I've got splitters all over the place and believe mine is running above 1GHz with no problems.

I would also be interested to see if your home networking gear can coexist with the gateway, either by luck or autonegotiation :) I'm running PowerLine and, while consistently more solid and with better latency than wireless for my kids' gaming, I'm only consistently getting between 15 & 25 mbps. Would love to try the MoCA gear it it has a chance of working.

The trade article below indicates that multiple MoCA networks can operate on the same cabling as long as they are on separate bands and the NetGear MoCA ethernet adapters apparently allow you to modify the band you're using...

http://www.cablefax.com/ct/sections/features/44237.html

LD500 - As I said before, the mocha network runs above 1GHz, with acceptable losses through the splitters that Shaw uses.
As for amps, there is no need to boost the signal to the portals as they only get signal from the gateway which outputs at a high signal strength. I can't remember right now what that is though. The amp (if needed) will boost the signal going to the gateway and any other dct in the house (in most cases). Every situation is different and therefore needs a different setup scenario. I have done many gateway installs and some needed amps and some didn't.

cdncableguy, can you provide any insight into current best practice on use of MoCA filters to isolate other gear (cable modems, dcx3200/3400) from the MoCA network?

Everything seems to be working fine on my install without any in-home isolation, but I keep hearing about others getting them installed. More curiosity than anything :)

OK, you guys have me curious again. Now that my Gateway system is up and running smoothly I'll try out the Netgear MOCA and see how it works together.
Someone mentioned the order in which the different units are powered up might affect things, apparently not wanting the Netgear units to get an IP from the Gateway itself.

This will probably take some time. Hope to report back within a couple days.

Found this interesting application note from a company that sells MoCA testing equipment:

http://www.spirent.com/About-Us/News_Room/Press-Releases/~/media/Application%20notes/SAB/MoCA_Testing_ApplicationNote.ashx

Gives a really good (and geeky) technical overview of how MoCA works and what can go wrong, while trying to sell their gear :)

If nothing else, it made me feel sorry for technicians out there trying to figure out complex quality issues in a mostly uncontrolled environment. Brought me back to the bad old days of troubleshooting 10base2 networks...

Nice portable tester. I was thinking it might be nice to have one but I finally found an article that says pricing starts at $3000. A little too much for a 'home user'. Also probably explains why we haven't seen them in any tech's hands either. Funny thing is, ARRIS is involved with that particular product so it would seem it should be the ideal tool for troubleshooting these MoCA systems.

Can't find this in a search so hope it's not a repeat...I just got a Gateway installed a couple of days ago. On my main TV with surround-sound tuner, the Portal audio output is set to Digital and for sound I digital optical cable direct from the portal to an older Yamaha surround sound amp/tuner. When watching TV, the HD channels that broadcast in 5.1 are output in 5.1 from the amp. However, I have recorded a couple of HD movies and last night played an HD VOD movie and both are only outputting from the amp in 2.1 stereo.

I traded out a 6416 HD Tuner/PVR for the Gateway and the older one had no problem playing recorded material in 5.1 so I have no idea if there is a problem or if the Gateway doesn't record in 5.1 or what?

Anybody know? I intend to contact tech support but if it's just a simple tweak of a setting, it would be great to find out here.

My scheduled Gateway and 5 portal install went reasonably smoothly on Sunday and I’ve been very satisfied with the results so far. Other than a minor glitch getting the Gateway up and running, it was a rather innocuous experience compared to some of the stories others have shared.

Overall impression so far is an unequivocal two thumbs up. Everything is working as expected with only a couple of minor video/sound drops here and there. (according to the installer, this can be expected for the first few days) In my opinion, the GUI is a refreshing change to the old Motorola boxes and the rest of the family is adjusting much more easily than expected.

My only frustration at this point is the apparent rudimentary parental controls implementation. I have 3 teenagers in the house so my goal is pretty simple, lock out access to adult content on Shaw on Demand and also require a different PIN for any VOD purchases that have a fee attached, i.e. free VOD should not require a PIN. Unfortunately, the purchase PIN is also the content unlock PIN. So, if my wife and I are out and the kids want to rent a movie, the PIN not only enables a purchase but also unlocks all of the content we don’t want to see unlocked.

Another anomaly is when I lock down NC-17 movie content, it automatically applies a lock to “Not Rated” content as well. In theory this makes sense but in reality most of the NR content that get’s locked down is older classic content such as movies on TCM and other innocuous material. I’d rather have the ability to lock down NC-17 content and leave unrated content open. Overall, I found the Motorola Parental Control logic much more granular for my needs. I’m hoping that I’m either missing something in the Parental Controls set-up or we’ll see a better Parental Control implementation sooner than later.

I’m open to suggestions if anyone has ideas...

PS: A big thanks to Jetranger, JohnnyCanuck 7 and Reboot for the Harmony One advice. My remote was ready to go before the Gateway install was finished!

Glad we were able to help and thanks for doing your homework by reading up on the Gateway here and then posting your specific questions. Since I don't need Parental controls(no kids), I can't help with any suggestions but you do bring up some valid points to be considered by both ARRIS and Shaw for possible incorporation in future updates.

I agree with your statements about the parental controls Cobraguy. Specifically being able to uncheck the not-rated rating in movie and TV but leave the adult/nc-17 checked. Maybe in the next update we will see some improvements.

Another thing that I would find handy is in regards to recording options. I found that I had to change my default recording settings to start early and end late due to shows being cut off or starting late(I believe a few others have reported this as well). I changed my default settings so any new recordings will do this. It would be nice to be able to apply those new defaults to all existing series recordings. Because the option doesn't exist I had to manually change all 20 existing series recordings. This isn't a huge deal but it would be a nice feature.

