Roku setup

[fogonaroupa1]

My modem is in my office and has two computers connected via ethernet cable. A coaxial cable gets internet service from a provider to the modem.

The tv connects to the internet via wi-fi (but it’s far away in another part of the house, the living room) and I would prefer a wired connection.

I no longer have regular cable tv service, but I still have the coaxial cable providing internet signal snaking all the way from the modem in the office, into the living room where the tv is.

The male coaxial cable used to go into my cable converter tv set top box, and the signal from my cable converter box went into my Roku Ready TV via HDMI port.

Can I get a cheap coaxial to HDMI converter from the dollar store, or why isn't this an option?

Or even though I already have a Roku Ready TV, is there some kind of device Roku will be willing to sell me inexpensively to accept the male lead of my coaxial internet cable input, and to output that signal to plug into an HDMI port in my tv?

HDMI to coax adapters are different from Coax to HDMI adapters, right? 

I can't be the only one wanting this. 

Thank you!

Andrew

[Strega]

I can’t quite follow the question, but a coax cable to HDMI “converter” is typically called a cable box, set top box, etc.  These are typically rented from the cable company due to proprietary protocols and access controls on the various cable systems.  However, since you no longer have cable TV service, I don’t know what that would do for you.

There is also MoCA which would let you use that coax cable for networking, but networking would plug into an ethernet port, not HDMI.

You could also potentially reuse that cable by connecting it to a TV antenna if it is not being otherwise used.

And an HDMI to composite converter is typically used to connect a modern media player to a really old TV, at the expense of signal quality/resolution (which in modern terms, the old TV never had anyway, so that may be OK.) By the way, these generally output to a baseband coax cable – which is different than broadband the cable system cable.

[atc98092 · Accepted solution]

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@fogonaroupa1 wrote:

Can I get a cheap coaxial to HDMI converter from the dollar store, or why isn't this an option?

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You are confusing the datastream that is provided by the coax and what HDMI cables carry. The coax is carrying the Internet connection, while an HDMI cable carries video and audio signals. Yes, both are digital streams, but there are two completely different protocols. The coax needs to connect to a modem, which converts the data signal into either Ethernet for a wired connection or WiFi using the 802.11 protocol. That becomes your Internet connection.

The HDMI cable sends the video and audio signal from a device such as a Roku player to the display, which then allows you to watch and hear the signal. It is not capable of connecting directly to a network source and "convert" that into something that can be seen and heard on the display. 

You might have seen HDMI cables that list "Ethernet" as something supported. What that means is that for devices that support that specific protocol, the HDMI cable can provide the Internet connection through the HDMI cable, along with the audio and video signal. But that doesn't mean that it can replace the device at one end of the cable that is sending the audio and video to the display. It's merely a way to eliminate one cable between a TV and a supporting AVR, and in reality is something that is seldom used. Very few devices support it, and both devices that are connected via the HDMI cable have to support the function. 

[fogonaroupa1]

Thank you Dan. You give a thoughtful and complete (2023) answer to my question which I didn't realize was so complicated. Your explanation makes sense, and it paid off to read it a few times. So I CANNOT do what me and millions of others want to do. Boo hoo. Thanks a lot. 

[fogonaroupa1]

Thank you very much. 

[fogonaroupa1]

My modem sends out the internet signal through wifi, through ethernet cables, and also in my case through a coaxial cable which used to lead to cable set top converter box. 

There is no input on my "Roku Ready" television for this male F-type coaxial cable, which is a real shame. Should be an embarrassment for Roku.  (There is a coax port designed to receive Antenna input, but not one for Internet input.) (Though I haven't tried.)

I think I can take this coax cable to send the internet signal into a cheap modem I'd need to buy, and then use an ethernet cable to connect that modem to my "Roku Ready" television. That's the "coax to ethernet" adapter I was talking about, if I cannot simply get a cheap "coax to hdmi" adapter from the dollar store. I just want to get my wired internet signal into my tv. My cats are going to be tripping over wires, but I guess they'll just have to live with it if they want modern television. 

Or, I could try to snake a 100 foot indoor/outdoor ethernet cable from my current modem, along the path of the coaxial cable already snaking all the way through my house, ending up in the living room, to plug into the back of my "roku ready" set. Nice. That should also work, right? 

