Connect HD DVR Receiver to Wireless Network

[tbrass84]

I have the HD DVR Receiver and would like to be able to connect it to the internet. I do not have the cinema connect kit, just the whole home dvr thing plugged into my second receiver. Due to location of phone lines, I am unable to plug our router anywhere near the receiver. My main router is a 2Wire DSL Modem/Router, and the 2nd is a Netgear WGT624 v3 Router. Is there any way that this setup can be used to connect to the internet? Or, will I need to get some additional equipment? I am looking for a cheaper way to connect this to the internet, as I can't afford the Cinema Connect Kit.

Thanks.

 

[tbrass84]

Amy ideas for my cheapest simplest options?

 

[jdspencer]

There are some DirecTV approved wireless adapters.
Or, just run some Cat5e ethernet cable from the receiver to the router.

 

[charper1]

go to monoprice and either buy phone line extension to get router closer OR buy some CAT6 (about $1.20 more than CAT5e on a 75' length with better throughput / performance) to run to the DVR.




Common Ethernet Categories, Speed, and Usage


Type..............Speed................................Detailed Information
Cat. 5 10/100/1000MbE* Category 5 cable is a currently outdated standard that provides support for up to 100Mhz operation. It can be used for 10/100 Ethernet without worry, however for longer runs of 1000MbE it is recomended to use Cat. 5e or higher.
Cat. 5e 10/100/1000MbE Category 5e cable provides support for frequencies up to 100Mhz. Cat. 5e generally provides the best price for performance, however for future proofing Cat. 6 or higher might be a better choice as it usually does not cost much more.
Cat. 6 10/100/1000MbE/10GbE* Category 6 is defined up to a frequency of 250Mhz. Allowing 10/100/1000 use with up to 100 meter cable length, along with 10GbE over shorter distances.
Cat. 6a 10/100/1000MbE/10GbE Cat. 6a or Augmented Category 6 is defined up to 500Mhz. It allows up to 10GbE with a length up to 100m.
Cat. 7 10/100/1000MbE 10GbE/100GbE(?) Category 7 is the informal name for "Class F" cabling defined by a different standards body than Cat. 6a and lower. It supports frequencies up to 600Mhz and may support the upcoming 100GbE standard

 

[JerseyMatt]

If you plug something into the ethernet port, it will disable your multiroom viewing capability. You can get around that by connecting ALL of your recievers to your network, but then it becomes a non-standard installation and DirecTV will not support any problems you have with it.

Just buy a DECA unit on fleabay. You can get them for about $25 (half what DirecTV charges, and you don't need a service call). And then just hook it to an open port on your splitter. If you need to, you can run coax from that port to where your router is and connect the DECA there. That way it is still supported by DirecTV.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-Direc...936?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f0a2aa290

 

[charper1]

I have used the ethernet only method since day 1 of beta with not one issue at all; ever.

 

[JerseyMatt]

Yeah but you have everything connected via ethernet. You can't have MRV/WHDVR via DECA and use the ethernet port to connect to the internet, which is what the OP is looking to do. Using the ethernet port disables DECA, so he would have to connect ALL of his receivers to the router, not just the DVR, otherwise he loses his MRV/WHDVR. And I guarantee you MRV will not work over a Wifi link.

 

[charper1]

Agreed. But my point is there is nothing wrong with the all ethernet "unsupported" method. All features work exactly as expected and with no hiccups. WiFi is junk for video, especially HD. If fact I prefer and recommend a gigabit network.

 

[JerseyMatt]

I agree with that, there's nothing wrong with it.. I played around with it myself, I just prefer the simplicity of the DECA network. I wanted to clarify for the OP though that you can't mix and match, and that if he did run into problems D* wouldn't help him with it (though he could get all the help he needs right here!).. I just didn't want his next post to be "Why did my MRV stop working?"..

