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Using DirecTivo over Vonage (VoIP) - a solution

309K views 633 replies 212 participants last post by  D'Ecosse 
#1 ·
I am successfully using Vonage for both my DSR6000 and my HDVR2. I'm making daily TiVo calls from both, as well as the DirecTV calls so I can order PPV via remote, and subscribe to Sports. Getting it to work took a lot of research and most of the pieces came from other posts on TiVoCommunity. I just wanted to share my complete solution in one place (and document it myself in case I ever need to re-do it.)

Here is what my Voip Phone Line setup looks like:

- Cable Modem internet connection connected to the Cable modem
- Cable Modem connected to Cable/DSL router (I've successfully used both Linksys and NetGear)
- LAN port on router connected to the Vonage ATA (Cisco 186)
- ATA connected to the base unit of an RCA "Wireless Modem Jack"
(uses power lines to create a phone jack from a power outlet -
be sure to get one that specifies it is for modems)
- Phone connected to Output on RCA base unit
- RCA Wireless Modem Jack remote units behind each TV

(Some people have had success connecting the ATA to the home phone wiring, but I never tied since
I don't have phone jacks behind my TVs anyway)



For the DSR6000:

This one is easy, just connect the phone jack on the back of the UNIT to the phone jack. Then go into:

DirecTV Central > Messages & Setup > Recorder and Phone Setup > Phone Connection > Change Dialing Options

Set the Dial Prefix to ",#019" without the quotes. This tells the modem to use 19.9 kbps
(slow enough to work over Voip)

Make a test call..... occasionall the call will fail for me, but it works about 9 times out of 10.



For the HDVR2:

This is more complex because the modem in the HDVR2 does not support the ,#019 prefix so you cannot slow it down below 56k. To make it work consistantly, you will need to use an external modem and a custom cable.

I picked up a 28.8 modem on e-bay for about $10.

To connect to the modem you will need to use the serial port on the back of the DirecTiVo - it looks like a headphone jack. You can use the "TiVo Serial Cable" and a DB9 to DB25 adapter for this, but I don't recommend it because this will require you to pre-program your modem using a computer in order to get it to work. I prefer to make a custom cable and use 2 cross connects to force the modem into the proper mode. The wiring chart is attached.

To make my cable, I cut and stipped the cord from an old pair of headphones and crimped on an RJ45 connector using the first 3 pins on the RJ45. Then I picked up an RJ45 to DB25 adapter and did my custom pinouts, including the cross-connects. I found this to be easier than trying to wire the stereo plug directly to the DB25.

Connect the serial port to the modem, and the modem to the phone jack. Then go into:

DirecTV Central > Messages & Setup > Recorder and Phone Setup > Phone Connection > Change Dialing Options

Set the Dial Prefix to ",#319" without the quotes. This tells the reciver to use the external modem.

Make a test call..... occasionall the call will fail for me, but it works about 9 times out of 10.

Now, to keep ordering PPV by remote working on the HDVR2, you also have to use a separate connection (turns out that the HDVR2 has 2 modems in it - one for Tivo and the other for DirecTV) The DirecTV one does not support using an external modem, but it only runs at 9600 baud so it will work over Voip without a problem. To set it up, use a phone jack splitter to make 2 wall jacks available. Connect the external modem to one, and the built-in modem port to the other. The TiVo calls will use the external modem, and the DirecTV calls will use the internal one.

Kudos to everyone that has posted their own solutions in this forum and the Underground forum!!!

Hope this helps!!
 

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#402 ·
After tons of research on trying to get my Directv Tivo to dial out on a Vonage line I tried this and it worked! Maybe you guys can try it and have the same success as I did. Takes a couple of tries but it does update.

In the area code, section on the phone setup change area code to 877 and dialing prefix to ,#034. Make a test call (mine took two tries) and then try the manual update (mine took two tries as well). Make sure in the Vonage setup you have your call quality set to 90k, otherwise I don't think it would work.

Good luck and hope it works for you too!
 
#403 ·
Searching for over a week for a solution, and saw the advice above about setting the area code to 877, then choosing to dial the 1-877 number it provides, and it made a succesful test call, and made a successful daily call.

Wanted to point this out so people would give it a try. Im happy to have Vonage and the HDTivo working without any hardware modifications or external modems.

Excellent!
 
