We are building a new house and have all the coax run to each of the rooms, but how do you go about splitting it correctly? I understand how it works to a degree, but I would like to minimize the loss of signal.

One site I was on had 4 different kinds of splitters that have Ohm ratings, Mhz/Ghz ratings. I plan on having about 3-4 TVs in the house, not all active at once and a cable modem signal that will always be on. Any suggestions as to what I should be shopping for?


Thanks everyone!

Jon

Are you using a cable company or over the air? If you are using a cable company you are probably better off having them supply the splitter.

We are building a new house and have all the coax run to each of the rooms, but how do you go about splitting it correctly? I understand how it works to a degree, but I would like to minimize the loss of signal.

One site I was on had 4 different kinds of splitters that have Ohm ratings, Mhz/Ghz ratings. I plan on having about 3-4 TVs in the house, not all active at once and a cable modem signal that will always be on. Any suggestions as to what I should be shopping for?


Thanks everyone!

Jon
Look for splitters with specs such as these: http://www.cencom94.com/gpage.html

Not sure if I am going to use the cable company or not. We live out of the city. We can get cable, but quality hasn't been all that great in the house we are in currently (next door in the in-laws), so we may go satellite. IF we go with Comcast, I'll wait for them to do it, just wanted to have it all done and get it over with.

egnlsn, thanks for the link. I'll check that site out and see if I find something.

Don't use any splitter if you are going to use a sat service.

We are building a new house and have all the coax run to each of the rooms, but how do you go about splitting it correctly?

Did you use "home run" wiring?

By that, I mean uncut lengths of cable running from each room back to a central location.

If not, you should change it while you can. Don't "daisy chain" the cable from room to room.

Most splitters have a Mhz/Ghz rating which usually goes up to 1Ghz. It's not unsual to find some with a 4Ghz rating now. You will see it labled as 5 - 1000Mhz. That means the splitter is capable of handling everything in that spectrum. Don't go thinking you need to find the 4Ghz splitter because it will give you better picture quality. Nope, you will be wasting your time.

You will also see numbers on the splitter which rate the decibel loss. Two way splitters will have a 3.5 loss per leg. Four way splitters will have a 7 loss. A three way splitter, also called an uneven splitter, will have a "hot" leg of 3.5, and two 7 loss legs. My preference is the Regal splitter. The Antronics have showed their merit, too. Both of these splitters you cannot buy at a store and are supplied to CATV companies. I have known people who have purchased fifty dollar high end splitters only to have them handed back to them because the cable supplied splitter was much better. I don't care what Chet said at the AV store about the fifty dollar splitter or what magazine rated that splitter. I have one million homes wired up with Regal splitters that were installed ten years ago when digital was on the rise that are doing just fine now. I had one customer who bought the fifty dollar splitter and he tried to convince me that it was the best. I had him sign off on the work order that he was keeping his own equipment. A month later his HD-DVR went up non-responding. He was conveniently working in the garage when I came out to replace the splitter.

And if you are thinking about throwing an amplifier into the mix, have the cable company supply one. Hopefully, if you do your work correctly and your loss calculations, you won't need one.

Question, what does DC and IR passing mean when it comes to cable splitters and do I need it?

Question, what does DC and IR passing mean when it comes to cable splitters and do I need it?
DC passing is mainly for if you need to send DC voltage down a line, such as powering an amplifier (that is located where there is no power) from an outlet in a bedroom. IR passing is if you have a whole-house remote control system that utilizes the coaxial cable in your house.

Unless you fall into one of those categories, you do not need them.

Ok. Thanks. Tried searching for Regal cable splitters (for splitting OTA signal). Are these the ones I'm supposed to be looking for?

http://www.keenzo.com/showproduct.asp?ID=1318739
http://www.keenzo.com/showproduct.asp?ID=1318742
http://www.keenzo.com/showproduct.asp?ID=1318738

Ok. Thanks. Tried searching for Regal cable splitters (for splitting OTA signal). Are these the ones I'm supposed to be looking for?

http://www.keenzo.com/showproduct.asp?ID=1318739
http://www.keenzo.com/showproduct.asp?ID=1318742
http://www.keenzo.com/showproduct.asp?ID=1318738
Those are fine. No additional shipping charge for these ones http://www.cencom94.com/gpage.html, though.

Thanks for all the help! I'm buying a couple of each so it's cheaper to go with Regal. As of the moment, I still haven't fully decided how I'm going to do the splitting. :)