Help! Have HR24's with whole home DVR but want to connect other ethernet devices

[david78]

I just got MRV installed today. I have 3 HR22's and they installed 2 new HR24's.

I was hoping to take advantage of having ethernet at all of my endpoints to attach other devices like Apple TV etc.

But, as far as I can tell the HR24 does NOT have pass through internet from its ethernet port, which appears to be "input only" (unless I am mistaken).

So, I decided to try attaching one of the DECA boxes from my HR22's to the HR24, even though it is not needed, just so I could get ethernet out.

But, it does not appear that one can use a DECA box attached to an HR24. The green lights on the box turn on briefly at boot up, but then turn off and it appears ethernet is not active.

So, I am very disappointed - the bottom line question is this: if I am using an HR24, is there ANY way I can get a regular ethernet connection to install other devices, whether it be a different type of DECA box, changing system settings, or something else I haven't thought of?

Thanks!

 

[badtlc]

no. You need to either run an ethernet cable to the location you need it or setup a wireless bridge wherever you need it.

 

[david78]

I've done more reading and your statement sounds decidedly wrong. Apparently all I need is one of the green two way coax splitters and a powered DECA box. Send one coax to the HR24, one coax to DECA, DECA ethernet out to my switch, switch to ethernet input of HR24 and I'm done.

 

[ts7]

I'm not an expert on the subject, but I was told by both a CSR and the tech that installed that on the HR24 you could use DECA OR ethernet, but not both. As I understood, if you were using DECA, the ethernet port on the HR24 was disabled.

In my network, I am essentially using DECA to provide Ethernet to my H24/HR24 units and a hardwired CAT 5e connection to my media devices (TV, BlueRay,etc). I use wireless to connect my computers, printers and video games. I have a GB switch in the basement that connects to the DECA adapter, the CAT 5e connections, the wireless access point and the router going to my cable modem. This makes troubleshooting a little easier as I can easily disconnect different groups of devices (i.e. I was getting network errors that I suspected were related to one of the HR24 devices - which it was - and could easily unplug the DECA adapter to determine this).

 

[david78]

Thanks TS7- so just to confirm, you have the DECA box attached to the HR24 and the ethernet from DECA plugged into the HR24 and it works? For some reason, that doesn't work for me even if I reset the receiver. The DECA lights turn on green for part of the boot up, but then just turn off entirely and don't seem to be active after about half way through the system start up. Strange.

 

[ts7]

To clarify, DECA is built into the H24/HR24 line. These receivers also have an Ethernet port which is not used if the internal DECA is being used. I also have a separate stand-alone DECA/Ethernet adapter that has the coax plugged in to the TV/Satellite splitter and the RJ45 jack plugged in to my Ethernet switch on my network. None of the receivers have anything connected to the RJ45 Ethernet jacks. Incidentally, the installer would only install the stand-alone adapter if I was subscribed to the on-demand (Cinema Plus) service - I argued with him that it was necessary in order for the receivers to connect to the Internet and finally just ended up agreeing with him (the service was free as part of my package so it really wasn't going to cost me anything).

This configuration works and all of my equipment has Internet access and can see each other - for example, my Internet ready TV can actually see the to HR24 units as media servers (though the software on my TV doesn't work with DirecTV2PC, though there is really no reason for it to). My home computers can see the HR24's and, at least with the ones that are compatible, work with DIRECTV2PC.

I suspect that I am getting some degree of network congestion at times so I am strongly considering putting a Layer 3 switch in the mix that will allow me to segment each of the networks to keep the local traffic (i.e. TV-related traffic) separate from my data traffic.

 

[david78]

Thanks. I also found this link to a discussion thread which makes things fairly clear as well.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/directv-technical-discussions/215237-deca-hr24.html

 

[badtlc]

If you have a DECA, why not just plug it into a small 4 port switch and connect your satellites eithernet port instead of using its built in DECA?

 

[david78]

That's exactly what I'm going to do...I didn't apperciate how to do that when I originally posted, and in particular I didn't realize that I could do that by getting a green splitter and power for the DECA which I have just ordered. Originally I thought I could save some equipment and cabling by using the DECA that I already had but evidently the HR24 is not set up to work that way.

 

[ybe4094]

Thanks TS7- so just to confirm, you have the DECA box attached to the HR24 and the ethernet from DECA plugged into the HR24 and it works? For some reason, that doesn't work for me even if I reset the receiver. The DECA lights turn on green for part of the boot up, but then just turn off entirely and don't seem to be active after about half way through the system start up. Strange.

The HR24 DVR has the DECA built in. When they say you can use DECA or Ethernet with the HR24 they correspondingly refer to the internal DECA inside the DVR and an Ethernet cable connected to the Ethernet port directly. You can't have the DECA box connected to the DVR. It will not work. Also, you can't use the built in DECA while you have the Ethernet cable plugged into the DVR. Basically, your options are either the Ethernet cable or the built in DECA via the coax cable.

 

[wildbill129]

Don't use the ethernet port on the HR24. Instead, buy a two way SWiM green labeled splitter. Split the sat cable before it comes to the HR24, run one into the HR 24, the other into the Deca adapter. From the DECA adapter into an ethernet switch for your other devices. BTW, this is not supported and you will be robbing your DECA cloud of bandwidth.

 

[BobStokesbary]

david78,
You might be able to achieve your original objective, but you basically have to reset all your thinking and ignore most of what you have been trying to do.

First, a DECA is simply a device that allows you to inject or extract a twisted pair signal into or from the coax ip stream. And, as you discovered, when used with an HR24 or stand-alone, it needs to be powered with a separate power supply. To extract an ip stream near your HR24 you will need to have a powered White DECA near the receiver (since you want to have the coax signal passing through the DECA to the HR24). The twisted pair network cable that goes in the DECA has to go to your tv set or whatever network device you want to receive your network packets. I guess that would be your AppleTV. (The DECA in the HR24 simply extracts the ip network information for that receiver. You cannot capture that signal from the connector in the back of the receiver.)

Then you need to go to your router and install another DECA (powered) which can be either a black DECA or a white one. You need to run a wire from the router to the DECA and a coax from the DECA to a splitter connection in your coax network. If all the connections are used on your existing splitter, you can add another splitter in one of the lines for your DECA connection. (Make sure that any unused connections are terminated with the (72 ohm) caps that come with the splitters.) This connection will give you access to DirecTV On Demand programming as well as establishing a connection between your DirecTV coax network and the outside world. You can verify that this network is working correctly when you see your DirectTV boxes listed in your routers active device table. If you have never logged in to your router you may need to review the instructions on how to do that.

While I have never tried this configuration, it seems entirely plausible that it might work. Since I have never seen any specifications on the DirecTV coax network, I have no idea what kind of bandwidth it is capable of handling. You might run into some issues if you are trying to download an on-demand movie on multiple receivers and also trying to use your Apple TV. I don't think there is any way to set priorities on what devices get access to the network.

You should also go to sites like Solid Signal (here- click on specifications tab) or SatPro (here) and look at the diagrams they show on their sites for DECA connections. This might give you a better idea of what it takes to make this network work. The only major difference to what you want to do versus what the diagrams illustrate is that you want to connect an outside device (your Apple TV) to the network rather than the DirecTV receiver (which is what these diagrams show.)

I certainly hope you will share your results with the rest of us.

 

[BobStokesbary]

Ignore my post above. According to those who posted to your duplicate post on this subject have made it clear that you cannot use the DECA for anything but a DirecTV receiver. Sorry I missed that post first. I would delete my previous post if I could.