Which tv do you have and how old is it? ATSC tuners are getting better and more sensitive over time. In my case, I have a motorola cable box, LG tuner on tv and a Hauppauge ATSC tuner on my computer. All three sources see the same "noise". For example, our NBC station tends to have some pixelation during sport events. I see the same pixelation on all three tuners.
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Do cable boxes receive better signal than QAM tuners?
I have my cable split three ways in my house. Two of them are hooked up to a digital cable box and one is hooked up to my TV via the QAM tuner. When watching the digital cable boxes, everything is fine. But when watching the cable via the QAM tuner, there is frequent picture breakup and when I check the menu, the signal is low. But this is strange because my other two cable boxes seem to receive the signal just fine.
So, do cable boxes do a better job at receiving signal than QAM tuners?
So, do cable boxes do a better job at receiving signal than QAM tuners?
1 - 7 of 7 Posts
That's probably not a signal-reception issue, but rather an issue with the quality of the digital video that NBC sends out. Look in the HDTV Programing forum and you'll see plenty of complaints from all over about the quality of sports events on NBC versus CBS.
Quote:
Originally Posted by IDRick /forum/post/15397236
For example, our NBC station tends to have some pixelation during sport events. I see the same pixelation on all three tuners.
That's probably not a signal-reception issue, but rather an issue with the quality of the digital video that NBC sends out. Look in the HDTV Programing forum and you'll see plenty of complaints from all over about the quality of sports events on NBC versus CBS.
If you aren't using RG6 shielded coax to the TV, I'd try that. You also might ask the cable company to test your signal strength prior to where you are splitting it. If it is low they may put in an amp for you for nothing.
Maybe.
QAM tuners, just like any other electronic device, vary in performance. I would try switching the feeds to the two tuners, and see if the results change. You may have a bad cable or bad splitter output.
Quote:
Originally Posted by xraffle /forum/post/15397099
I have my cable split three ways in my house. Two of them are hooked up to a digital cable box and one is hooked up to my TV via the QAM tuner. When watching the digital cable boxes, everything is fine. But when watching the cable via the QAM tuner, there is frequent picture breakup and when I check the menu, the signal is low. But this is strange because my other two cable boxes seem to receive the signal just fine.
So, do cable boxes do a better job at receiving signal than QAM tuners?
Maybe.
QAM tuners, just like any other electronic device, vary in performance. I would try switching the feeds to the two tuners, and see if the results change. You may have a bad cable or bad splitter output.
It appears that the QAM tuners in you cable boxes are of a better quality and therefore can receive weaker QAM signals then the QAM tuners in your TV.
Ok, I removed one splitter from my cable line and the QAM tuner still is getting the same weak signal. Now, that is weird. Removing a splitter should significantly increase the signal, but it didn't. I'm now led to believe that my QAM tuner sucks. I'm going to upgrade to HD service sometime later this week. Hopefully, the tuner in those boxes are good and I won't have any problems.
1 - 7 of 7 Posts
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