# Bolt's MoCA bridge and internet access from a PC



## three_green (Aug 24, 2004)

I have a new Bolt sitting next to my wireless router and TV and plugged into the router via ethernet for it's internet access. I also selected from network settings "use this DVR to create a MoCA network" to allow a mini to work. I have a PC in another room (with coax only and lousy wifi reception) with media files I would like to stream (via Plex), and access the internet from the PC. If I connect the PC to coax via a Actiontec MoCA adapter, I'm pretty sure it will stream the videos through the Bolt's MoCA, but will this setup allow the PC internet access or do I need something else?


----------



## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

three_green said:


> I have a new Bolt sitting next to my wireless router and TV and plugged into the router via ethernet for it's internet access. I also selected from network settings "use this DVR to create a MoCA network" to allow a mini to work. I have a PC in another room (with coax only and lousy wifi reception) with media files I would like to stream (via Plex), and access the internet from the PC. If I connect the PC to coax via a Actiontec MoCA adapter, I'm pretty sure it will stream the videos through the Bolt's MoCA, but will this setup allow the PC internet access or do I need something else?


Hi,
You should be good with your plan. However, you don't mention who your ISP is or if your cable modem is MoCA friendly or equipped. Since you are planning to use the Bolt to establish your MoCA network, you might consider investing in the newer Actiontec MoCA 2.0 adapters to maximize your throughput, but the older ones (MoCA 1.1) will work ok. The other thing you will need, if you are not on Fios, is a MoCA POE or Whole Home DVR filter. One should be installed on the input of the first splitter to enter your home. The filter will provide security and actually strengthen the MoCA signal on your network. You may need another filter for your cable modem if not MoCA friendly and possibly one more if your ISP uses a TA, Tuning Adapter, with cable card services.


----------



## three_green (Aug 24, 2004)

Thanks for the fast reply!

Sorry I didn't give more complete information. ISP is Charter. I've had them for Internet for several years. I don't think my modem is MoCA equipped and I'm not sure if it's MoCA friendly. I had never even heard of MoCA until yesterday. My modem was provided by Charter and it's a Cisco DPC3008.

I'm switching to Charter for TV now. Charter sent two contract techs out yesterday. They installed a cable card into the Bolt and a tuning adapter, then they worked for over three hours and never could get the TiVo working and finally gave up and left. They tried three different tuning adapters and two cable cards. The light on the tuning adapter is flashing and they said it has to go to solid for it to work. Both techs said they hate TiVo and they're almost impossible to get to work. One said he's spent an entire week trying to get one to work before. The other said he hadn't worked with a TiVo in about a year and half and hopes he never sees another one. While they were working, I did some reading and learned about a POE filter and asked the techs if they had or were going to install a POE filter. Neither had ever heard of a POE filter and had no idea what I was talking about. I explained what I had read about POE filters and one tech said "oh yeah, we used to use those years ago, but we're all digital now and don't need those anymore".


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

> I explained what I had read about POE filters and one tech said "oh yeah, we used to use those years ago, but we're all digital now and don't need those anymore"


Heh, not a good sign! ... but were those goofs able to get your TiVo working, finally, with the tuning adapter?

How is your tuning adapter connected to your BOLT? Are they each connected directly to your coax line using a splitter, per Charter's install instructions, here, or was the BOLT fed from the tuning adapter's "TV Out" port?

When the Charter techs were trying to get the tuning adapter working, had you already enabled MoCA on the BOLT? *With MoCA active on your network, the BOLT and tuning adapter need to use the splitter configuration and a MoCA filter should be attached to the input of the tuning adapter*, as fcfc2 mentioned.

edit: p.s. see this post, here, for background on MoCA and tuning adapters not getting along.

p.p.s. Your BOLT and tuning adapter should be connected in a fashion similar to the following diagram -- except imagine that the *MoCA adapter isn't there*, so the coax line would run directly from the splitter to the TiVo DVR *and* the Ethernet connection on the TiVo DVR connects to one of your router's LAN ports. The tuning adapter "TA" MoCA filter *should* be located as pictured.
Click 'Show' to see diagram...


Spoiler


----------



## three_green (Aug 24, 2004)

krkaufman said:


> Heh, not a good sign! ... but were those goofs able to get your TiVo working, finally, with the tuning adapter?


No! After about 3 hours they gave up and said I probably have a defective TiVo and should send it back! They left the tuning adapter still connected and said maybe the light would go solid and start receiving channels after a few hours. It hasn't.



krkaufman said:


> How is your tuning adapter connected to your BOLT? Are they each connected directly to your coax line using a splitter, per Charter's install instructions, here, or was the BOLT fed from the tuning adapter's "TV Out" port?


