Upgrading home network - want best extraction speeds

[srp336]

When I moved into my current home, I set up a home network using three Ethernet segments connected by three Netgear PE-102 HomePNA 2.0 bridges. On one of the Ethernet segments was my SA Series 1 Tivo with Tivonet. Everything was working OK.

Now, a couple of years later, two of the PE-102s are dead and I'm limping along with the remaining one. The Tivo no longer boots (I think it's a dead hard drive, but haven't had the time or money to deal with it until recently).

I want to get everything running again. I think I know what to do with the Tivo, but want to upgrade the network in the process. What is the best choice for good extraction speeds?

- Should I replace the TivoNet card with a TurboNet card or CacheCard? Does a CacheCard make much difference with extraction speed? I'm probably not going to be watching TV much while extracting.
- It would be nice if I could run Cat5 cables all over, but I don't think that will ever happen. I'm looking at HomePNA 3.0 (have/will devices ever come out? Is HomePNA kind of dead?), HomePlug, and 802.11g wireless. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks!

--Steve

[Narf54321]

If you're using a Series-1 and not using cat-5 wired network then I don't think you'll get much improvement in extraction no matter what you do. My own experience says don't throw more money at it until/unless you can get the tivo box running again (most likely either HDD or power supply problem).
You could run an 802.11g bridge off the TivoNet's ethernet port.

I don't really have experience with the CacheCard, but my understanding was that it's pretty much the same as the TurboNet with a DIMM slot. The RAM chip is supposed to speed up menu access and show listings, but I don't think it has any affect on the network speed.

A few years ago I was also faced with a similar dilemma. The faster and more-capable series-2 boxes were out, and I could either spend a bunch of money on a CachCard (and RAM) plus a new hard drive for my Sony SVR-2000 or buy an S2 box. In the end, I bought the S2 box mainly for the Multi-Room Viewing option (and faster menus) and with the hacks here on DDB I've been very happy with the results.

You already said the Tivo was basically dead. You're already looking at spending some dough on repairs. I don't know if you're monthly or not, but with Tivo ending new Lifetime subscriptoins soon, you might want to run out and grab a series-2 unit while you can still get a Lifetime sub (TCD240s are nice, TCD540s require a PROM mod for hacks). With an S2's USB port, you can either get something like a wired FA120 ethernet dongle, or Tivo now sells its own 802.11g wireless adapter.