I have a Samsung LCD HDTV in my bedroom. When I built my house, they forgot to take a homerun to the basement for both the Bedroom and Kitchen TV's, which are back to back. So, you guessed it, they installed a splitter. Now, I'm not sure of the specs on the splitter, but it may be a 900mhz. Anyway, I can watch all my channels in the bedroom with the cable connected via the coax directly to the tv. I have an extra STB (Motorola non-HD) that won't give me the programming when I connect it to the tv. (Guide will come up and say "channel will be ready shortly" or something) I'm thinking it may be the splitter, and/or a low signal, although the picture is fine without the STB. It is the furthest run in the house, and I have 9 TV's throughout the house plus cable internet. There is a signal booster in the basement, and all the feeds checked out when it was installed.

1) Should changing out the splitter correct the problem, (is there a reason the splitter will work direct to the TV and not thru the STB)???
2) Should I put an inline booster before the cable box feed????
3) Any other suggestions or comments?????

In order to use the program guides on the cable box, you have to:
1) have a bi-directional splitter rated from 50-900MHz
2) have a signal booster that meets the same specs.

use a 5-1000mhz splitter
make sure its a two way not a four way you'll lose more signal if you use a splitter with more outs than you need.
anything less that 1000mhz you will lose hd channels and some of the QAMs. ALso a signal booster may not be a solution if the signal is bad you will just be amplifying the noise. You prob just need a 1000mhz splitter.

You are correct for the 5 Mhz....

...anything less that 1000mhz you will lose hd channels and some of the QAMs.

I don't think there are any cable plants that use frequencies higher than 890MHz. I could be wrong...

A few things here. Some systems do go to 1000mhz (not mine). Those are physical channela 126 - 135.

Have you connected the box to a cable feed that is known to work to check it for functionality?

Is it a cable supplied box, as opposed to one you brought from another residence or picked up used?

You can temporarily replace the splitter with a double female splice to see if the splitter itself is the problem.

Well... in the 1st post, the TV works fine without the STB. Insert the STB and it doesn't work. So, that would indicate either A) no return path or B) the box is not "authorized".

Easy way to test... move the STB back through each of the 9 drops and see where it works. Or... add it at the first drop and work forward. If it doesn't work at the first drop, then it's a problem with the STB.

i take out 900mhz splitters everyday, symptoms are exactly what this guy describes. Its what i do for a living, you are right though most cable plants go to 890mhz/ but 900mhz splitters do cause this issue the radio shack ones do all the time. also a cheap radio shack splitter might be rated at 900mhz but begins to roll off in the 800mhz range, trust me i see it everyday.

Not saying your wrong based on your experience(s). But... are you saying that by not passing 900-1000MHz, that will keep the STB from passing all channels? That just doesn't make sense to me.

I could understand not passing some digitals that may ride on the 900+MHz frequencies, but not all channels.

As I said, put the STB at the first drop (no splitters) and see if the STB works. If it doesn't work, it's as I stated earlier. If it does, then add the splitter. If it stops working, then you know exactly what to address. Although, if it is in fact the splitter, you may have to replace them all if they are the same rating as the one in question.

Not saying your wrong based on your experience(s). But... are you saying that by not passing 900-1000MHz, that will keep the STB from passing all channels? That just doesn't make sense to me.

I could understand not passing some digitals that may ride on the 900+MHz frequencies, but not all channels.

As I said, put the STB at the first drop (no splitters) and see if the STB works. If it doesn't work, it's as I stated earlier. If it does, then add the splitter. If it stops working, then you know exactly what to address. Although, if it is in fact the splitter, you may have to replace them all if they are the same rating as the one in question.


Very good advice.