will RG-59 work for HD cable and 50mbps internet?

715 Views 8 Replies 6 Participants Last post by cichetti, Mar 31, 2015

DustyMonkey83

Discussion Starter · Mar 23, 2015

I currently have 4 HD boxes and 50mbps Internet through Comcast. Where I'm living now has RG-6 cabling and we get beautiful HD picture aND high speed. I am moving, and the new place has RG-59 cabling run throughout, from the mainline to the splitters to all TVS and modem. I will be activatin my service there and we will have 2 regular HD boxes, 2 HD DVRS and a modem/router. cabling is under house siding with just outdoor splitter exposed and landlord will not allow us to replace cabling. Tenants now have regular non HD cable and they have 30mbps speed which they get with no problems, and they do heavy streaming.

I am worried the RG-59 won't support all our connections. Everything is run off one outdoor splitter going into each room, except for living room has an indoor splitter for cable and internet line. The splitters are high quality.

Will I still get my speeds and will I get the same quality picture with this cable setup? As some have explained to me, the actual PICTURE quality will not change whether it be RG-6 or RG-59, but I may get dropouts and loss of signal. Is this correct?

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Digital Rules

· #2 · Mar 23, 2015

You will likely be fine, but if not the cable company should be able to install a booster if needed.

Our house was pre-wired with RG-59 for OTA TV & I can't tell the difference between the rooms I wired later on with RG-6. Even stations right on the edge of the digital cliff are equal to all rooms with a good distribution amp.

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ProjectSHO89

· #3 · Mar 23, 2015

The only real difference is greater insertion loss with the RG59 versus the RG6. As long as your signal powers are adequate, the RG59 will work just fine. Signal egress might become an issue i the shielding is inadequate so have the cable technician check for that, if you're able to.

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DustyMonkey83

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 23, 2015

Our concern is we don't know what frequencies the higher HD channels are at and that is what we watch. Since the cabling is under the siding of the house there is no way for us to replace it. If we convinced our landlord to let us get new cabling, would Comcast just run new lines or can they pull the ones from under the siding?

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Digital Rules

· #5 · Mar 23, 2015

Shorter runs are OK with RG-59 as long as the signal strength is sufficient. Most signal is lost from splitting, not the cable itself.

If there is a problem, Comcast will add an amplifier to compensate.

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RCbridge

· #6 · Mar 30, 2015

How long are your runs?

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RCbridge

· #7 · Mar 30, 2015

Cable loss at 1GHZ:

RG6 typical 6.5db per 100 foot
RG59 typical 8.1 per 100 ft.

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Ratman

· #8 · Mar 30, 2015 (Edited)

RG 59 Signal Loss (in dB) per 100 ft:

Loss at 50 MHz: 2.4 dB
Loss at 100 MHz: 3.4 dB
Loss at 400 MHz: 7.0 dB
Loss at 900 MHz: 11.1 dB
Loss at 1000 MHz: 12.0 dB

RG 6 Signal Loss (in dB) per 100 ft:

Loss at 50 MHz: 1.5 dB
Loss at 100 MHz: 2.0 dB
Loss at 400 MHz: 4.3 dB
Loss at 900 MHz: 6.8 dB
Loss at 1000 MHz: 7.0 dB

Post 2 makes sense IMHO.

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cichetti

· #9 · Mar 31, 2015

I doubt you could get those hack contractor CATV installers to take the time to do it, but I would request that you have them check and make sure all f-connex are changed out from crimp fittings to compressed fittings. if I were you I would pull off all the wall plates and at least check for yourself and then leave them off so some of the work is done when the installer gets there. I would also do your best to make a visual inspection of the coax runs as best as you can. those rg59 runs are notorious for having hidden and random splits.

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