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(More customer reviews)When we remodeled our bedroom we moved our TiVo into the closet. Running the HDMI cable to the TV from the TiVo was easy - figuring out how to get the remote was a little harder. We have aTiVoSlide remote control which works via Bluetooth: a Bluetooth receiver connects to the TiVo via USB cable. I needed to be able to get the receiver out of the closet and into the main bedroom, ideally behind the television. The maximum length of a USB cable is 10-15 feet, depending on the device, which was too short to reach from the TiVo to the television.
The first solution I tried was a Tripp Lite repeater cable, which is unpowered. The Bluetooth receiver appeared to work just fine with it: a blue light on it illuminated and the light blinked in response to button presses on the remote, just as it should. The commands, however, were not received by the TiVo. The repeater cable was able to boost the signal enough to reach from the TiVo to the receiver, but the receiver didn't have enough strength to send the commands back to the TiVo through the cable.
While I looked for another solution I connected the receiver to a 6' long USB extension cable, just to get the receiver out of the closet so it could receive commands from the remote. This worked but not very well. The commands were received by the TiVo but there was a delay so the response was very laggy. In addition, not all the commands were received by the TiVo which made it very hard to control the DVR.
Clearly a powered solution was required. Though this product didn't have any reviews when I ordered it I didn't have many options. I've used Cables Unlimited cables before so at least I was familiar with the brand.
Amazon's product page is a little light on information for this product and there are a couple of critical pieces of information which should be on the page. The product page at the Cables Unlimited site has more information. First, this extender is only USB 1.1 compliant, not USB 2.0 compliant. Second, only one device can be connected to this extender so putting a hub at the end of it won't work (according to Cables Unlimited, at least).
This extender couldn't be any easier to set up, which is good because the instructions consist of a single diagram. There are 3 pieces to this product: the sending and receiving units and a power supply. The sending unit is a small box labeled "local". It has a USB connection that plugs into your computer (or TiVo in my case) and a port for an Ethernet cable, so it has a male USB and a female Ethernet connection. The receiving unit is labeled "remote" and has a port to plug the remote USB device into (in my case the TiVo Bluetooth receiver) and an Ethernet port, so it has a female USB and a female Ethernet connection. The power supply plugs into the remote end as well.
I plugged the "local" box into the TiVo and connected a 35' Ethernet cable to it. Into the remote end I plugged the other end of the Ethernet cable, the power supply, and the Bluetooth receiver. That was it. The receiver came to life, the TiVo recognized it, and everything just worked. Not only did the remote work, it worked great. There was no lag, no dropped commands. It was as if the Bluetooth receiver was connected directly to the TiVo. I've got no complaints about how well this extender works or how easy it is to install.
My only complaint is the power supply. It doesn't plug all the way into the "remote" box - about 1/4" of the plug is left exposed. Where I have the "remote" box set up this isn't a problem but it could be an issue depending on where it's set up. The USB cable doesn't fit all the way into the "remote" box either. Thatt's just sloppy design so I docked the product a star. I've uploaded a picture to show the gaps.
Overall, though, this extender works great. Powering the remote box really made the difference. As responsive as the TiVo remote is I think this extender could be used for mouse, keyboard, or even a gaming controller, as long as they only need a USB 1.1 connection.
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Cables Unlimited USB-1375 60M USB Over Cat5e Extender with Power Supply 1 Pack (Black)This USB extender allows you to conquer the 5 Meter USB length limitation. Using inexpensive patch cables, this extender provides the simplest and most economic way to extend the distance of a USB device up to 60 Meter (about 196 Ft). Now you can place your USB cameras, printers, web cams, keyboard/mouse extensions or any other USB device exactly where you want it.
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