty good state. From what I hear, moreso than their current top if the line router. Also, I haven't had any overheating issues with the Nighthawk and I've had my Nighthawk for well over a year. It's been a solid router for me.

However, since my router is downstairs and at one end of my house, I have my old Asus RT-N66U at the other end of the house, running in AP mode to handle coverage there.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

jcthorne said:


> I finally understand what you guys are missing. I do not have mini's at the various locations around the house. I have old Tivo Premiere that refuse to die. Only one mini. So the tivo's need the OTA signal AND moca. A moca poe filter does not keep the OTA signals separated from catv signals as they use the same frequencies. My one Roamio that does serve a mini and is the main box in our home is in the same equipment closet as the network switch so it would not need a moca adaptor, nor one for any other reason if I had used the router's moca bridge. I only needed an adaptor there as a bridge. I have moca adaptors at each Premiere. Mini has it built in. Anyway, my original point was you cannot use the built in moca on the cable modem/router if you are distributing OTA tv throughout the home rather than catv.


Awesome, thanks for clarifying! My thought would be to replace the premieres with minis, but that's a personal decision.


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## SNJpage1 (May 25, 2006)

I've been using the Comcast gateway that comes with my triple play package and havent had any problems. Infact the wireless speed seems faster tha my netgear wifi router.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

HarperVision said:


> Awesome, thanks for clarifying! My thought would be to replace the premieres with minis, but that's a personal decision.


Likely will do that over time. My one mini is a Premiere replacement. For now, the Premieres are functional and do everything I would need the mini to do, and give me a couple backup tuners.


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