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IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

[STB] Getting AnyRoom DVR

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Splitters
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Basement TV/STB/Phone Modem
I have an install scheduled for the AnyRoom DVR as I was able to subscribe to a package that was a better deal and includes the AnyRoom DVR offering and they gave me the SurePrice Discount even though I was on a SurePrice currently before.

I am going to shelve the TiVo for now and take advantage of the whole house DVR offering. I may put the TiVo back in latter in the future as it has a lifetime sub.

What I am asking is what does the Whole House DVR installation entail.

The dual RG6QS wire going up to the bedroom is about 10 years old. I am going to replace the wire going to the living room as that dates back to 1988 (when the house was built). I am also going to do it myself as it entails a wall fish (from the basement to the living room on the first floor). I will probably need about 25-30 feet of wire (I measured).

I am wondering where they will put the MoCA filter. The first splitter is going to the HSI modem. The second splitter contains the TVs and the Phone Modem (Arris TM602g). I was thinking they could put the MoCA filter between the first splitter and the second. I have the line going to the HSI modem marked with a zip tie. If they need to isolate the modems from the MoCA signals, they could install two three-way splitters with the modems on the first one and the TV's on the second one. Whatever the case, I'll refuse the installation of their internet gateway (that they claim is so wonderful but quite frankly their gateway is a piece of junk).

And as a final part of my question, what equipment do they use for the AnyRoom DVR offering.

mikedz4
join:2003-04-14
Weirton, WV

mikedz4

Member

they usually put the moca filter on the line coming into the house or apartment. In my apartment they put it in the junction box on the side of the building.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

Will they change out/reconfigure the splitters as well, they are rated for 5-1000 mHz. They might need to put ones in that go up to 2.5 gHz. Either way, I want the internet modem on the first splitter as I want the strongest signal possible for the HSI connection.

mikedz4
join:2003-04-14
Weirton, WV

mikedz4

Member

I'm not sure about the splitters. They bring their kit to check signal levels to see if they are ok for anyroom service.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

I am wondering what you mean by adequate signal levels. I thought MoCA was only dependent on the inside wire as they put a MoCA filter on the inside wire to isolate those signals from the outside wire and cable plant. I do plan on replacing a section of inside wire going to the living room as that it is nearing 24 years old (house built in 1988) and wire deteriorates over time. I am also going to use Snap n Seal fittings (you can tell my fittings are different from the Comcast Fittings as mine are the orange ones). As for me replacing the line, I am going to do it since it involves a wall fish).

The only downside is I have 5 devices on my cable line but they could put the data modem and the separate phone modem on a three way and then the three TVs on a separate three way and then put the MoCA filter between the modem splitter and the TV splitter.

If they say that they need to put in their gateway, I'll politely refuse the installation of the gateway.

andyross
MVM
join:2003-05-04
Aurora, IL

andyross

MVM

What are the frequency ratings on the splitters? They should be at least 1000MHz/1GHz. I'm not certain what MoCA frequencies Comcast tends to use, but that can go that high, or even higher.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

said by andyross:

What are the frequency ratings on the splitters? They should be at least 1000MHz/1GHz. I'm not certain what MoCA frequencies Comcast tends to use, but that can go that high, or even higher.

They are 5-1000 mHz range and they are not that old. If I replace the wire going to the living room, should I use RG6 or RG6 quad shield. The drop line is direct burial RG6.

andyross
MVM
join:2003-05-04
Aurora, IL

andyross

MVM

QS is mainly to keep noise out. It's thicker and cannot bend as much, and needs different connectors.

If you are willing to spend a bit of money, you can look into Belden 7915A. It's RG6, but has the same shielding as RG6QS. The difficulty may be finding it in anything smaller than a 500ft box.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad to IowaCowboy

MVM

to IowaCowboy
While MoCA is specified to operate at frequencies up to 1.5 GHz (»Re: [DVR] Use of MOCA ethernet bridge(s) affect AnyRoom DVR ? ), most cable system boxes seem to use a frequency near 1 GHz (»Re: Moca questions ), so that a good quality splitter rated up to 1 GHz should probably work OK.

See this previous thread: »MoCA network setup

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy to andyross

Premium Member

to andyross
I just bought some RG6 wire @ 17 cents a foot x 30 feet, a package of 10 Snap N Seal fittings at 6.97 a package, and a new wall plate at $3.49 all at Home Depot. I used to swear by buying this stuff at Radio Shack (former neighbor worked at Radio Shack back in the late '80s and early '90s) but the techs say their products are inferior. It seams that Lowe's Depot sells the stuff that the techs use (I know Mediacom when I lived in Iowa used the Snap N Seal fittings back when they had the seperate plastic piece). The wall plates, splitters, and fittings at Lowe's Depot seems to be better quality. I am planning on installing this before Comcast comes next Thursday.
IowaCowboy

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

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Tidied up the wiring
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Wire going into the wall
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Brand new wall plate
Spent a good part of the morning replacing the wire to the living room TV (which has wire that is 24 years old) and it came out pretty good. I also cleaned up that rat's nest of wires on my basement ceiling and tidied things up with the splitters. I had to replace the low voltage bracket that holds the wall plate to the wall because the screws were stripped and the bracket was broken. Otherwise the project went smoothly (no messed up fittings). I also found that the jumper from the wall plate to the TiVo (which is going to go into storage when I get the whole house DVR installed) had a "sucked out" fitting.

Hopefully this will ensure that my signals and wiring is good enough for the MoCA signals from the whole house setup. The dual cable is about 10 years old and dates back to when Springfield had the old dual (A/B) cable system that was rebuilt later that year (2002-2003). The twin lead cable is handy though because one feeds the modem and the other feeds the TV in the same room.

I also installed a new wall plate as the old one was a dual wall plate that dated back to the old A/B cable system days.
IowaCowboy

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

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MoCA Trap
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AnyRoom compatible box
I had the install completed today (12-20-2012) and the install was relatively simple. All the tech had to do was remove the old equipment (the DCT 700 and the CableCard in my TiVo, which I am putting away) and he put in the Motorola RNG150N boxes). He had the Pace RNG150N boxes on his truck but those were not talking to each other as they lacked the MoCA functionality so he had to go hunt down another tech and he came with some Motorola RNG150N HD boxes. The master DVR is the Motorola RNG200 DVR. I think Comcast has their own model numbers for equipment as I think they have the equipment manufactured to their specifications as the equipment on the manufacturer's website is not the equipment issued by Comcast (an example is the Arris TG62G is made to their specifications as the one on the Arris Website is not the same one issued by Comcast). I think Comcast uses their own model numbers because the RNG200 DVR is really a Motorola DCX3501.

The Pace RNG3501 is not the same as the Motorola RNG3501 as the pace does not have the MoCA on it.

As for the install itself, the tech put a MoCA trap on the first splitter (the 2-way) which goes to the internet modem and the three TVs are fed of the second splitter (the 4-way) which goes to the phone modem and the three TVs. And the AnyRoom DVR is activated remotely. He also said if a box goes bad, I can just swap it out at the office without a truck roll. I could have installed this myself as I would have just put in the MoCA trap and hooked up the boxes.