#405 ·
Ok, I have a NEW problem. I can get it to dial up and do the connecting phase. When it gets to "Negotiating", it fails. What does it mean when it fails while negotiating???

If it weren't for that, I would have it working. Please, if anyone has any experience with this, let me know.

Thanks.
 
#406 ·
Originally posted by steveken
Ok, I have a NEW problem. I can get it to dial up and do the connecting phase. When it gets to "Negotiating", it fails. What does it mean when it fails while negotiating???

If it weren't for that, I would have it working. Please, if anyone has any experience with this, let me know.

Thanks.
Try forcing the modem to use a slower speed -- use ,#034 in the dialing prefix. If that fails, try ,#028 then ,#019, and finally ,#014.
 
#407 ·
So, you are saying that its losing data when trying to negotiate, so its not able to complete that step for that fact?

I have tried the codes you listed....don't seem to work. I am really beginning to come of the opinion that you just really cannot change the data speed like others have said.

Do you have any other possible solutions?
 
#408 ·
My Philips stopped working over the Moto ATA in Nov. I finally called Vonage and they said to try a NY area code. 718 worked on the 2nd test and the 1st forced call in. In the past I was 50% at best until Nov when it stopped working all together. Nothing in the prefix. Just a 1 before the 718 number.
 
#409 ·
I spent three hours on the phone today with Vonage and DIRECTV. I have two DIRECTVs with TiVo. One connects over the phone but the other one will not. I have tried every code in the book to no avail. Also, Vonage is virtually impossible to use for faxing. I am canceling my Vonage and going back to Verizon.
 
#410 ·
Originally posted by voodoovid
pornogoat,

Packet8 does Not work with modems or faxes. As soon as it hears a modem connect signal, it disconnects.

I've talked to tech support, and they say the hope to have this service available "soon"......

BTW, I've found Vonage voice service to be far superior to Packet8 (which has way too many lost voice mails, and unexplained failure of phone to ring when called).

voodoovid
According to the changelog from the latest packet8 firmware, packet8 has added "unrealiable" support for faxes and modems. My packet8 box is on the way, so I'll give it a test w/ my DirecTivo when it arrives.
 
#411 ·
My packet8 adapter arrived yesterday. I tried setting my DTivo up the same way I had it set up for the Vonage box, and no such luck. I called into their tech support and asked about the "unreliable" support. The rep that I talked to said that he suggests that people use 9600 baud for fax transmissions, when I mentioned that I was trying to get a Tivo to work, he flat out said "that won't work." I might try to give them a call today and see if I can pick their brains to see how long it will be until it is supported. If it is not soon, then I'll be returning the packet8 box, and waiting until Vonage has a POP in my rate center so that I can port my number over.
 
#412 ·
Originally posted by steveken
So, you are saying that its losing data when trying to negotiate, so its not able to complete that step for that fact?

I have tried the codes you listed....don't seem to work. I am really beginning to come of the opinion that you just really cannot change the data speed like others have said.

Do you have any other possible solutions?
I'm relatively sure that mine would not connect reliably using anything faster than ,#019.
 
#413 ·
cplater,

you are not using vonage for any of this anymore are you? if not, it doesn't look like you are helping anything much anymore. I am not trying to be rude or anything, but this is completely the wrong topic for you to be posting in now that you have switched to packet8. we really need to start differentiating topics between the different types of service. everyone here is well aware that all services are not the same. hell, even vonage isn't the same for everyone.

but anyway, like I said, maybe you should start up a packet8 topic and let the people on this one talk about vonage and their dealings with it. it might help alleviate any confusion newer people have when looking here.

oh, and just so you know, yes I do realize that there have been other non-vonage people posting on this particular topic. this one just happens to be ">>> Using DirecTivo over Vonage (VoIP) - a solution <<<" in particular. I am just thinking that right now would be a good time for at&t callvantage, packet8, lingo, and all the other services to start their own dedicated topics so we can start focusing on each service individually to help people better.
 
#414 ·
I posted this in a Vonage forum, I thought I'd copy it here.

This is my recent experience with DirecTV with Tivo (series 2) connected with Vonage:


I decided to give Vonage a call early one morning a couple days ago to "pick the brain" of a tech support guy.

I asked him all sorts of questions about what he recommends for getting a Directivo to connect using Vonage. I acted like I barley knew anything so he would tell me anything he knows, then I slowly started mentioning things I've heard on these forums and other forums.

