MoCA diagram advice

[milhouse11]

Hey guys,

I just recently came across the concept of MoCA networks, so I likely still have a lot to learn. However from what I've seen so far, it seems like a perfect solution to my needs.

I'm close to cutting the cable and getting rid of DirectTv. My house is completely wired for coax, but no ethernet. What I'm hoping to accomplish is to connect an HD antenna to the coax network for local channels, and use a TV service like PS Vue for everything else. However, part of the coax network was broken off to feed 50MB cable internet service to our main PC, and a router broadcasts a wifi signal from there.

Attached is a diagram of what I'd like to do after discovering MoCA. It was largely based off this Amazon reviewer's diagram:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/R3AKBUGFGG/?tag=snbforums-20

Splitter 2 is the existing coax splitter which feeds all rooms to the house, but I'm not needing service to all rooms.

My questions are:
1. Will this work?
2. Will I really need this many MoCA adapters (they seem pretty pricey)?
3. Is there a simpler way to achieve what I'm trying to do?

Thanks in advance for the help and advice.

 

[degrub]

Hey guys,

I just recently came across the concept of MoCA networks, so I likely still have a lot to learn. However from what I've seen so far, it seems like a perfect solution to my needs.

I'm close to cutting the cable and getting rid of DirectTv. My house is completely wired for coax, but no ethernet. What I'm hoping to accomplish is to connect an HD antenna to the coax network for local channels, and use a TV service like PS Vue for everything else. However, part of the coax network was broken off to feed 50MB cable internet service to our main PC, and a router broadcasts a wifi signal from there.

Attached is a diagram of what I'd like to do after discovering MoCA. It was largely based off this Amazon reviewer's diagram:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/R3AKBUGFGG/?tag=snbforums-20

Splitter 2 is the existing coax splitter which feeds all rooms to the house, but I'm not needing service to all rooms.

My questions are:
1. Will this work?
2. Will I really need this many MoCA adapters (they seem pretty pricey)?
3. Is there a simpler way to achieve what I'm trying to do?

Thanks in advance for the help and advice.

Instead of the preamp and the long coax run with an antenna signal, put a HD HomeRun box on the antenna feed. Gives you a two channel tuner. Put the antenna outside so you get max signal - either a flat or traditional antenna. Depending on the house orientation, distance or interference, you can mount the antenna below the eave. Make sure you have lightning shunt to the common earthing rod for you power per NEC code. Output from the HD HR box is ethernet.
You need one moca adapter per drop to ethernet. If you use wireless and switches you may be able to minimize.

 

[MichaelCG]

He shows 3 TVs....a single HD HomeRun possibly won't meet that demand. Also with a HD HomeRun, you will now be required to have a compatible media player at every TV. I have not looked to find out what media players really work well natively with HD HomeRun boxes. I am in a similar situation as the OP, but opted to use WiFi and keep the COAX dedicated to my antenna distribution to the various TVs across the house. My HD HomeRun boxes (3) sit in the basement hanging off of a distribution amp and are feeding a SageTV system which is connected to my Living Room TV.

Unless your home is brick, concrete, or plaster walls, a nicely distributed WiFi system can possibly work for you as well. I have a two story + basement stick frame house with two APs on opposite ends of the basement providing WiFi coverage across the entire house. Even on the top floor, I am able to get 50Mbps+ which is more than enough for most streaming activities.

 

[degrub]

He shows 3 TVs....a single HD HomeRun possibly won't meet that demand. Also with a HD HomeRun, you will now be required to have a compatible media player at every TV. I have not looked to find out what media players really work well natively with HD HomeRun boxes. I am in a similar situation as the OP, but opted to use WiFi and keep the COAX dedicated to my antenna distribution to the various TVs across the house. My HD HomeRun boxes (3) sit in the basement hanging off of a distribution amp and are feeding a SageTV system which is connected to my Living Room TV.

Unless your home is brick, concrete, or plaster walls, a nicely distributed WiFi system can possibly work for you as well. I have a two story + basement stick frame house with two APs on opposite ends of the basement providing WiFi coverage across the entire house. Even on the top floor, I am able to get 50Mbps+ which is more than enough for most streaming activities.

Assuming the TV has a network port, no issue. It shows up as a DLNA device.
If you need more than two tuners at a time, then just add a second with a low loss splitter on the input side. i have two TVs running this way already.

 

[MichaelCG]

I apparently need to replace my HomeRuns with a newer model...don't think mine work that way....at least not with the TVs I have. My HomeRuns are HDHR3-US which I think predate the DLNA features.

 

[degrub]

I apparently need to replace my HomeRuns with a newer model...don't think mine work that way....at least not with the TVs I have. My HomeRuns are HDHR3-US which I think predate the DLNA features.

TV needs to support MPEG2 and TS format to receive the stream.
i use HDHR Extends with a couple older Samsung 720p panel TVs

 

[MichaelCG]

TV needs to support MPEG2 and TS format to receive the stream.
i use HDHR Extends with a couple older Samsung 720p panel TVs

Confirmed last night my HRHR3 do not support DLNA. Not ready to drop $400-500 to replace them all yet...but an interesting feature I will need to keep in mind as more of my TVs get native network connectivity.

 

[Samir]

Looking at your diagram, it looks like it would all work. One thing you could do to save costs it to have wireless APs in place in certain points where enough coverage would eliminate some Moca adapters.

 

[krkaufman]

My questions are:
1. Will this work?
2. Will I really need this many MoCA adapters (they seem pretty pricey)?
3. Is there a simpler way to achieve what I'm trying to do?

1. From what I can see, yes, the diagram as originally drawn should work.

2. Not necessarily (see 3); further, you'd only need a MoCA adapter where you want/need a wired network connection. That is, it's possible that you don't need wireless for your FireTVs, leaving just the main Basement "access point" and Office MoCA adapters as required, though wired connections for the FireTVs *would* conserve your wireless bandwidth for those devices that have no other option.

3. Depending on where your modem/router and basement TV are located, you wouldn't need to employ the antenna/satellite diplexer workaround to bridge MoCA across your OTA & cable coax segments; you could keep them fully isolated and just enable MoCA on the OTA coax plant, per the attached diagram, greatly simplifying the setup.

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