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djc6
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join:2007-11-28
Rocky River, OH
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djc6

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Smallest receiver for TWC (DirecTV Genie Mini wireless equivalent)

My sister is interested in switching to TWC because of their tiny Genie Mini wireless receiver boxes (Dimensions: 1"H, 6"W, 3"D). The appeal is that she could hide the box by strapping it to the back side of her wall mounted TV and never see her cable box again. There is an electrical outlet behind the wall mounted TV, and it connects wirelessly to the main DVR box. Does TWC offer anything similar?

I know I could mount a roku like this and run the TWC app, but it doesn't have DVR access it seems. The Genie Mini does have DVR access via the main DVR.

OpTiC
Premium Member
join:2014-03-08
West Covina, CA

OpTiC

Premium Member

motorola market dcx 3200

cisco market 4742

swintec
Premium Member
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME

swintec

Premium Member

said by OpTiC :

motorola market dcx 3200

cisco market 4742

Some how and for some reason, I ended up with the DCX3200 for a new install and my area has always been Cisco / SA boxes...so maybe this doesnt matter so much anymore? I was surprised when he hooked it up.
ITGeeks
join:2014-04-20
Cleveland, OH

ITGeeks

Member

it doesn't matter on the hardware anymore. WOH (now MidOhio) was SA/Cisco and they are now using Mot and Samsung. Cisco is far and few between.
brad152
join:2006-07-27
Chicago, IL

brad152 to djc6

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to djc6
Yeah i'd have to say the 3200, i seen on here in Dallas the other day and was surprised that TWC would give out a Moto box (gives me faith in them again, as those cisco things they loved forever were just garbage)

the 3200 had a very nice footprint for a cable co box, and i've rarely seen one that small issued by any company.

chamberc
Premium Member
join:2008-08-05
Addison, TX

chamberc

Premium Member

We've been Moto since at least 2005 when we were a comcast market, and they suck just as bad. It's the software (Navigator or iGuide) which makes them so crappy, not the hardware.

OpTiC
Premium Member
join:2014-03-08
West Covina, CA

OpTiC to djc6

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to djc6
I have a 3200p2 and it's working good for me.
djc6
Premium Member
join:2007-11-28
Rocky River, OH
Motorola MB8600
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X
Netgear Orbi

djc6

Premium Member

I appreciate the responses. Seems the DCX 3200 P2 dimensions are "10.63 in W x 8.46 in D x 1.97 in H", probably too big to strap to the back of a TV like a roku, appletv or genie mini. Then again, I've seen mac minis strapped behind tv's w/external power supply.

OpTiC
Premium Member
join:2014-03-08
West Covina, CA

OpTiC

Premium Member

That the list if you're not happy with the box sizes keep direct tv. Your sister can buy a TiVo and a TiVo mini to install at the back of the tv. Your sister has to rent a cablecard.
jpatton1979
join:2011-08-10
Louisville, KY

jpatton1979

Member

...and pay either a monthly or lifetime subscription fee to TiVo for each device.
brad152
join:2006-07-27
Chicago, IL

brad152 to chamberc

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to chamberc
I honestly prefer iGuide to navigator or SARA personally. I am hoping when i'm moved to Dallas i can still get an iGuide box as from my experience it was way more stable when i used it with Insight
djc6
Premium Member
join:2007-11-28
Rocky River, OH
Motorola MB8600
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X
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djc6 to OpTiC

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to OpTiC
The issue is that she currently has a TWC TV and Internet bundle, and its reasonably priced. She wants to switch back to DirecTV for TV and keep TWC for Internet, which seems the most expensive route to go. She wants to do so for two reasons 1) the allure of less clutter around her TV and 2) she loathes the Guide program on the TWC boxes; she claims she watches less TV now because she can't stand the GUI on the TWC set-top box. I was trying to find some alternatives for her - including relocating the box and using an IR blaster to control it from afar.

I'll look into the TiVo/CableCARD setup - didn't know that was an option, thanks!
ITGeeks
join:2014-04-20
Cleveland, OH

ITGeeks

Member

changing because she doesn't like the box? and can't figure out the guide? There is always the guide channel and tvguide.com
djc6
Premium Member
join:2007-11-28
Rocky River, OH
Motorola MB8600
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djc6

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The TWC software is lame - I dislike it as well. Why are HD and SD channels both available? I gotta look in the 1000's for HD. DirecTV had the same channel number for SD and HD, and if you had HD capabilities, it automatically picked HD. Very simple. I couldn't figure out how to keep SD channels available in HD from appearing in the guide. The only time I want to see SD anything is if HD isn't available.

Worse, the GUI makes very poor use of space. The titles of shows in the guide and in my list of recorded programs are often so truncated I can't tell what they are.

swintec
Premium Member
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME

swintec

Premium Member

The guide, or at least with the national channel line up which it sounds like you have, does the auto tune HD like you say. Only showing HD is an option in the guide as well. I believe you have to hit Guide twice on the remote.

With the Moto box that I just got I was finally able to make the guide 16x9.
djc6
Premium Member
join:2007-11-28
Rocky River, OH
Motorola MB8600
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X
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djc6

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said by swintec:

The guide, or at least with the national channel line up which it sounds like you have, does the auto tune HD like you say.

I have a Samsung box. How do you get this to work? For example, if I go to channel 350 (CNN) its in SD, it doesn't automatically go to 1350.

When I had DirecTV, 202 is CNN in SD or HD. Both have the same number, and it would use HD on my HD TV in the living room, but use SD on the old CRT in the basement. I only had to memorize one number.

I tried pressing guide twice - it ONLY displayed HD channels - I just want to filter out the SD duplicates... I don't mind SD if thats the only signal available. DirecTV's guide behaved this way, there were no HD/SD duplicates.
smcallah
join:2004-08-05
Home

smcallah to djc6

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If she has an iPhone/Android phone or iPad/Android Tablet, she could use the TWC TV app based remote to control her cable boxes.

It has a better guide than the one on the TV.
smcallah

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to djc6
Sounds like you have the old channel lineup, so you may not have the Auto HD stuff yet.

In my area they got rid of the 1xxx being HD for nearly all the channels, except for locals. So for example, the only HBO we have is channel 511, and it's HD if your TV is HD capable. There is no way to tune the SD version and 1511 is not a channel at all.

swintec
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join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME

swintec to djc6

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to djc6
said by djc6:

I have a Samsung box. How do you get this to work? For example, if I go to channel 350 (CNN) its in SD, it doesn't automatically go to 1350.

Sorry, I thought you had the new national channel line up. Auto-HD is enabled in that update. For example, channel 101 is USA or USA-HD depending on TV type. Id imagine they will get you over to the national line up at some point this year. We were one of the first a couple of months ago.

Suit Up
join:2003-07-21
Los Angeles, CA
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X
TP-Link Archer C7

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said by djc6:

I'll look into the TiVo/CableCARD setup - didn't know that was an option, thanks!

You could also get a small PC (like a Zotac ZBOX, Intel NUC, Asus EEE, etc) and a HDHomeRun Prime and use Windows Media Center. It will cost a bit more up front, but there is no monthly service fees and a much better guide than the cable boxes.

And then she would also be able to watch Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Youtube, or whatever else on her TV as well.
djc6
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join:2007-11-28
Rocky River, OH
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djc6

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said by Suit Up:

and a HDHomeRun Prime and use Windows Media Center

I actually just picked up an HDHomeRun Plus to play with at home. I had tried MythTV about ten years ago with a Hauppauge PVR-350 card and liked it. I got rid of it once OTA went HD.