His first bit of advice was to use the code: ,#034

He then said I could try: ,#104

I understand that the first code supposedly slows down the Tivo modem a little, but I have no clue what that second code is supposed to do. If anybody knows I'd love to hear.

After giving me those codes he said I could also try using a DSL filter. He explained that it might help clean up the line and allow Tivo to connect better. He did stress that I "keep my receipt" because there is no guarantee it would work.

His advice stopped there and he wanted to end the call, but I brought up something else. I told him I read about "packet size" and how it could contribute to Tivo success. He said I could lower the packet size and informed me that it might help. The default is ".2" he said. He said you can have it at .1, .2., or .3 -- he recommended .1. So I told him to change it.

I also asked his to verify my firmware, he said it was up to date.

The next item I brought up is the fax line. I asked, could having a fax line help in this situation? He informed me that it really wouldn't, and you could use the prefix *99 which is the same thing as having a fax line. I was a little surprised and confirmed that a fax line is basically a permanent line with the prefix *99 "built in". He then said that all *99 does is disable call waiting, and make some other very minor tweaks on the line to make it work better with fax. He said even with that, most of the time users need to slow down their fax machines because the newer, faster fax machines will not work reliably with Vonage. He said its just one of the faults of the technology right now.

This was pretty much all I wanted to know for now, so I thanked him and hung up.

I should mention that I have Vonage running through the internal wiring of my house, something he did not recommend when updating/connecting the Tivo (he said it could cause a lot of interference with the connection). I should also mention I currently have Vonage connected directly to my cable modem, with a router connected to the output of Vonage. I've only had it this way for a week to test this stuff out. I plan to change it back so that Vonage is connected to an output of the router soon (and will run more tests at that point).

I started my DirecTV/Tivo testing. I plugged the Tivo into a phone jack nearby. Started by trying to update the phone number. No success. Tried a few more times, nothing (negotiating failure). I opted to just do a test call with the current number already saved in there. Did not work. I started using prefixes. Started with *99 only. Didn't work. Moved to ,#034 - nothing. Tried them both together, nothing. Then I tried ,#104 with *99 -- SUCCESS. The test call went through. I changed the phone number since it had updated the numbers. New number worked as well. I grabbed the latest download. I then removed the prefix and tried the new number - worked again. Tried an experiment to go back to the old number. It had to dial in again to get a new list, and it didnt work. I noticed I was also having trouble with my internet connection at this time, so I did a full reboot of Vonage and the cable modem. After that, I have had success every time with downloading new numbers, test calls, and daily calls, even with no prefixes.

Final Opinion: I have no idea and I don't expect this success to continue. For some reason the ,#104 code did something early on, but it turned out I really didn't need it after a fresh reboot. Now, keep in mind these calls that have succeeded have been VERY brief calls with no major downloads. I am not sure how it will behave with a major download. It couldbe that changing the packet size helped in my case.

Now if I can only get Vonage to work properly with Brinks security I'll be in good shape!

UPDATE: I moved Vonage to an output of my d-link router and have completed a daily call and test call. When a bigger download is available it will be the true test.

UPDATE/EDIT: I got the home security system working when I plugged Vonage into the last port of my router. I rebooted, and Brink dialed out and made an update.
 
#415 ·
Thanks for all the great responses to this post!

This setup has been working flawlessly for me since I posted it.... until mid December when suddenly BOTH of my DTiVos started failing their daily calls. I checked everything, and finally gave in and called Vonage (fully expecting the support rep to say "We don't support DirecTV receivers over Vonage) but the guy was actually really helpful.

Not only did he adjust my packet size slightly, he also discovered that somehow my Bandwidth saver setting had been changed to MEDIUM (which I would never do). He admitted that it looked like the system had changed it on its own (mentioned something about a maintenance script that could have done it). He set it back to High and now my receivers are back in business.

So.... if yours start failing be sure to check the bandwidth saver setting.

;-)
 
#416 ·
I have a DSR6000R Series 1 unit and recently switched to Vonage. I am using the internal modem in the unit. My router is the Linksys Broadband Router w/2 phone ports.

I have tried all of the dialing prefix suggestions and when testing the new settings, it always fails. (Failed. Couldn't connect) I wonder how so many people with the DSR6000's are able to configure theirs to work.

