All I have seen variations of my questions in other threads but I could not find the answers that I need. The main cable line comes to the right side of my house and then runs outside to far left side of the house where it is split using a 2-way splitter. One end of the split goes to my HDTV and the other end feeds 2 other TVs in the house. My wife wanted to add a TV on the right side of my house which required me to add a 2-way splitter to the incoming signal. This means that before the cable gets to my HDTV it goes through two 2-way splitters and I have noticed a decrease in signal quality. I have an older house and I am somewhat limited to the way that it was previously wired for cable and the fact that I am not interested in completely rewiring the house or spending much money. I have thought about adding a signal booster but everywhere that I read said that you should add it as close to the cable source as possible, which in my case would be mounting it outside. Would it be futile to add a signal amplifier just before my HDTV in the house? Is there any signal booster that could be mounted outside and requires no external power source? Does anyone have any recommendations on how I could optimize the signal getting to my HDTV? I know I could try to run the source cable over to the left side of the house and reverse the order of the splits but with the layout of my house that would not be as easy as adding an amp. I have comcast cable with an HD DVR (DCT 3416I) if it matters. I appreciate any advice.

After reading this one more time I think I need to clarify. The 2 splitters mentioned above and all associated cable are all outside so if an amplifier was installed it would either have to be outside or downstream of the two splitters.

"Would it be futile to add a signal amplifier just before my HDTV in the house?"

Probably not, it would be amplifying all the noise in the line also.

"Is there any signal booster that could be mounted outside and requires no external power source?"

No

"Does anyone have any recommendations on how I could optimize the signal getting to my HDTV?"

Call Comcast and see if they would charge you anything to deal with the poor signal to your STB, I'd let them deal with it if there is no cost involved.

"Would it be futile to add a signal amplifier just before my HDTV in the house?"

Probably not, it would be amplifying all the noise in the line also.



Just to make sure I understand, you are recommending to not put in an amplifier right before the tv due to the noise in the line, correct?


I also have one more question, for an HD channel, will signal degradation cause the image to look grainy or will it casue pixeling? I know with analog channels you get snow with a poor signal, but what happens with HD? I was watching Two and a Half Men last night and the picture looked grainy, but when Rules of Engagement came on it improved so I am wondering whether it was a broadcast issue or a signal issue.

You should have plenty of signal strength splitting cable twice. If not, either your splitters are bad, your cables are bad, your connectors are bad, or something's wrong on Comcast's end. Start with the splitters. If you bought the gold ones available in Home Depot, that's most likely your problem right there.

However, if you really wanted to amplify, there certainly are CATV amplifiers which don't require an external power source. You'd need to get a weatherproof one or mount it in a weatherproof box, and you'd need to ensure that the first splitter was the type which passes DC power.

What splitters are recommended, what should I be looking for? I did buy the "Ideal" brand splitters from Home Depot (they go up to 2.3 GHZ, which I know is higher than needed).

the ideal brand splitters are fine. the only splitter to look out is the 3 way splitter since they come in different loss ratings.

5.5,5,5.5,5.5
3.7,7.5,7.5

I saw these devices on eBay and was wondering if anyone can explain exactly what function they serve, how they work, and if they are worth the ~$6-8 they cost.

DIGITAL CABLE BOX FILTER & AMPLIFIER FOR HD CATV DVR

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Prevents TV interference from cable-modem output signals
Rugged weatherproof construction for indoor/outdoor use with internal O-ring and nickel-plated precision machined brass
Blocks signal entry into upstream low-frequency (5 - 54MHz) path
High Sub-band rejection (>-40dB) and low insertion loss (<0.5dB)
This high pass filter is designed to filter out interference to your TV signal caused by cable-modem output signals.