Forum Discussion

robbyell's avatar
robbyell
On our wavelength
2 years ago

Tivo and broadband

Hi all - can anyone advise on the interplay between Tivo, TV and broadband?  I understood that (live) TV came down a different "pipe" than broadband, but how does eg Iplayer/Prime work - through wifi?  Is that why it's very slow to load?  Does the interface (turning from one channel to the other, the menu etc) come via Wifi or locally deployed via the Tivo HDD?

I've got V6 and M250 broadband, Tivo's directly connected to a wire in the wall, broadband router's about 5 miles away in the office.  I'm working on it, but we've previously averaged about 20-25mbps (Ookla) on our laptops here in the lounge.

Thanks!

 

  • japitts's avatar
    japitts
    2 years ago

    The V6 is a much quicker and better box than the TiVo, and a swap from TiVo > V6 is absolutely an upgrade in every sense.

    The difference is that the elderly TiVo box has an inbuilt modem so doesn't rely on your home broadband. This is not the case with the much newer V6 which needs to connect to your home-hub for its internet connection. As with any permanently installed device, an Ethernet connection absolutely should be used for this given the choice - but reliable WiFi should certainly suffice. It just introduces more variables that are not the case with wired connections.

  • Tudor's avatar
    Tudor
    Very Insightful Person
    2 years ago

    Anything other than live TV or playing back a recording goes over WiFi or Ethernet. It’s is always advisable to use Ethernet as there are so many factors that can affect a WiFi signal.

    • robbyell's avatar
      robbyell
      On our wavelength
      2 years ago

      Thanks @Tudor.  Is there a setting somewhere so I can see what broadband speed the Tivo is receiving? (an Ookla-style speedtest thing?).  I'm playing around with my setup here so would be good to see if what I'm doing makes any difference.

  • Roger_Gooner's avatar
    Roger_Gooner
    Alessandro Volta
    2 years ago

    I don't see how you can be getting broadband five miles from your V6 as both the hub and V6 are served by a single cable which is split at the premise.

  • robbyell's avatar
    robbyell
    On our wavelength
    2 years ago

    t's not 5 miles away Roger, it's in the office in my house - apols for any confusion.

  • japitts's avatar
    japitts
    Very Insightful Person
    2 years ago

    You've posted in the TiVo forum but are referring to a V6 and also Prime apps which aren't on the TiVo. Both run TiVo software but are very different boxes. I'll answer for both... https://www.virginmedia.com/care/tv-fault/which-tv-box 

    TiVo's are old, don't have the recent streaming apps such as Prime and are very slow at using the ones they do have. They have an inbuilt internet connection and don't use your home broadband. One incoming co-ax cable provides all the services, which are split out internally between live TV & internet-based.

    V6 use the same software but have 2 connections. The co-ax provides live linear broadcast TV channels, the internet connection provides everything else. This is ideally over Ethernet cable but can be wireless.

    The HDD is used for all recorded content, which includes paused & delayed live broadcasts.

    • robbyell's avatar
      robbyell
      On our wavelength
      2 years ago

      Thanks japitts - I hadn't realised there were 2 forums for "TIVO" boxes.  Your comment "This is ideally over Ethernet cable but can be wireless", which i think another poster also says above, implies that the correct deployment of a V6 box would also include a cable to hook the thing up then?  So switching from TIVO to V6 (sold as an "upgrade") is actually likely a downgrade for any streaming services if the V6 is used over Wifi?

      • nodrogd's avatar
        nodrogd
        Very Insightful Person
        2 years ago
        robbyell wrote:

        Thanks japitts - I hadn't realised there were 2 forums for "TIVO" boxes.  Your comment "This is ideally over Ethernet cable but can be wireless", which i think another poster also says above, implies that the correct deployment of a V6 box would also include a cable to hook the thing up then?  So switching from TIVO to V6 (sold as an "upgrade") is actually likely a downgrade for any streaming services if the V6 is used over Wifi?

        The V6 is very much an upgrade. VM did provide a 3 metre Ethernet cable to new customers taking Broadband & TV with the self-install option. The issue is that everything that is downstream of the hub is the customers problem. Most WiFi connections work fine. You can also install WiFi extenders or use Powerline extenders to bridge the Ethernet across your mains wiring. The same applies to all other providers TV equipment (BT & Sky etc) that all now require a connection to the internet.

  • japitts's avatar
    japitts
    Very Insightful Person
    2 years ago

    The V6 is a much quicker and better box than the TiVo, and a swap from TiVo > V6 is absolutely an upgrade in every sense.

    The difference is that the elderly TiVo box has an inbuilt modem so doesn't rely on your home broadband. This is not the case with the much newer V6 which needs to connect to your home-hub for its internet connection. As with any permanently installed device, an Ethernet connection absolutely should be used for this given the choice - but reliable WiFi should certainly suffice. It just introduces more variables that are not the case with wired connections.