So you purchased a TIVO! How do people without a telephone have TIVO? Through their high speed internet, home network. To establish a home network, I have learned that you need a router and a network adapter
http://www.epinions.com/content_436760710788 . The router that worked with my TIVO DVR
http://www.epinions.com/content_436695109252 was Linksy's Wireless-G Model WRT54G. Be careful choosing as not all routers will work for all TIVO boxes! You can go to www.tivo.com to find the information on which routers will work with your specific box. I am not a techie so will include helpful info so you will have no trouble hooking up your network to your TIVO! If I can do it, you can too!
About Routers:
Routers are for use for wireless networks so you can wirelessly connect anywhere in the house with your laptops, printers, or extra computers. No need for a bunch of wiring and extensions or placing your computer in an odd corner....with a router, there is no need for all of that! I only purchased the router for TIVO so do not use it for a laptop or to wirelessly connect with my computer. With the router, my TIVO is not connected at all through wired connections to my computer nor the internet. I set up my router and it connects from across the room to my TIVO box. (Of course you do need a network adapter connected to your TIVO DVR too!)
The Linksy's Wireless-G Broadband Router With 4-Port Switch: 2.4GHz and 54Mbps. I have no idea what that means but some people may need that info. It is listed on the router itself! It is blue and black and has green lights on the front of it.
Setting It Up:
I purchased my router brand new from Ebay and it came with instructions and a CD to set it up. Once my computer crashed and I couldn't find my CD, I searched online for instructions on setting it up without the CD. Many people buy routers used and they come with no CDs. I guess for this reason Linksys has an online set-up to use...go to www.linksys.com/connect and it will guide you through the set-up. So simple to do with the CD or online. Either way you will not only get instructions in text but also moving pictures of where the different cords connect to and it shows you step by step. So easy that I had no issues at all and I am one who does not know what cord goes in what hole! At the end, it will check everything out for you and tell you it is working fine. Then give you a chance to print out all of the codes and passwords so you can set up your other items on the network.
There is a certain way to connect each cord so wait until the tutorial calls for it...once every cord is in place, you will see lights on the box. There are 4 ethernet ports, an internet port, and a port for the power cord. Two antennas stick up and can be turned which way you want them to be. A reset button allows you to change the password if you forget yours. At the end of set-up the tutorial goes on to establish a wireless network if you wish. Set-up only takes minutes, it is pretty quick!
Connecting It To Tivo:
Go into TIVO settings and click to network settings. Mine found my router's name that I had picked and I clicked on the name (Pooter), then it asked me to put in my password that I had chosen (dirt), and then comes the hard part that I did not understand. It needed the WEP password which I had no clue what that was! I tried different numbers that I did have from the set-up but none would work. After I searched and googled for help, finally I came up with the answer. It needs to be in
hexadecimal format and this password is the encryption key as Linksy's calls it: look for the longest number! So on the page where you are to put in the WEP password, change it to the
hexadecimal format and it will take it! Once I did this, TIVO connected with no issues at all! Remember if your network adapter is not lit up all the way, then it is not turned towards your router enough...TIVO will not connect unless it is lit up all the way. Now you just have to wait as it takes a while for everything to download...all of the current viewings on television from TIVO but then you are ready to go! The only issues I have had is that sometimes my network adapter gets turned away from the router and loses the signal so I have to watch that. Otherwise I have had little issues!
Surfing the Internet:
My cable guy was out recently as we had an internet outage in our area and I called. Sure everyone's internet was out but I wanted him to tell me it was not my cable box and it hadn't been struck by lightning or anything. I may not be a techy person and I can't tell you how fast I am going on the internet but he can. What did he say about my internet connection and speed? (The outage was over before he ever arrived to my home!) He asked if I was a gamer as I had gamer speeds. Is that good? I have no idea as I am not a gamer. Seriously he said that he didn't even have speeds this fast at his house. That is pretty good for going through Linksy's Router huh? Even when my network adapter turns around and TIVO isn't working to update listings, my internet always stays up and running with it!
Final Say:
I was worried about getting this item and not being able to hook it up myself. I imagined having to get a tech out to do it for me. But it was a simple process! Especially with the tutorial that told me step by step what to do! I paid more than what I would have liked but it is worth it! 7" wide x 7 1/2" long x 1" deep, it is not even bulky! A great buy that works well and is easy to set up!
What is so good about THIS item?
Easy to set up, easy to use, works well!
What is unique about this item?
Works with certain TIVO DVRs
Is it worth the price?
On the expensive side but worth it.
There has to be some bad to this item, right?
Expensive
Any warnings people should be aware of?
None.
Final verdict:
A great buy that works well and is easy to set up!
pablo the surfer
You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight. Jim Rohn
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