# Sharing a Tivo with Slingbox over wireless home network?



## atomarchio (Sep 24, 2006)

Have 2 Tivo Series3s in my home. Looking to add a 3rd TV in my master bedroom but apparently that's going to involve a lot of drywall cutting because the finished part of my basement is underneath.

I don't want to buy a 3rd Tivo and don't want to cut drywall. I was thinking about trying to use Slingbox somehow to control one of the Tivo's I would like to use.

Have not purchased this TV yet or a Slingbox as I'm trying to figure something out.

Does Tivo/Slingbox work well together? 

Is it possible to use Slingbox to go from one TV/Tivo to another TV/Tivo over a wireless network? This would be ideal in my situation.

Does anyone this can work? Or should I be prepared to cut drywall?

Please let me know. Thanks.


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## nickhaas33 (Dec 12, 2006)

If there is a cable connection where you want to put the new TV, the NIM100 boxes are nice. I use the HAVA Titanium HD with my Tivo, and have the Slingbox Pro HD on my Comcast DVR. Both go over NIM100 boxes/gigabit switches.
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=419994
You will be disappointed with streaming (MRV) over wireless.


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## atomarchio (Sep 24, 2006)

I don't understand your e-mail. You mention the Hava Titanium Tivo is nice but I would be disappointed with wireless also?

Is'nt the Hava Titanium wireless also? What kind of TV would I buy that supports this?


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

Please explain what you would like to do in the bedroom. If you want to watch what you recorded on the tivo (from your living room?) from the basement, you do not need to use slingbox with another tivo nor even to control the living room Tivo. Tivo have the capability to transfer shows from one to another and do not need to control the other Tivo. This can be done over wireless.

An alternative to buying another Tivo is simply to move 1 of your existing Tivos to the bedroom. You can use wired and wireless network depending on how close it is to the router.


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## nickhaas33 (Dec 12, 2006)

You do not have to buy the wireless option for the Hava.
Both mine (Hava and Slingbox) run over the NIM100 setup.
MRV over wireless is not useable for HD channels.
Viewing in the car while travelling using a Verizon wireless card is great too.


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## atomarchio (Sep 24, 2006)

I want to purchase a new TV for my master bedroom and then somehow connect one of my Tivo's from the family room or basement.

I want to avoid having to buy another Tivo if at all possible. Was thinking about HDMI splitter but the the problem with that is I would have to cut dry wall since the basement underneath my bedroom is finished.

I like the idea of a wireless streaming option but that does solve the issue of what I would in the master bedroom where the new TV would be installed.

Then I guess there is the question of whether wireless HDMI splitter or extender would work.


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## ajayabb (Jan 12, 2007)

I don't see why this set up wouldn't work
http://www.slingbox.com/go/slingcatcher

Those wirelss HDMI extenders are about 500-600 bucks!


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## atomarchio (Sep 24, 2006)

I am starting to think it would be easier and less expensive to just buy another Tivo even though I don't want to.

The HDMI option gets expensive because I have to cut drywall or buy the wireless extender. Then I would need an RF remote also.


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## atomarchio (Sep 24, 2006)

ajayabb said:


> I don't see why this set up wouldn't work
> http://www.slingbox.com/go/slingcatcher
> 
> Those wirelss HDMI extenders are about 500-600 bucks!


For this to work, do I need to purchase the slingbox and the Slingbox catcher? Is there a bundled version of this? Does it include a remote?


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## Phantom Gremlin (Jun 20, 2002)

atomarchio said:


> I am starting to think it would be easier and less expensive to just buy another Tivo even though I don't want to.


I would encourage you to buy a 2nd box. If you search for my older posts you will see I have reported quite good results with wireless, using Apple hardware.

Transfers aren't blazing fast, but are faster than real-time, even with HD recordings. A bigger annoyance IMO is that you can't begin a transfer until the show has finished recording.

Around here, wireless passes the WAF test. And that's saying something.


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## atomarchio (Sep 24, 2006)

Phantom Gremlin said:


> I would encourage you to buy a 2nd box. If you search for my older posts you will see I have reported quite good results with wireless, using Apple hardware.
> 
> Transfers aren't blazing fast, but are faster than real-time, even with HD recordings. A bigger annoyance IMO is that you can't begin a transfer until the show has finished recording.
> 
> Around here, wireless passes the WAF test. And that's saying something.


Which 2nd box are you referring to? A 2nd Tivo or the Slingbox & Slingcatcher?


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## Phantom Gremlin (Jun 20, 2002)

atomarchio said:


> Which 2nd box are you referring to? A 2nd Tivo or the Slingbox & Slingcatcher?


Sorry, I guess you already have 2 boxes. I meant buy a 3rd TiVo for the bedroom and use wireless to network it to your other boxes. In my experience wireless works quite well (as long as you use good quality wireless hardware).


