I currently have a Cat5a cable running from my Verizon Broadband Router to my Panosonic Blu-ray player. I will soon be getting a new Denon AVR and want to run a Cat 5a to that as well. What is the best way to split the existing cable so that it goes to both the Blu-ray and AVR. I originally thought that a simple splitter would do the trick but further reading about them doesn't make it look like a good option. Any suggestions are appreciated.

ez

Run an additional Cat5e cable or consider a wireless solution for one of the devices.

Probably a networking switch. You should be able to find an inexpensive 4-port model that will work for your needs. I have an old Netgear switch that worked fine for me to split/add more ports to a router.

Cascading a switch (or a hub) off of a router/switch can/will work. Two things to take into consideration though:
1) you may (depending on the hardware) have to use a crossover cable for the uplink.
2) the uplink performance/throughput may be impacted since it now services multiple ports/devices.

a switch should work fine... i have several items in my rack hooked to a switch that is connected to a powerline bridge... since i can successfully stream hd video from netflix in this setup, i don't think you'll have any issues at all in yours...

if you do go the switch direction, spend a few extra dollars and get a "decent" one... you don't have to spend a fortune, but you get what you pay for when you get a bottom feeder...

The way I see my usage, the connection to the AVR will be primarily for firmware updates and the one to the Blu-ray will also be for firmware updates and BD Live content(not that important to me though). I wouldn't think those items would pull down the level of performance over the Cat5a cable, but I could be wrong since I'm no expert. Also, who knows, I may eventually get into streaming movies so I probably should factor that into my shopping list as well.

Thanks for the helpful info everyone. I really appreciate it :) :)

ccotenj: Based on the above, any ideas on what would constitute a decent switch for my needs?

ez

BestBuy has the NetGear Gigabit switches:

http://www.netgear.com/Products/Switches/DesktopSwitches/GS608.aspx

The 8-port one runs around $60. I have 3 of them in my home and they are superb. Not once have I detected any switch-related slowdowns or hiccups (note they have *never* needed to be reset despite months of use). I'd go ahead and get the 8-port one (costs about $15 more than 4 port)- you will be surprised how quickly the ports fill (Logitech, TV, AVR, PS3, HTPC, ...). Remember, you need one of the ports on the switch for the Cat5 that runs to the router, making the 4-port one dicey. Also you are only looking for a "switch" here and not a router- be careful not to overpay for a full-fledged router. I'm now a huge fan of hardwired connections vis a vis wireless, and these switches make it easy to do this (I have one 8-port switch on each floor of my house, each hardwired to my base router, and each room in my house is then hardwired to the switch on the same floor). Also, if you have FiOS you should know the FiOS Actiontec router strongly "prefers" wired connections to wireless (it sucks for multiple wireless connections due to a built-in limitation it has).

Yes, I have already found out about the Actiontek preference for hardwiring. I had to do that for my 2nd computer upstairs to improve performance when I found that the wireless connection just wasn't cutting it. I do have one more open slot on the router, but I don't particularly feel like running another 75ft. of Cat5 to my HT rack. I'll just do the split at the rack instead.

cjv123: Thanks for the NetGear suggestion. I'll give it a look.

ez

ezdriver, i agree with what cjv says... although i personally use this d-link switch (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127082)... i've never (knock on wood) had to reboot it, and throughput isn't an issue... even though you don't "need" a gigabit switch, the cost differential vs. a 10/100 switch is minimal...

another vote the the actiontec router wireless being sucky... i have mine stashed in the basement with the wireless turned off... powerline bridge to the 2nd floor switch... hardwired to an airport extreme on the first floor for wireless... and a couple other hardwired switches in other places... seems to work ok for me....

Cascading a switch (or a hub) off of a router/switch can/will work. Two things to take into consideration though:
1) you may (depending on the hardware) have to use a crossover cable for the uplink.
2) the uplink performance/throughput may be impacted since it now services multiple ports/devices.

I haven't used a switch that needed a crossover cable since the last century. and I've used over 40 gigabit switches this century(and around 15 100mbs switches prior) since I change them every couple of years. I'm currently using ten Dlink gigabit switches. The switches auto negotiate for a cross-over or straight through cable.

Performance should be fine if you run gigabit. I have 50 devices on my gigabit network and they run just as fast whether running through several gigabit switches or connected directly to my gigabit router. I easily hit over 850mbs throughput on my internal network and around 50mbs on the INTERNET connection.

OMG!
Did I day "had to"? I said... "you may... depending on the hardware". Some switches "auto-detect", some don't. I also mentioned "hub". Typically they are not intelligent and therefore require a x-over.

I've worked with Cisco routers/switches (big iron... not home stuff) for a major healthcare corporation since their inception. I've been in the networking field for 35 years. Not a century, but long enough. I do have a clue. ;)