Hard Wiring a Tivo - Use Powerline!

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Maxcat

273 posts

Ultimate Geek

#177597 8-Aug-2015 08:40

I see the occasional post asking for anyone's unused Wireless Adapter to get the programme information on-line.

I recently added another Tivo to my Home Network and wanted to hard wire it as I have the other Tivos around the house.

But this install wasn't near an ethernet socket and I wanted to hard wire it.

As an experiment, I have seen a few cheapy Powerline adapters turning up on TradeMe so I bought a couple to try them out. I admit I was brand new to them and pretty dubious!

So this morning my used Powerlines are connected and they are working fine! So for anyone after a wireless adapter and can't find one - go Powerline.

It was actually cheaper than getting another Wireless Adapter!

DizzyD

523 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1361008 8-Aug-2015 09:16

Great tip.

We just use a wifi bridge. Plug our TV, Tivo, and Raspberry Pi straight into it.

A cheap old router with DD-WRT configured as a wifi bridge is all that is required.

Never tried one of those powerline adapters. What sort of speeds and latency are you getting?

Maxcat

273 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1361010 8-Aug-2015 09:28

Dizzy the model I bought was the Netcomm NP204 200Mbps model.

I rewired the house a few years back with Cat6 cable when we did some major rebuilds but this particular room wasn't near the wall jack and my new Tivo is there. I didn't want to drape a cable across the floor so tried the Powerline and simply, it works!

Because we do so much programme shifting around the house (lounge to bedroom mainly) I really wanted a reliable fast connection so tried the Powerline to continue the wired Tivo HN scenario.

If all anyone is doing is connecting to the WEB for programme info, a used Powerline will be a simple fix for anyone who can't find a used Tivo wireless adapter.

http://www.netcommwireless.com/product/powerline/np204

sbiddle

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#1361011 8-Aug-2015 09:28

Powerline adapters are the best solution for connectivity is there is no easy way to run Ethernet cable. They're also perfect for extending WiFi coverage if you want to install an additional AP.

alisam

829 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1361146 8-Aug-2015 14:07

sbiddle: Powerline adapters are the best solution for connectivity is there is no easy way to run Ethernet cable. They're also perfect for extending WiFi coverage if you want to install an additional AP.

I completely agree.
When the Tivo first came to NZ I bought one and struggled with wifi.
Basically I said never again. However, running an Ethernet cable did not get WAF approval.
Powerline saved the day.
I now have many more internet enabled devices and I have never look back, with 5-6 powerline boxes around the house (3 with 4 port).

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TENKAN

314 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1363599 12-Aug-2015 12:17

Hi there, what is the exact model number for the powerline that you are using,thanks

mattwnz

20147 posts

Uber Geek

#1363639 12-Aug-2015 13:29

What is the transfer rate like? The EPG only needs a slow connection, but I wonder how it is for transferring movies between tivos. I see they have been discontinued.

Groucho

524 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1364751 12-Aug-2015 16:46

Powerline devices are very good depending on your household wiring. I bought a near new 4-port D-Link switch which was capable of 200mb/s via TradeMe and was getting at least 100MB/s which was the fastest NIC speed I can measure with my hardware. New Powerline devices are upward of 600mb/s but is unlikely you'll ever get full speed as fuses, circuit breakers, different circuits, RCDs etc... all slow them down a little to some degree.

They are also known to put noise down the household mains which can be picked up by radios which you may need a power filter for the radio itself to clean up.

Unfortunately after running for a few weeks perfectly it got spiked and now won't connect so essentially bricked. We were redecorating at that time too so was being frequently plugged in and unplugged which possibly didn't help. I have heard NetComm Powerline devices are a little more resilient to spikes but can't confirm that.

The trouble with Powerline devices is you can't put a filter on them to prevent them being spiked as filters also filter out the data so you're a little screwed either way.

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mattwnz

20147 posts

Uber Geek

#1364754 12-Aug-2015 16:50

Groucho: Powerline devices are very good depending on your household wiring. I bought a near new 4-port D-Link switch which was capable of 200mb/s via TradeMe and was getting at least 100MB/s which was the fastest NIC speed I can measure with my hardware. New Powerline devices are upward of 600mb/s but is unlikely you'll ever get full speed as fuses, circuit breakers, different circuits, RCDs etc... all slow them down a little to some degree.