No splitter, Bolt fed from tuning adapter. The tech gave me his number yesterday, so I called and asked if we should try a splitter. He said no. I got a splitter myself and tried it anyway but the TiVo still doesn't receive any channels.



krkaufman said:


> When the Charter techs were trying to get the tuning adapter working, had you already enabled MoCA on the BOLT?


Yes. But I've disabled it now and the TiVo still doesn't receive any channels. I can use all the other features (like Netflix), but the TiVo says "channel not authorized" on every channel I try.


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

three_green said:


> No! After about 3 hours they gave up and said I probably have a defective TiVo and should send it back! They left the tuning adapter still connected and said maybe the light would go solid and start receiving channels after a few hours. It hasn't.


Given what I've read re: tuning adapters, my money would be on Charter's configuration of the TA being the root of the issue. Here's one similar comment from a TWC customer:


Expidia said:


> Dreading the TA (there is a reason the cisco TA stus thread has almost 40,000 views) When system was new light would TA not stop blinking, tried a 2nd TA same thing. Took a number of calls to tivo and then TW cable card dept before I finally found a knowledgable c/s who finally jiggered it on their end and got it working.





three_green said:


> I got a splitter myself and tried it anyway but the TiVo still doesn't receive any channels.


I would think you would need/want to re-run the BOLT's Guided Setup after changing how the BOLT was connected. It is my understanding that you should at least be receiving NON-SDV channels with the TiVo DVR connected directly to your coax lines (that is, with the splitter in place).

Related threads...
http://tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=534173
http://tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=482537


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

three_green said:


> Yes. But I've disabled it now and the TiVo still doesn't receive any channels. I can use all the other features (like Netflix), but the TiVo says "channel not authorized" on every channel I try.


Charter needs to get this working for you.

You could always pick up a 2nd BOLT at Best Buy and use it to test the Charter tech's theory. When they're unable to get that BOLT working, either, get the techs working on the original BOLT again and return the test unit.

Alternatively, remove the tuning adapter and the splitter from the setup, temporarily, and, with the BOLT connected directly to your wall outlet, verify whether or not you're able to get Charter to properly activate your CableCARD, so that you can receive any non-SDV channels. Once that's working, then reengage in battle with your tuning adapter.


----------



## three_green (Aug 24, 2004)

Thanks for the help! The tech came out today (on Sunday, no less) to reconnect my directv until they can resolve the issue - hopefully tomorrow. After sleeping on it, he thinks it's the tuning adapter and wants to try another one (although he's already tried three). He mentioned something about some tar files with the adapter. Hopefully they'll get it working tomorrow.

My original purpose of this thread was to determine if I need just one MoCA adapter to stream files and access the Internet from my PC once everything is working. It sound like that's the case and I appreciate everyone's help!


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

three_green said:


> My original purpose of this thread was to determine if I need just one MoCA adapter to stream files and access the Internet from my PC once everything is working. It sound like that's the case and I appreciate everyone's help!


Heh, I'd been holding-off on that aspect. My apologies.

There isn't much to add beyond what fcfc2 offered (per usual), but I'll try to find something (per usual).

...

I'll leave the value judgement to you (i.e. relative LAN segment speed bumps vs Internet speed vs cost), but you might benefit from reviewing this recent post, here, discussing effective throughput for a variety of MoCA adapters. The 'gist is that you'll want to look under the covers to determine what the adapters are actually capable of based on the MoCA standard and type of Ethernet port used. And you'll also want to consider the MoCA standard and effective throughput of your MoCA bridge when selecting MoCA adapters for your remote coax wall outlets. (e.g. buying MoCA 2.0 adapters for your rooms wouldn't make a lot of sense for a home with a Roamio Plus bridging MoCA traffic)

As one example, I'm still trying to determine whether the BOLT's MoCA bridge is standard MoCA 2.0 (400+Mbps) or "enhanced"/"bonded" 2.0 (800+Mbps). Based on what I've read, it appears to be only a standard MoCA 2.0 bridge; therefore, if you're considering using the BOLT as your MoCA bridge, using a "bonded"/"enhanced" MoCA 2.0 adapter at a remote coax outlet would be overkill.

One last note... when comparing MoCA adapters to network segment and NIC speeds, it's the MAC or data rate value listed for a MoCA adapter that you're interested in, not the PHY rate. (link) But again, make sure they're not overstating the data rate relative to the Ethernet standard used for the built-in jack. (see also MoCA 2.0 specs, here)

p.s. See also this post, here, comparing MoCA and Ethernet data rates.


----------