I think I don't get the "Ras Kitchen" channel very nicely, for example, so unless the problem is on their end I think the videos might load quicker if I had the actual wired connection, instead of via wifi.  That's the whole purpose of this exercise, so please correct me if I'm wrong. 

[atc98092 · Accepted solution]

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@fogonaroupa1 wrote:

There is no input on my "Roku Ready" television for this male F-type coaxial cable, which is a real shame. Should be an embarrassment for Roku.  (There is a coax port designed to receive Antenna input, but not one for Internet input.) (Though I haven't tried.)

I think I can take this coax cable to send the internet signal into a cheap modem I'd need to buy, and then use an ethernet cable to connect that modem to my "Roku Ready" television. That's the "coax to ethernet" adapter I was talking about, if I cannot simply get a cheap "coax to hdmi" adapter from the dollar store. I just want to get my wired internet signal into my tv. My cats are going to be tripping over wires, but I guess they'll just have to live with it if they want modern television. 

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There is no TV in existence that can take the coax that has Internet data connectivity and turn that into an Internet connection. Every TV with an internal tuner has the F-type connector, but its sole purpose is to receive OTA broadcast signals. In North America, those signals are now all ATSC 1.0 digital. There are no remaining analog stations broadcasting. There's no embarrassment for Roku or any TV manufacturer. They don't build a cable modem into their TVs because there is no single standard in use, so you would need to build different TVs for different cable providers. 

Yes, you need a modem to convert the Internet connection provided by the cable company (coax) into Ethernet and/or WiFi. However, you say you already have a modem in another location in your home. I don't believe it's possible to use a splitter and have a second modem on the same connection. Any coax coming out of the existing modem will only contain TV signals, not the Internet connection. If you want to bring your Internet connection to a distant location in your home, you either need a WiFi extender (to improve the signal further away from the modem) or run Cat5e/Cat6 Ethernet cable from the modem to the other room. Depending on your home, you might be able to run it through a crawl space under the home or in the attic space, so you don't have cable lying on the floor of the home where it can be damaged. Once you run an Ethernet cable, you can install an Ethernet switch and have multiple wired connections at that distant location.

[Strega]

OK, so you’re looking for a MoCA adapter.  As I said above, these plug into ethernet ports, since they are networking devices.

I get the impression that MoCA is not in super common-use which is probably why whoever made your TV didn’t include it.  By the way, it’s a good idea to make sure your have a MoCA PoE filter before using MoCA.  Otherwise, your LAN may end up merging with some neighbor’s MoCA-enabled LAN and that gets very confusing. 

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

@fogonaroupa1 

I use an Ethernet to power-line adapter. this is the one I use:

https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/powerline/tl-pa4010-kit/.

You could use any Ethernet to power-line adapter,

That would give you a 50/mbps connection. More than enough to stream, even 4K. I got fed up with wireless. My Roku  Ultra LT is connected to this adapter, works fine.

[fogonaroupa1]

Dan, you rock, again, with your rapid and easy-to-understand and informed solutions. 

TV manufacturers don't build cable modems into TVs because no single standard is in use, so they would need to build different TVs for different cable providers. 

You talk about sending the internet signal from my modem in the office to my television in the living room via Cat5e/Cat6 Ethernet cable and/or WiFi and/or a WiFi extender. I have been using some sort of plug-in gadget for the past few years so it may be old, it's brandless, it says "WiFi Repeater" and I think this may be what you refer to. It gives much better cellphone and tv reception than without it, it has my network come up as "name of my network" plus "-Ext" but not consistently Excellent signal strength. 

Somebody else mentioned using an Ethernet to power-line adapter such as this one https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/powerline/tl-pa4010-kit/.   What?! That's crazy!  It's probably a little more than the price of a 100' ethernet cable, and their advertising claims it transforms your home's existing electrical circuit into a high-speed network with no need for new wires or drilling plus brings WIRED internet service to anywhere there is a power outlet (Up to 300 meters), Plug one device into a wall socket and connect to modem via ethernet. The other device, the male plugs into a wall socket. There is an Ethernet port from this device which could be directly connected to the television. Is this even possible? Says to plug into the wall, won't work on a surge protector. Thank you.