Has anyone seen any other suggestions other than using anexternal modem?

Another possibility...I have a problem w/the router that Vonage knows about. There is noise on the line even at the highest bandwidth. They have ordered new routers to replace these and they should be in in a few weeks :-( Could this be the problem???
 
#417 ·
Noise could be the problem.
Also - switch the dialin number to a number in the 718 areacode (NYC outside Manhattan) number... Those have had an almost 100% success rate for me.
Some numbers - on the other hand - have an almost 0% success rate...
 
#418 ·
Originally posted by Provb3110
I have a DSR6000R Series 1 unit and recently switched to Vonage. I am using the internal modem in the unit. My router is the Linksys Broadband Router w/2 phone ports.

I have tried all of the dialing prefix suggestions and when testing the new settings, it always fails. (Failed. Couldn't connect) I wonder how so many people with the DSR6000's are able to configure theirs to work.

Has anyone seen any other suggestions other than using an external modem?

Another possibility...I have a problem w/the router that Vonage knows about. There is noise on the line even at the highest bandwidth. They have ordered new routers to replace these and they should be in in a few weeks :-( Could this be the problem???
I don't know anything about that model, I have a SAT-T60. Do you have the serial connection on the unit's rear? If so you might be able to use the serial connection over PPP as described in this thread:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?postid=2487738#post2487738
 
#419 ·
Originally posted by tivobernd
Noise could be the problem.
Also - switch the dialin number to a number in the 718 areacode (NYC outside Manhattan) number... Those have had an almost 100% success rate for me.
Some numbers - on the other hand - have an almost 0% success rate...
Is there a list of numbers in the 718 area code that work?

Thanks.
 
#420 ·
Originally posted by tivobernd
Noise could be the problem.
Also - switch the dialin number to a number in the 718 areacode (NYC outside Manhattan) number... Those have had an almost 100% success rate for me.
Some numbers - on the other hand - have an almost 0% success rate...
But when I try to get the dialin number, it fails. I put in the new area code and and it can't connect to get the number.

Fortunatley, my land line has not been completely cut off yet. I can make outgoing calls, so I got the NY codes. Still not sure how to get the modem to work with Vonage.

I also have to check on the serial cable thing.

Thanks! I'll get back to you.
 
#421 ·
Try to get the list of dialin numbers a couple of times... that calls goes out to a 800 number and sometimes doesn't work for me either... So set the areacode to 718, let it try a couple of times and then pick any number of the list and give it a shot...
 
#422 ·
I can't get past "dialing" with any combo of codes on either my RCA 40GB or my Sat-T60 :(

Does this mean that my line is really bad?

I find it interesting that people with Moto adapters have better luck than those of us with Linksys.
 
#423 ·
Don't think that people with motorola's are better off. I have one and I could NOT get the damn thing to work. I just went out to Radio Shack and made myself a cable like OLdDog and super dave put up on the boards and it worked!!!!!!!! I am soooooo happy!!!!! It had been forever since I had a good dial and it WORKED!!!! Stop screwin around with the damn dialing over the VoIP connection and go get yourself this Serial to PPP thing working!! Its soooooo easy to do!
 
#424 ·
Originally posted by tivobernd
Try to get the list of dialin numbers a couple of times... that calls goes out to a 800 number and sometimes doesn't work for me either... So set the areacode to 718, let it try a couple of times and then pick any number of the list and give it a shot...
At first I was getting the other error message. Then, when I tried using the 718 area code, I would get Line Busy. No one was on the phone. The only extension is in my room for the time being. Then, I plugged up the telephone and the line, was indeed occupied. I am not sure why that happened. I got it to hang up and tried again 4 more times and the same thing happened.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks
 
#425 ·
I was getting the same results. Still not working for me even after they set my packet stuff to .1. The first time after that I got to negotiating and it quit. Haven't gotten back to that point :(
 
#426 ·
All your results make me wonder if the Cisco ATA-186 is somehow 'better' in dealing with the TiVo modems... I guess I should start taking really good care of that thing so it doesn't die and get replaced by Vonage with more 'modern' technology...
The only other advise I have is going the serial/external modem route... If you have an old external modem (I would recomment 9600 baud or slower) laying around and are able to solder a cable it should only cost a few bucks....
I did that as well - but haven't needed it in over a year - back then I had trouble dialing out on vonage...
 
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