Shaw Gateway: Installation and setup discussion

[Reboot]

@Great68, you can do a straight trade for your Moto box on a Gateway (through Shaw), but the Gateway requires a Portal to distribute programming to for each TV. Shaw Techs are required to do the initial installation for the MoCA network.

I suggest you read the numerous threads on the subject to make an informed decision.

[Great68]

Thanks Reboot,

I have read through a few of the threads but have had difficulty getting the exact answer I was looking for.

I guess my specific question was:

Do I really need a shaw tech to come and set up this MoCA network if I don't have other TV's therefore not needing other Portals?

Booking service appointments is a hassle. I'd like to purchase the Gateway from best buy, yank the Motorola and put the gateway in it's spot all on my own if it's possible?

Edit: Nevermind, I just realized that the Gateway does not have any Video connections so at least one Portal and the MoCA network is required. At first I thought that it worked like the Telus system where the PVR is also a portal for one TV.

[Reboot]

Yes, unfortunately the Gateway itself cannot be used as a PVR, you must have a Portal attached to your TV (even just one TV) that is fed over the MoCA network to provide Shaw television. So this simple answer is you cannot get away without a Shaw visit to your home.

[Elrondolio]

Originally Posted by MetroVan

^ Sort of held back answering this since I don't know much and I thought more knowledgeable people would have answered you by now.

Sincerely thanks for your reply, MetroVan. There was one other "knowledgeable" post to my query but it was evidently deleted by the mods since the individual didn't actually answer anything (instead, he passed some unwarranted and unusual judgements).

Originally Posted by MetroVan

Probably too late now, but I don't see any problem in what you're trying to do, except get the splitter from your local Shaw outlet instead of The Source. Shaw isn't going to have poor quality splitters and they'll give it to you for free. I think that's a bit of a cardinal rule around here: whenever possible, get your stuff from Shaw.

Thanks for the advice... you were right. As a simple test I put a 20 year old FM splitter on there and, to my surprise, it worked just fine and didn't interfere with the other portal comms either. I've since switched it out to a new splitter and will leave as is. Again, thanks for your help.

[MetroVan]

Jetranger, thanks for your answer concerning Shaw's splitters being able to pass higher frequencies than they're rated for, i.e., the MoCA frequencies over 1 GHz. Actually, I didn't realize MoCA's operating range starts at below 1 GHz (I read somewhere that MoCA operates over 1 GHz and took that as gospel).

[mattbladez]

Hey guys,

I had 2 channels that would occasionally pixelate/go off air.. and I figured out that at the entrance of my condo there was a 750 Mhz splitter, swapped for a 1GHz and no more problems!!

So if 750Mhz can pass 99% of the bandwidth going through (I also have internet and home phone).. I don't see the 1GHz rating ever being an issue.

[Furnace]

Hello Everyone,

Does anyone know if the IR on the Portal's are Single Band Frequency or Dual Bad Frequency?

I would like to setup my Portal away from my TV and want to use an IR Repeater to control it. I've searched the forum and I came up with nothing.

Thanks in advance!

[rrcool]

Can portals be moved? I have a three season sunroom where I watch quite a bit of TV from March to November. For the coldest months (Dec to Feb) I watch TV in the Master Bedroom. So I'm thinking of getting the Gateway plus 3 portals (living room and kids room permanent) as well as a SD receiver and one portal that I can swap back and forth as desired. Are the Moca filters movable with the portals? Can I run a SD receiver AFTER the Gateway? I don't really want to pay for a portal to watch the news for 15 minutes when I go to bed.

[Jetranger]

It will largely depend on how your home is wired with coax. If each room has a separate line that runs to a common distribution point then you should easily be able to do what you want. Swapping between the sunroom and your bedroom should be no problem. If you are not using the one outlet for a few months then you really should have a couple of splitters so you can swap them out when you are not using the extra outlet. MoCA filter/s should not need to be moved if the install is done correctly from the start. Legacy STBs should work inside the MoCA network according to Shaw.

[cdncableguy]

A 750 MHz splitter will still pass frequency over 750, just with a lot of loss. That is why channels can still work intermittently sometimes.

[hymi]

Trying to set up my harmony one:
Is it a PVR or digital cable box
Is it Moxi or Shaw Cable
Which Mod #

Thanx

[shawguy]

Hymi...According the "Shaw Gateway: Read this First" thread found here http://digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=145360 it would appear there is a link for Harmony remotes in that thread... check there

[hymi]

Trying to set up Harmony
1. is the portal a pvr or a set top box
2. is it moxi or shaw cable
3. what model #

thanks

[Jetranger]

I just tried the following and it seems to be a good start:

Digital Set Top Box,
Shaw Cable,
MP2000.

This should get you a 'usable' remote and you can customize from there. I posted a pdf with my particular setup and at least one other member/user liked it so you might search for it here and check it out.

Edit: I see my pdf is in the link already suggested by shawguy. One small change I have made to my custom buttons is I changed the 'Zoom' in the upper right corner of the touch screen to a 'VOD' button. I didn't think I would use this originally but since the 'Exit' button is the same as 'Zoom', I changed it. This should work just fine now.

[bac0]

Legacy STBs should work inside the MoCA network according to Shaw

so if I understand correctly, if I have a 4 way splitter at the cable demarc box, a single MoCA filter would be installed on the drop side of the demarc, then on the inside I could happily mix Gateway/Portals and legacy tuners (both analog and digital) on any of the 4 cable runs? is that right?

and what about a cable modem? can it also exist inside the point where the MoCA filter is installed, or does it need to be on a separate feed from the rest of the MoCA/CATV runs?

sorry if these are dumb questions... I have Shaw TV, but Telus internet so I don't know anything about cable modems or where they'd get installed re: MoCA (thinking of Gateway system, plus possibly switching internet to Shaw)