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## atomarchio (Sep 24, 2006)

Phantom Gremlin said:


> Sorry, I guess you already have 2 boxes. I meant buy a 3rd TiVo for the bedroom and use wireless to network it to your other boxes. In my experience wireless works quite well (as long as you use good quality wireless hardware).


I now agree with you regarding the 3rd Tivo. There's no price advantage buy going with the Slingbox solution.

However, I have to get another cable card from Time Warner copany and that's going to be a real pain in the a**.

Then I need to figure how to mount the Tivo as I am going to mount a flat panel TV on the wall. I can't find a bracket that would somehow hold the Tivo flat behind the TV.

That's an even bigger issue that dealing with the pain in the a** Time Warner cable guy with the cable card. And I just remembered I would need the Tuning Adapter so where do I put that box also?


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## oneguido (Sep 12, 2006)

It really all depends on you. I have a slingbox pro (Not HD) connected to my router with a WRT54G wireless router converted into a wirless bridge in the livingroom. I also have a slingcatcher in my bedroom connected to my router WRT310N with a set of Netgear powerline adapters. Coinicidentaly I actually do have another tivo in the bedroom, but I like the option of being able to view additional programing from the tivo in the livingroom.

My connection is 640x360 pixels i think. Honestly, the quality looks great to me, it appears to be better than most dvd's (if recorded in HD) but not quite High Def. However, my annoyance is with the delay. It is minor however, but when operating the slingcatcher you will notice about a 3-4 second delay from button presses. It's not a big deal really because most of the time we are just watching the programing. I'm very satisfied with this setup.

The question you want to ask yourself appears to be how much do you want to spend on a slingbox, slingcatcher, additional wireless bridges/access points or powerlines adapters vs. additional tivo (possibly an additional wireless adapter) and of course having to pay the monthly fees. Also consider that you may not even get the best grandfathered in multi-service discount at $6.95/month.

Hope this helps! Feel free to let me know if you have any additional questions about my setup.

Happy Cinco de Mayo fellas!


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## atomarchio (Sep 24, 2006)

I was thinking of an HDMI extender/switch from one of my other Tivo's to the TV in the bedroom.

This seems to be the lowest cost in terms of added equipment. I would need to buy an HDMI switch, HDMI extender over Cat5, and an RF remote to control the Tivo in the bedroom.

However, I would have to cut drywall to get HDMI to the bedroom though. 

What are your thoughts on this idea?


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## oneguido (Sep 12, 2006)

That'd do the trick! Logitech has even released a new remote that has RF (Harmony 900) lists at $400, however it's can be had for about $260 on amazon. I'm sure there are other cheaper options, I have 2 harmony remotes. personally I think they are the way to go. 

Depending on the deals you can find on a RF remote, HDMI extender & HDMI splitter; I would tend to think you will be spending the least on a new Tivo. However I'm sure you don't want another added monthly fee. 

Maybe instead of going HDMI, you could use the component cables for 1 room. That would at least save you from buying a splitter. How far away is the location you want to hook up from an existing tivo?


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## Phantom Gremlin (Jun 20, 2002)

oneguido said:


> My connection is 640x360 pixels i think. Honestly, the quality looks great to me, it appears to be better than most dvd's (if recorded in HD) but not quite High Def.


That seems to be the biggest drawback to the Slingbox solution. It's nowhere close to HD. But "most" of what we watch on TV isn't HD either. E.g. I watch Leno at night and he has such heavy makeup that his face seems featureless. They're also probably shooting him in soft focus. So what's the point of 1920x1080 for anything but sports?


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

If your bedroom already has coax cable tv connection, you are a perfect candidate for a zeevee HD video distribution system. check out:

http://www.zeevee.com/residential/zvbox150

not cheap but will put the full Tivo everywhere in your home with no drawbacks. Full HD video over Coax. Sends the video as a reguar QAM tv station.


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## atomarchio (Sep 24, 2006)

jcthorne said:


> If your bedroom already has coax cable tv connection, you are a perfect candidate for a zeevee HD video distribution system. check out:
> 
> http://www.zeevee.com/residential/zvbox150
> 
> not cheap but will put the full Tivo everywhere in your home with no drawbacks. Full HD video over Coax. Sends the video as a reguar QAM tv station.


wow. This is exactly what I'm looking for.

Is this solution 2 boxes? One where the Tivo is located and another box in my master bedroom where the new TV would be installed.

What about a remote control? Would I use the TV remote, Tivo Remote, or Remote of the Zeevee?

Is this product difficult to install?

Please let me know. Thanks.


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## Phantom Gremlin (Jun 20, 2002)

jcthorne said:


> http://www.zeevee.com/residential/zvbox150


Yay, a QAM modulator with a "3 digit" price tag.

Too bad I have no need for this, it looks like a "neat" thing to have. If I had known about it before I bought my most recent TiVo HD, I might have been tempted. Still, more expensive than a TiVo; but at least you don't need to rent a CableCARD.


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## atomarchio (Sep 24, 2006)

I am going to try and run HDMI over Cat5. 

