Air Port Extreme with Gigabit ethernet and Tivo HDDVR series3 compatibility

[youngconservativ]

Hi, I have the Air Port Extreme with Gigabit ethernet and was thinking about getting the Series 3 HD Tivo DVR and I was wondering if the 2 are compatible with each other, please help!

[dcstager]

Wired it works fine. Wireless the Tivo Wireless Adapter will only do up to 802.11g so you won't get Gigabit ethernet. I don't think you get Gigabit ethernet speed wired either. Transfers are fastest with the Tivo Wireless Adapter anyway, so I doubt the wired connection on the Series 3 is anything extra fast or special. I'm not sure what the reason is for wireless handling transfers faster, but it does.

[Doh]

I have a time capsule, which I think uses the same router, and it works fine-- the faster transfer times (vs. my old b router) means that now MRV is actually useful to me.

How are you planning to network the two? I'm pretty sure you can just run an ethernet cable if you want to, but most people buy a tivo wireless (g) network adapter.

[acvthree]

You might also want to consider Ethernet over Powerline. Several of my friends are having very good luck with these products. You get Ethernet speeds without having to run additional wiring.

http://www.netgear.com/Products/PowerlineNetworking/PowerlineEthernetAdapters/HDXB111.aspx

[youngconservativ]

So it would be just fine to use the Tivo wireless adapter right? But how would i set that up?

[rainwater]

So it would be just fine to use the Tivo wireless adapter right? But how would i set that up?

Yes, it works just fine. I have the same router. It will find your router and ask for your WPA or WEP password if you have one.

[lrhorer]

Transfers are fastest with the Tivo Wireless Adapter anyway, so I doubt the wired connection on the Series 3 is anything extra fast or special. I'm not sure what the reason is for wireless handling transfers faster, but it does.
This is untrue. I regularly transfer files at speeds exceeding 45Mbps using the Ethernet port. Using backport drivers and a wired USB / Gig-E adapter, users have obtained speeds in excess of 112Mbps. The maximum bit rate of a Wireless G network is 54Mbps, but up to half that can be taken up by overhead and negotiation, and users typically see much lower transfer rates than that. A person is doing well to see 24 Mbps transfers on a Wireless G network, and that only if there are only two devices on the channel. I frequently get MRV rates far better than that with stock drivers over wired Ethernet:

http://fletchergeek.com/images/SN850039.JPG

[youngconservativ]

Ok, and would you recommend the series three upscale tivo over the regular tivo Hd?

[Doh]

There are a lot of threads on the differences between the series 3 and the HD, but personally I would stick with the HD.

[rainwater]

Ok, and would you recommend the series three upscale tivo over the regular tivo Hd?

Not if you want to use a single M-Card since the S3 requires 2 cablecards no matter what kind they are (S-Card or M-Card).

[lrhorer]

Ok, and would you recommend the series three upscale tivo over the regular tivo Hd?
No, I would not recomend one unilaterally over the other. Which one a person might prefer depends entirely on what the person considers important. Cost, speed, the superior remote, M-card support, aesthetics, gigantic hard drive support, OLED front panel, hard drive size (if one buys a stock TiVo and does not replace the hard drive), and flexibility in expandability are all factors to consider, and neither one has it all over the other. I myself prefer (and have) an S3 in the theater and a THD in the guest room. I also have an S3 in the living room, but had the THD been available when I bought my second TiVo, I probably would have purchased a THD for the living room, although I really do like the S3 remote. I might have purchased a THD and a glo remote separately.

On the S3 side you have:

Speed of menus
Speed of Networking
Superior Remote
OLED front panel
Any eSATA drive can be automatically attempted to add as an external upgrade (note: some drives may not work, but most will). The THD can only be automatically upgraded using a WD My DVR Expander
A larger stock hard drive
A more attractive case
CableCard slot is in the rear (I'm not sure how this would be an advantage, but some people might like it)


Note #5 above only applies to stock TiVos. If you upgrade the S3s 250G drive or the THDs 160G drive, or purchase a 3rd party TiVo with a larger drive, you will not be able to automatically upgrade with an exteranal drive, no matter what. Any time the internal drive of either machine is upgraded, any external upgrade must be done manually.

Personally I only care much about 1, 2, and 3, and 1 is not that much worse on the THD.

On the THD side you have:

Lower cost
Longer battery life on the remote
Much greater ultimate drive capacity
CableCard slot is in the front (where I prefer it)
Can operate both tuners with a single M-card


I don't mind putting up with #2 too much given the superior feel and useability of the glo remote. The rest, except #4, I consider fairly important, and I do prefer #4.

[DrewTivo]

So it would be just fine to use the Tivo wireless adapter right? But how would i set that up?


The one downside to this is that if you have N-wireless devices you will not be able to get full N-speeds on them because the time capsule will have to use both b/g and N, which means it cuts the N speeds.