WPA and wifi-g setup?

Nora · 01-03-2006, 12:10 PM

Dear community,

First, boy am I happy this forum is here. I am, however, in despair over my pending setup of Tivo.

I read a lot of the "ultimate wireless network" thread, but I am not sure what to do. I have a Netgear WGT625 wireless router with WPA enabled. It works great on our one desktop and two laptops. I did think it would work with Tivo, but now I'm not so sure. I'd rather not disable WPA.

I bought a 40-hour Tivo box and Netgear USB wifi adapter from Tivo for my husband for Christmas. (I read about needing specific wifi adapters, so I bought the adapter from Tivo to avoid problems.) He doesn't seem interested in it at all, so I can surmise that the setup is all mine (oh boy). The first Tivo box was DOA, so I'm now waiting for a replacement.

The "ultimate wireless network" thread is 20 pages long now, and the first post is from 2003! Any summary? Do I need to pore over the whole thing? I've been looking at wireless bridges, but I'm not sure if that's the latest scoop, nor do I really understand what they are. I *could* install a CAT5 cable to the TV, but I'd like to avoid that (and the crawl space) if I can. Maybe I should just suck it up and go for the CAT5 connection... sigh.

Thank you for any assistance,

Nora
hopeful new Tivo convert

classicsat · 01-03-2006, 12:46 PM

Is paying extra for a bridge worth not going in the crawlspace? Could you pay some kid to to the dirty work?

A bridge is essentially a backwards wireless router/access point, used to connect an ethernet device to a wireless network.

F8ster · 01-03-2006, 02:30 PM

Well, you've basically got the jist of it...TiVo doesn't support WPA, so your alternatives are:

1) go wired
2) go back to WEP
3) use a wireless bridge

This thread at Engadget has a little bit more info on the wireless bridge approach, however, I don't think it's Officially Supported by TiVo (TM):

http://www.engadget.com/2005/12/27/t...s-performance/

Look for Carlton Bale's response:

"If you want WPA support, you have to get a wired network USB adapter and connect it from the TiVo to a wired-to-wireless bridge (aka gaming adapter). You then configure the bridge to connect to the WPA-encrypted wireless network. A Linksys WRT54G with third party firmware such as DD-WRT can do this as well. http://www.dd-wrt.com ."

Nora · 01-03-2006, 03:06 PM

Thanks, classicsat and f8ster. No, I guess the crawl space isn't so bad after all. Just wish I could get my husband into it once in a blue moon.

If I use a wired connection, will I lose anything? Like, can I use my laptop and wifi to access the Tivo box? I haven't even gotten tivo to work yet, so I'm a little fuzzy on details. I know I'm going to install Tivo Desktop on my computer and will be able to manage stuff from there. But if Tivo is hard wired to the network, can I get to it via both the wired network and wifi? I have a basic Netgear wireless router plus 4-port switch.

Thanks,
Nora

F8ster · 01-03-2006, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nora

If I use a wired connection, will I lose anything? Like, can I use my laptop and wifi to access the Tivo box? [...] if Tivo is hard wired to the network, can I get to it via both the wired network and wifi?

Yes, no problem. Any wired or wireless device on the same home network will have access to each other. Note that "access" from your laptop to the TiVo box is really limited to running TiVo Desktop on it (although there are a few additional things you can do, like running applications on the PC like Galleon that are accessible from TiVo and stuff like that). But, as far as basic network connectivity, yes, they'll talk fine.

Good luck with the wiring...three true tests of a strong marriage:
- wallpapering
- picking out mutually acceptable new furniture
- fish-taping CAT5 cables through walls.

Nora · 01-04-2006, 08:16 AM

Thanks, f8ster. Well, if wiring is any test of a marriage, then I guess I'm on my own. Electrical is "my" area.

OT alert! (how OT is this forum?) But here was our real test: immediately after we were married (1.5 yrs ago), I spent 6 months dealing with my parents' estate in another state, then we (drumroll) remodeled the kitchen! And I'm talking major remodel on a 100-yr old house. Got throught that, so I figure this one's a keeper.

netserf57 · 01-04-2006, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nora

Thanks, f8ster. Well, if wiring is any test of a marriage, then I guess I'm on my own. Electrical is "my" area.

OT alert! (how OT is this forum?) But here was our real test: immediately after we were married (1.5 yrs ago), I spent 6 months dealing with my parents' estate in another state, then we (drumroll) remodeled the kitchen! And I'm talking major remodel on a 100-yr old house. Got throught that, so I figure this one's a keeper.

if you go the Wired Ethernet route, you will need a USB to Ethernet adapter as well....

Nora · 01-04-2006, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by netserf57

if you go the Wired Ethernet route, you will need a USB to Ethernet adapter as well....

Thank you for mentioning this! I was convinced that the unit had an ethernet port, but it doesn't. That would have been a bad surprise. Ack, another item... grrr.

Nora · 01-09-2006, 05:58 PM

Thanks, everyone, I got it going just fine. A couple of hiccups, but that was my error. I plugged it in and crossed my fingers, and it connected and updated just fine. It didn't, however, connect to my network until I went through the configuration assistant provided with the bridge. I implemented WPA on the bridge, and all is working well now. Fun!

I don't really get why I implemented WPA on the bridge. There is some confusing info in the bridge manual about implementing WPA and WEP in the same network, but they are so generic that it's hard to understand how it applies to the bridge. I guess the bridge is WPA but it itself can communicate with devices that can't do WPA (like Tivo). Whatever, it's working.