Cable tv splitters

Hi, I am a cable technician. Anytime you split the signal with a 2way splitter you lose 3db. Also the signal is not scrambling. The reason your picture was pixelating is from a weak signal from your coax. If your old splitter was not rated at 5-1000 mhz or more that can affect signal quality. So if you have more splitters than you need remove them. If you need all the cable lines you have then you need an amplifier. If you want to do this yourself make sure the amplifier you buy is rated 5-1000 mhz or more. Also you need to install it before any splitters. It does no good to amplify the signal when it is already weak at the end of the chain. This also has the benefit of boosting the whole system instead of just one jack. I would just have the cable company install the amp for you because they only charge you $50 to do so and you own the amp afterward. Considering the amp will cost you $50 to buy yourself you can't beat it. Also if you have 4 or less outlets and need an amp Comcast will install it for free. I'm not sure what cable company you have but just ask them what their policy is.

Good luck
Sean

Having an amplifier installed only applies if you are in a house. If in an apartment it gets more complicated. Also if you don't own the house you will need written premission from the owner to have an amp installed as it requires drilling holes in the house. Sometimes it will be better to have the outlet rewired because the wire may be old RG-59. A tech can find out what is best for your system by useing a signal meter to test signal strength at different points in your system.

Hope this helps.
Sean

Another thing to consider is if you install the amp yourself it is possible to have to high of a signal for the internet modem. This is why doing some of this stuff yourself without the right tools and knowledge can be problemattic.

I have my cable line coming from outside to my listenig room where I split the signal to my cable hdtv box and to my computer modem

Why did you split the signal when you could have had your cable company run you a dedicated line for your HSD ? Which is the way it is suppose to be. Was the HSD in another room and you took upon yourself to move it someplace else ?

More than likely, the splitter that you are using is not allowing forward and reverse to happen which you need to have with HSD.

I would call your cable company and have them run a dedicated line to where you would like it, and sure they might charge you for this, but it is only a one time fee , but will be worth it.

I will add to the excellent information that you have been given. Always split before your modem,the modem should always be kept separate. It is hard to find at you local stores a splitter that has the specification of performance. Comcast in my area uses Antronix. If you go to www.3starinc.com you can read all the spec's and purchase what ever you need. The Antronix two way splitter is cmc2002h Also you could request information on amplifiers and how to set them up from sales@cabletvamps.com This company is very helpful, remember that the more output ports that you add to a splitter, the greater the return loss is back the cable company.

I blew my 5 channel amp and my 5 speakers over a year ago and I could never figure out why. I knew it had to be cable tv related. I even bought a Furman power/surge protector. After buying the Furman it all blew again. I think I have just realized that the splitter was the problem because it wasn't passing the power through both ways. I don't understand this "power pass through" but the cable comes into my room and is split. One cable then goes to my computer and the other to my Furman then the cable comes out of the Furman to my cable tv box. Can anyone elaborate on my findings? Have I just opened Pandora's box and seen the light at the end of the tunnel after all this time???

Power pass-through, or lack of it, would have nothing to do with anything being blown. All it refers to is that some splitters will allow two-way communications between the cable box and the cable company, and some won't (just allowing signals to come in, but not to go out). Two-way communication is necessary to utilize interactive tv features, such as on-demand programming, and also obviously for internet use.

It's not clear from your post whether or not the ac power cords of the cable box, audio system, and tv are ALL plugged into the surge protector, so that they are protected against surges on the ac line as well as on the cable line. Also, is the computer connected to the audio system? If so, since it is not protected by the surge suppressor it would represent a path for surges to get into the audio system.

Regards,
-- Al

Riley804

You wrote, "when you could have had your cable company run you a dedicated line for your HSD ? Which is the way it is suppose to be."

A seperate dedicated line ???? What are you smoking???

My Cable company ran an underground cable to my house about 300 feet and said if there is ever a problem with the signal they would have to put a telephone pole in my yard because of the distance.
No way would they just install a another dedicated line.

In fact, I cant even get through to the Comcast Cable company on the telephone or the internet.
I have some High def channels that pixalize and go out for long periods of time. After about a week of continusly calling they finally did get a Cable guy out to the house he cleaned the connections and left .
Problem persists.

Yes, I do have one of the cable companies amplifiers, but if the signal is weak to start those only do so much.

Satelitte TV is probably the best option .

Tlg,I am not familiar with the Furman protector but you are doing the right thing. The ac protection is for your 120 volt line and the coax, in and out protect your cable before the box. A lighting strike could come down both the ac line and the coaxial line. This protection is not 100%, depending how close the hit is. Power surges are a different issue. The protection I think you have is for high voltage transients.

Tlg, Cable TV is a very low voltage system. The only way to get a surge big enough to damage equipment thru a cable line is a lightning strike or a downed power line crossing it. Your cable drop is suppost to be grounded at your ground rod before it goes to the splitter to prevent this from happening.

Ozzy, A 300 ft drop is very long. Most peoples drop is 50 ft or less. You already have an amp and still have a bad signal. Sounds like a tough situation. I don't deal with the distribution part so can't realy help there. Sounds like its a new pole or Dish.

As far as how many lines you can have to your house, they only allow one per unit. So if you live in a single family dwelling you can only have one. What riley804 is talking about is running a seperate line from the splitter that is outside. Technically it doesn't matter where you split it as long as the signal is good when it goes into your equipment.