Apparently, I can share the Tivo between rooms by using HDMI in one room and then component in another.

I little bit of work running the Cat5 but it appears to be the least expensive and most reliable option in my scenario.

Hopefully, the Tivo can output HDMI and component at the same time.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

atomarchio said:


> wow. This is exactly what I'm looking for.
> 
> Is this solution 2 boxes? One where the Tivo is located and another box in my master bedroom where the new TV would be installed.
> 
> ...


Only one box at the source. The TV sees the program material as a TV station and tunes it in on the channel of your choice. The Pro version can handle multiple sources on multiple channels for distribution in a dorm or hotel. We are using them on an offshore production platform in the living quarters.

Remote control over coax is a different solution but not expensive, I have a system for whole house IR remote control via coax I bought from SmartHome about 10 years ago. Was under $300 for the every room with an RF cable connection (6 in our house) and still work fine. Xtralink2 is the name on the box.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

Phantom Gremlin said:


> Yay, a QAM modulator with a "3 digit" price tag.
> 
> Too bad I have no need for this, it looks like a "neat" thing to have. If I had known about it before I bought my most recent TiVo HD, I might have been tempted. Still, more expensive than a TiVo; but at least you don't need to rent a CableCARD.


Yea the price is steep for a single channel QAM modulator but there really is no competition in this market right now. I feel there is a real market out there for whole house distribution if they can get a simplified version down to about $300.


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## JFalc (May 3, 2005)

I have the TIVO HD / Slingbox / Slingcatcher setup.

Very nice in my opinion. (no subscription fees for Slingbox / Slingcatcher, so you pay the price once and thats it.

I use a Netgear WGPS606 refurb as the wireless connection from the Slingcatcher to the home network.

I actually have two slingcatchers and two Netgear WGPS606 so the Tivo HD can get to EITHER the bedroom or my kids room. This gets me all the Tivo HD content on three different tvs.

My only problem is that the Slingcatcher was $99 at Bestbuy/Amazon/etc in December but then stopped being made and now can only be had for like $250 on ebay.

Also, the Slingbox allows you to check out the TIVO HD over the internet (at the office, on the laptop, etc)


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## seloewy (Jan 5, 2006)

I know that this wouldn't give you the HD, but as you said, you don't need it often. What about purchasing a used Series 2 with Lifetime subscription? I've seen them on Craigslist for under $125, including the wireless access point.

I'm a relative noob with this, so please don't laugh if this is a ridiculous suggestion.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

atomarchio said:


> For this to work, do I need to purchase the slingbox and the Slingbox catcher? Is there a bundled version of this? Does it include a remote?


The Slingbox catcher is discontinued. I smell MPAA interference. You could make one with a computer. The Apple Mac mini has HDMi but you're back in the $700 range. You could pick up one of the $300 PCs from Woot or get a used laptop.

I have the same mission. I got the second TiVo for the bedroom but decided it's overkill for the amount I'm watching there now. The side adavantage in having soem more staorgae space and two more tuners to use. The bad thing with an S3 is paying #$%^&*( Comcast for 2 more CableCARDs and additional outlet.

I'm leaning toward doing a couple runs of HDMI over Cat-6. I've already started the project to pull eleventy-seven cables everywhere, including making huge holes because I don't have full access in the finished basement.

Check out http://www.Monoprice.com for the HDMI splitter and HDMI over Cat-5 or Cat-6. Yo can also do component but won't 1080P from a Blu-Ray player. Amazon has some component-Cat-5 baluns.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

If the two rooms are directly over one another you should try one of these...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026FCGLI

I was recently trying to get HD video from my living room to a back bedroom upstairs. I bought one these as my first attempt. It didn't quite reach the back room, but when I tested it in the bedroom directly over the living room it worked perfectly. (3 bars) It even has a built 4 port switch (2 hdmi, 2 component) so you can use up to 4 devices with it and an IR repeater so you can control them from the other room. If it had reached my back room it would have been the perfect solution.

I ended up rewiring my network to use powerline networking and then re-purposing the Cat5e I had running to that room for an HDMI balun. However in the process I also ended buying a new receiver for the main room and a matrix switch so the whole project ended up costing me about $800. Would have been a lot cheaper and simpler if the Air HD had worked because I could have just used the component out from my TiVos instead of dealing with all the HDMI switching.

Dan


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## atomarchio (Sep 24, 2006)

Interesting....

So there are 2 boxes in this setup. Where did you place or how did you mount the receiver unit behind the LCD? Is there a way to hide the receiver box somehow so all you see is a LCD on the wall?

Do you have the RF remote working?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I think there was some sort of bracket for mounting the receiver to the back of the TV. I didn't look at it very closely because I had no need for it. (I was trying to get it to work on a TV that was in an entertainment center)

RF remote? All my devices are IR remotes. The device has a built in repeater so you can simply point the remote at the receiver (a little IR eye that connects to the main receiver via a cable) and the it blasts out on the transmitter end via a little IR blaster cable.

Dan


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