Ether port two and MRV options

[armchair]

I wonder if Directv would consider adding a user port option for second ether port on the receivers that are equipped with extra port. I would like the option to dedicate bottom port to MRV only and still have top port usable for VOD, Media Share, and DirecTv2PC applications with network.

I suggest this because I think there is a lot of network logistics that effect the performance of MRV and isolating MRV with its own network may resolve a lot issues simply and economically. I've considered just removing the others (VOD, Media Share and DirecTv2PC by removing the ether connection to my home network where PC and INTERNET are) and just use one ether cable between the two HR22's rather than updating my network which could get expensive if I don't buy the right setup or configure it properly.

I think users that have more than two receivers on their network could still use a separate switch or router dedicated to get MRV performance or just not select the option if they're happy with their current setup.

Open to comments, suggestions and yes, even constructive criticism if necessary.

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[Steve in IL]

I'm a total newbie to this stuff, but for what it's worth... I have one HR21 and one H21 and have been trying to get MRV up and running between them. I had success last night, with the following setup. I have the HR21 on my network via a Belkin 200Mbps powerline adapter, and I have the H21 connected to the HR21 directly using a Cat5e cable from the 2nd ethernet port on the HR21. Seems to work great.

I could not get MRV working by connecting my H21 using a powerline adapter. For reasons I don't yet fully understand, I seem to be getting a very slow connection in my house using powerline adapters. The LED indicators on them tell my my connection is less than 30Mbps, but I don't know how much less. It was apparently way too slow for MRV to work, although it seems to be adequate for things like VOD on the HR21. I believe the direct ethernet connection between the two takes any speed issues associated with my home network totally out of the picture for MRV functionality.

Isn't my setup what you were asking about? Perhaps you are suggesting that this type of setup does not work the same between two HR's as it does between one HR and one H rcvr? Anyway, the setup I described seems to work great for me.

-Steve

[armchair]

What I was asking DirecTv to do was dedicate port 2 to MRV by setting it up as a user preference in menu like LOCATION. If I were to connect my DVR's port 2 to port 2 with that option set, the HR22's would know that I intend all MRV streams to be direct through port 2 only. All other features would be done on port one (VOD, Media Share & DirecTv2PC).

[cfb]

I'm not sure this is doable, because I'm pretty sure that 2 port network connection is a hardware two port ethernet switch with one ethernet port into the motherboard. I dont think its programmable to become two separate ports.

Your point about the networking is well taken. I ended up putting in a 100Mb/s switch next to my router and moving the directv receivers and the HTPC over to that so the receiver-to-receiver MRV had as little complexity as possible.

My concern with MRV is that due to the bandwidth requirements and the quirky nature of powerline and wireless performance, that very few of directv's customers will be able to make use of MRV or Directv2PC. They simply wont have the infrastructure for it, may not want to spend hundreds of dollars on zero-cable solutions that may not work for them, or have the interest and pocketbook to pull wire.

[armchair]

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I'm not sure this is doable, because I'm pretty sure that 2 port network connection is a hardware two port ethernet switch with one ethernet port into the motherboard. I dont think its programmable to become two separate ports.

Your point about the networking is well taken. I ended up putting in a 100Mb/s switch next to my router and moving the directv receivers and the HTPC over to that so the receiver-to-receiver MRV had as little complexity as possible.

My concern with MRV is that due to the bandwidth requirements and the quirky nature of powerline and wireless performance, that very few of directv's customers will be able to make use of MRV or Directv2PC. They simply wont have the infrastructure for it, may not want to spend hundreds of dollars on zero-cable solutions that may not work for them, or have the interest and pocketbook to pull wire.

Thanks for replies Steve and cfb.
MRV is unique in that it doesn't need a switch or router to port it but in my case it's a CAT6 wired ether cable. I think once a network cable is connected to such a setup, the network takes all port tasks and makes MRV susceptible to network interference and BW rationing. If I am correct in that thought, there is no ideal network, switch or wireless solution until the user can select direct connection for MRV or just opt to not use VOD, Media Share or DirecTv2PC because those applications require a network connection. If anyone has tested this, feel free to reply. I didn't want to lose VOD and other services but have not used Media Share or DirecTv2PC much but I'm willing to test & go without those long enough to see if I get any improvement. I'll post my findings here in a few days, sooner if I see vast improvement or encounter difficulties.

I removed network cable to isolate my HR22's (connected by one cat6 cable) for MRV only. Without any setup, MRV restarted on its own within the first minute. Testing now.

[armchair]

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Thanks for replies Steve and cfb.
MRV is unique in that it doesn't need a switch or router to port it but in my case it's a CAT6 wired ether cable. I think once a network cable is connected to such a setup, the network takes all port tasks and makes MRV susceptible to network interference and BW rationing. If I am correct in that thought, there is no ideal network, switch or wireless solution until the user can select direct connection for MRV or just opt to not use VOD, Media Share or DirecTv2PC because those applications require a network connection. If anyone has tested this, feel free to reply. I didn't want to lose VOD and other services but have not used Media Share or DirecTv2PC much but I'm willing to test & go without those long enough to see if I get any improvement. I'll post my findings here in a few days, sooner if I see vast improvement or encounter difficulties.

I removed network cable to isolate my HR22's (connected by one cat6 cable) for MRV only. Without any setup, MRV restarted on its own within the first minute. Testing now.

Still see a number of audio/video splats and it's hard to say whether there is any improvement at all testing this way except that it appears the duration of the splats are shorter as if the router method takes longer to recover after encountering distortion than the direct method with my cat6 cable connected between the HR22's.

I found that there is still a large number of splats that occur particularly if skipping through commercials and using trick play to skip back. Less splats when letting a HD movie w/o commercials playback without interruption. DirecTv2PC is much more forgiving so I feel MRV still needs some tweaking. I wonder if TIVO ever intended MRV to work with a HD with 5.1 audio?

I did find a way to keep my MRV connected via cat6 direct between the HR22's and still get connected to INTERNET: I started two HD streams and ran Connect & Get Connected without INTERNET cable connected. From there I was able to select wired router and connect while MRV still streaming w/o interruption. I ran test connection which took me to system test which ran OK, then checked more info notes and found that no "STB Services Port" were made through router. I get a na(202), a dash for status and dash for audio port. Status for Network and Internet are connected. (This is not a problem that I need help with; I want the direct path and still have INTERNET capability.) My only concern is that either MRV will be lost and not be re-established until I re-enable STB ports or my router re-establishes them automatically at some point. I disabled multicast streams and revoked the STB ports previously setup on my router when running HR22 Network Services in Setup so maybe that won't happen as long as I don't run Network Services again. Not sure if MRVCLIENTOFF/ON will change anything or not. I still think a separate setup to specify such preferences would be better than trying to bypass it and hope it stays that way.

I hope TIVO and DirecTv will continue to improve MRV for HD streams. Being that the beta 5313 of DirecTv2PC works better than current MRV release in CE, there's still hope for improvement. I still would welcome comments to this thread and I will post any changes that may occur to my na(202) setup.