They are also known to put noise down the household mains which can be picked up by radios which you may need a power filter for the radio itself to clean up.

Unfortunately after running for a few weeks perfectly it got spiked and now won't connect so essentially bricked. We were redecorating at that time too so was being frequently plugged in and unplugged which possibly didn't help. I have heard NetComm Powerline devices are a little more resilient to spikes but can't confirm that.

The trouble with Powerline devices is you can't put a filter on them to prevent them being spiked as filters also filter out the data so you're a little screwed either way.

Yeah, dirty power and surges is my concern with them. Wonder if a surge protector would help. I would think that some poor quality transformers connected to the power supply may affect them, as they can affect radio qulaity when being used.

Groucho

524 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1364763 12-Aug-2015 17:00

mattwnz:
Yeah, dirty power and surges is my concern with them. Wonder if a surge protector would help. I would think that some poor quality transformers connected to the power supply may affect them, as they can affect radio qulaity when being used.

Do your research first, I think surge protectors may cause some havoc with data. Filtering out noise is good though. Interference could be heard on some FM stations via my amp's tuner to varying degrees where one station sometimes was totally inaudible, others just had whistling or crackle. The interference stopped within a second of unplugging the Powerline device.

alisam

829 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1364788 12-Aug-2015 17:44

mattwnz: What is the transfer rate like? The EPG only needs a slow connection, but I wonder how it is for transferring movies between tivos. I see they have been discontinued.

You don't say what has been discontinued! TiVo boxes?

My experience is that I wait 30 seconds or so to make sure I clear any ads before I start watching a program being transferred.
Thereafter, by the time you go to the first ad break, you will be surprised by how much more of the tv program has been transferred.
I have never had a problem.
Saying that, I will often set a transfer going last thing at night to watch the transferred program the next day (or delete it because I watched it on the other TiVo).

In their time, Tivo's were the best device ever to hit NZ shores. I would be lost without my two.

mattwnz

20147 posts

Uber Geek

#1364791 12-Aug-2015 17:48

alisam:
mattwnz: What is the transfer rate like? The EPG only needs a slow connection, but I wonder how it is for transferring movies between tivos. I see they have been discontinued.

You don't say what has been discontinued! TiVo boxes?

My experience is that I wait 30 seconds or so to make sure I clear any ads before I start watching a program being transferred.
Thereafter, by the time you go to the first ad break, you will be surprised by how much more of the tv program has been transferred.
I have never had a problem.
Saying that, I will often set a transfer going last thing at night to watch the transferred program the next day (or delete it because I watched it on the other TiVo).

In their time, Tivo's were the best device ever to hit NZ shores. I would be lost without my two.

The link http://www.netcommwireless.com/product/powerline/np204 shows it has been discontinued. Tivos have also been discontinued, although they are still supported in terms of the EPG, just wonder for how long.

alisam

829 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1364792 12-Aug-2015 17:52

TENKAN: Hi there, what is the exact model number for the powerline that you are using,thanks

If you really want to know then I can dig the info out. They are now a couple of years old at least.

I have 2 different brands: TP-Link and D-Link. Within D-Link I have two different boxes, one set of two with 1 port and 2 sets of two with 4 ports.
Whereas, the 1-port boxes connected OK for a considerable length of time, now they wont when I wanted to re-use them. I have given up trying to find out why.

So, even though the different brands should co-exist, I would go with one brand if I was starting from scratch.

If you need 4 ports on a box (there are some 2 port boxes) then that rules out a number of brands.
I would get a 4 port just in case you ever need more than 2 ports.

Maxcat

273 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1365280 13-Aug-2015 09:43

I did my first programme transfer from one Tivo to another using Powerline and can report that it worked just as the others do which are all CAT6 hard wired.

It was a 30 minute programme and the same rules apply - give it a minute to start transferring then start playing and you'll never catch up to the end before it has completed transferring.

And so it was - the green bar was well ahead after 30 seconds and kept that way until the end.

So - my Powerline works just as I had hoped.

There is no difference between hard wired direct or Powerline in my Home Network link.