Speaking of parental controls. I have two young kids (10 & 13) and will be soon be going through my gateway system to deal with this issue as well. Just havent got to it yet.

For the Shaw/Arris people that might be reading this, what I would like to see is a web-based administration system to handle controls like this as well as other operations. Once the DLNA and connectivity to the internet is properly enabled, this should be part of a web-based PVR administration system (and eventually mobile apps). Ideally it would be great to see developer API's created to allow third parties to help build these types of tools - but that's just a dream!

Anyways, in a web-based control system it would be great to have control down to the level of each portal where by I would be able to bring up portal #1 (my 10 year olds tv) and adjust his channel lineup, password protect certain channels, control his scheduled recordings and get a report of usage. Then I could bring up portal #2 (my 13 year old) and adjust his channel lineup accordingly, and so on.

In our house here we have 6 portals running, and it's a PITA to go around to each one and deal with all of this. Being that I am fluent in computers and use them all day long this would make my life so much easier. My previous Telus Optik had a web & mobile app only for recordings management, but it was great to have available.

Although the concept is to use the hand-held remote on the tv itself, web-based admin systems like this would launch the Gateway well beyond anything I've seen for controlling the platform. The more we can do via the web and/or mobile the better in my opinion. And Shaw/Arris, please run these types of apps off the Gateway via a built-in server that we browse direct to via a mapped port in our routers, and not a proprietary central server that would just be laggy and slow. Make use of our Broadband connections!

Just my 2cents again.

Is there a way to turn off the screensaver/sleep ? function. We have always used our TV as our alarm clock, but as we found out this morning when the TV turned on there was no TV signal. And of course no sound, so my wife slept late.
Please advise.

Currently, there is no way to turn off the 'screen saver'. I often find an inconsistency with how this works. Sometimes I get a regular picture when I turn on the TV first thing in the morning, other times I get the 'blank screen' with just the Shaw logo floating around. I can't say why this might be as I haven't been able to make it do one or the other in a regular manner.

JasonB - Last I was told was that any device on the mocha network excluding the portals, needs a mocha filter. That is how I do my installs. I have had no problems with STBs in the mocha network with the filters attached. I tend to follow best practices and haven't tried it without. I guess I could try at home, but tend to not want to "work" once I get home.

When the tech came to install my last two Portals and a 3400, a couple of weeks ago now, he temporarily installed a filter on the 3400 while it was being activated. Once it was up and running, he removed the filter and was about to leave with it but I asked if I could have it. He said 'Sure' so I now have a 'spare' MoCA filter to use for any future troubleshooting purposes.

I asked him why he only used it during the activation process and he said it really didn't make a difference but he just prefers to be 'safe than sorry'. That really makes no sense but if it makes him feel better then why should I care. I'm just happy to have the spare filter now.

It's good to hear at least one Shaw tech is following 'best practices'. Way to go, cdncableguy! I had heard you were a 'good guy'.

cdncableguy - thanks for the clarification. I have three Dcx3400s and an SMC DOCSIS3 wifi modem running inside my MoCA network without filters. Seems to be working so far, but I guess I'll have something to try when it stops working :)

I'd imagine that if Shaw ever turns on MoCA for the Motorola gear that there would at least be potential for problems as I'm guessing that they would all be looking for their own channels...

I recently had the Shaw Gateway installed and have been trying to get the proper aspect (4:3) for the SD channels. I have the Aspect ratio set at 16:9 and then the 'Stretch / Maintain' set to 'Maintain'

Yet the SD channels are all still stretching to 16:9 - thoughts?

Thanks.

Do you have 480i (non-HDTV} selected in TV Setup?

I did....now I don't and it's fixed. Thanks!

When I purchased my Gateway system, I was told that the Gateway counts as an outlet and the portals do not count so my planned setup of Gateway with 4 portals, DCX3400 (backup), and DCT700 (seldom used TV) would be within the 4 active outlet limit (5 or more requires a monthly charge). At installation, the installer said the portals count towards the limit so I would have to pay the extra monthly fee if he activated an outlet for the DCT700 so I did not have him do that at the time. I have seen a couple of posts on these forums that agree that the portals are not supposed to count against the 4 outlet limit (Here is JetRanger's post: http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=1374695&postcount=262). I've done the online chat to try to get clarification directly fromt Shaw and, very quickly, I discovered that the number of TVs is still the reference used by many Shaw reps.

*Shaw Rep* (10:14:10):
It is correct that you can have 4 TV'
*Shaw Rep* (10:14:10):
4TV's, 4 cable outlets active on an account with no extra monthly charge. After the 4 outlets, It's $5.99 per month for 1-3 more

*Me* (10:15:34):
So if someone had Gateway with 6 portals they would have to pay extra for the 5th and 6th portals? That is different information than I heard when purchasing the Gateway system.

*Shaw Rep* (10:18:19):
That is correct, as that would be 6 TV's. 4 outlets are included in the base price, anything additional would be extra per month as it's using our service for each portal. We apologize if you were miss informed on that information. We can look at addressing that employee, it is well known about the number of outlets being included, but they must not have understood how the Gateway works.

I'm planning to ask Shaw to come test my Gateway setup for issues I'm having and, while they are here, get that DCT700 activated so I'm trying to find an official Shaw source about outlet limits with portals. I have tried various searches in this forum and Shaw website and can not find this. Anyone have a link, source, or suggested search keywords to help me get this confirmation? Thanks.