Well, my folks bought a Samsung HPT4264 Plasma today and have left it up to me to get the wiring in order so they can enjoy local HD channels. Right now we have a basic cable package that was never set up correctly and because of that, it doesn't have the signal strength to deliver HD signals. I know this because I while back I had bought a USB HDTV tuner for my laptop and was unable to receive any HD channels on it. Not only that, but some of the SD channels are far from cable quality.

I called my cable provider, Wide Open West, who sent a tech out to check the line. Apparently, even before the line is split he found that there was a drop in signal at the cable box outside our house. I'm sure this is because we have a rather large yard and when the cable was first installed it required 250+ feet of cable to get from the box at the bottom of our yard to the box outside the house. His remedy? He installed the below amplifier in the room where my computer was (and charged me for it):

http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/9136/amplifierux0.jpg

While this allowed me to receive HD channels in that room, it did nothing for the other tvs in the house since it was amped *after* the split, pictured below:

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5192/splitter01lk8.jpg

That being said, I called WOW again to finally get it fixed and they're supposedly going to send someone out tomorrow to install an amp at the box (I hope). My question is, is the splitter picture above of decent quality? I just don't want the tech to say it's the splitter that's causing the loss of signal. Thanks in advance.

That splitter is among the best out there. Make sure to remove that amp that's at your HD outlet.

Is there a cable modem in the house?
Try moving the amp before the split.

Is there a cable modem in the house?
Try moving the amp before the split.

Yeah, it was never wired correctly in the first place. Currently, the main line goes from the box to the attic, into the 3-way splitter above. One cable goes to the living room tv, one goes to a bedroom tv, and another (the cable all the way to the right on the splitter) goes to another bedroom where it's split by a two-way:

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/5282/splitter02cf9.jpg

One of the cables goes to the modem and the other goes to a third tv.

When the WOW tech came over and ran some checks he said that yes, due to the distance of the line in my backyard there was a loss of signal but he just shrugged his shoulders at it and said the signal was "good enough". Ultimately, he ended up replacing the cable to the living room tv and some connectors on others (took a nice chunk out of the ceiling drywall coming down from the attic in the process) but that was it. Before he left he mentioned that the best way to have the setup was to have a two-way split on the main line, with one going to modem and the other going to the 3-way for the tvs (with an amp in-between if I felt it necessary). He didn't offer to do that though and I'm glad he didn't; I'm sure I could do a better job without wrecking any more drywall in the process.

He was correct about the proper configuration. A cable modem should be on its own, dedicated splitter (or TAP) and be the first device in the line. The better configuration for your setup would be the feed to a TAP (or splitter), with the TAP leg (or one of the splitter legs) going to the cable modem and the OUT (or other splitter leg) going to a drop amp, which then feeds the TV distribution system.

He was correct about the proper configuration. A cable modem should be on its own, dedicated splitter (or TAP) and be the first device in the line. The better configuration for your setup would be the feed to a TAP (or splitter), with the TAP leg (or one of the splitter legs) going to the cable modem and the OUT (or other splitter leg) going to a drop amp, which then feeds the TV distribution system.

That's probably what I'm going to end up doing. I was just flipping through the HD channels a couple hours after he left and noticed pixelation on quite a few. When I checked their signal strength through the tv, all of them had only one "bar" of reception (out of ten). The only problem will be finding a power source for it since there is no outlets in the attic (or even lights). Still, can you recommend an amp for this application? The tech mentioned something about making sure to get an amp with "return" otherwise if I ever upgraded to digital it would be useless. Not sure what he meant.

That's probably what I'm going to end up doing. I was just flipping through the HD channels a couple hours after he left and noticed pixelation on quite a few. When I checked their signal strength through the tv, all of them had only one "bar" of reception (out of ten). The only problem will be finding a power source for it since there is no outlets in the attic (or even lights). Still, can you recommend an amp for this application? The tech mentioned something about making sure to get an amp with "return" otherwise if I ever upgraded to digital it would be useless. Not sure what he meant.
One of the PCT amps at http://www.cencom94.com/gpage4.html Also get one of the power inserters listed below the PCT amps so you can locate the power supply at one of the outlets. Either get the 4-port amp or, if you have a 2-way splitter, you can get the 2-port amp.