 

[Kevinw]

I am thinking he's is asking about wireless connections to use with his box??
I use this combined with a switch to connect my Bluray, computer, 360 and Direct box
TRENDnet | Products | 300Mbps Wireless N Adapters | TEW-647GA

If you don't have a switch I'd use this TRENDnet | Products | 300Mbps Wireless N Adapters | TEW-640MB

Or possibly taking on of your wireless routers and using it a wireless bridge and then hardwiring from one to your box

 

[JerseyMatt]

I am thinking he's is asking about wireless connections to use with his box??
I use this combined with a switch to connect my Bluray, computer, 360 and Direct box
TRENDnet | Products | 300Mbps Wireless N Adapters | TEW-647GA

If you don't have a switch I'd use this TRENDnet | Products | 300Mbps Wireless N Adapters | TEW-640MB

Or possibly taking on of your wireless routers and using it a wireless bridge and then hardwiring from one to your box

The OP has MRV/WHDVR. Plugging an ethernet cable into the DVR will disable that. Also, if he says he can't afford the $50 kit from D*, how is he going to afford $100 for a new N router (since the router he has is G) and $90 for a bridge? Not to mention even N will not reliably support MRV, it MUST be wired. I still think his best bet is to grab one of the DECA units that I linked to off ebay. It's half the price that D* wants ($25/free shipping) and it won't require anything extra.

 

[Kevinw]

If he can't afford the equipment how will he afford a PPV? He still going to need an internet connection to DL movies using one of the Deca units. Mine does. Maybe he just wants to connect it to the internet for you tube and stuff?

 

[jdspencer]

The OP didn't really say how he has Whole Home set up.
Is it DECA or not?
If he does have DECA, then he doesn't need to have anything near a receiver. Just the DECA kit connected to a coax somewhere and that connected to the router.

 

[JerseyMatt]

If he can't afford the equipment how will he afford a PPV? He still going to need an internet connection to DL movies using one of the Deca units. Mine does. Maybe he just wants to connect it to the internet for you tube and stuff?

Ummm yeah way to backpedal.. There's literally a hundred FREE On Demand channels that you can't get unless you have the cinema kit connected. I use On Demand all the time and approximately ZERO of it is pay per view. So yeah, again, if he can't shake the $50 for a CCK, what makes you think he can drop $200 for new network equipment?

The OP didn't really say how he has Whole Home set up.
Is it DECA or not?
If he does have DECA, then he doesn't need to have anything near a receiver. Just the DECA kit connected to a coax somewhere and that connected to the router.

Since the topic of his post is that he's trying to get network from his router to the DVR it's obviously not running over ethernet now is it?

 

[tbrass84]

Hello, OP here. Just thought I would clear up a few things. I wanted the connection to the internet for multiple reasons, not much of a PPV watcher. Ability to occasionally get some movies recorded at not too expensive. When I had called DirectV before they said it was $100 not $50 for this. I did find an old linksys router and installed dd-wrt on it, and plugged it into the ethernet port on my HD DVR in the main room. Sure enough, my next question was "why is whole home not working?" The way I have it set up is the official way. The second room has some type of thing plugged into it that is white, with three lights on it. My wife is in there now sleeping or I would go look to see exactly what it is called. So, is the only way for me to get internet and whole home to work to either get another router plugged to receiver #2, or one of those deals off ebay?

 

[charper1]

So, is the only way for me to get internet and whole home to work to either get another router plugged to receiver #2, or one of those deals off ebay?

No its not the only way. But as mentioned above, you can't have "DECA method" and the "networking method" at the same time; you must choose one or the other. It sounds like you have them both connected now. If this is the case you need to remove the non-DECA stuff and perform a full reset / initial setup I think to get it active again. I will let a DECA expert chime in as I choose the other way without ANY DECA stuff and go with my network only.

 

[charper1]

to add.......


As long as you have one or the other (your choice) connected & setup correctly, it will provide you with any & all of the internet /network based services; regardless.

 

[tbrass84]

So, if I have the router plugged into the main DVR, it is possible to still have the whole home service running? If so, could you provide instructions or a link to somewhere to guide me through doing this?

 

[tbrass84]

Could someone explain to me how to get this working again? Main DVR has router plugged into it, 2nd has a DECA thing plugged into it.

 

[JerseyMatt]

You either have to run an ethernet cable from the router to the second room (unplug the short blue cord that comes out of the DECA), or unplug the router from the DVR and buy the cinema connection kit and plug THAT into the router. Either way will work, it's just a matter of whether you can get the ethernet cord to the second room. Wireless solutions will not work.