I recently had my cable company out to take a look at my system because my DVR was acting a little weird. This guy really seemed to know what he was doing as he went down to my basement and figured out that I was probably having a lot of poor signals because there were a lot of old splitters down there.
He told me that with one line coming to the house, I would be really pushing it with four connections. I have five, so he recommended getting a signal booster to help things work a little better.
I have no experience with these so I am not quite sure where to go. He said the one that my cable company sells is close to $100 and I am pretty sure I can do better than that.
If anyone has a recommendation for me I would truly appreciate the help. I currently have 5 connections (4 TV's and 1 PC with wireless network). I normally check mySimon.com or eBay for prices but if you know of a SUPER deal, that would be even better!
Thanks!
ONE MORE THING - Does anyone know if you can DVR pay per view events? I normally just capture regular TV shows on my computer but my wife's sister and her husband are coming over next weekend and they want to see the PPV. My computer room is not nearly as comfortable as my living room is. I figure if we are going to shell out the money I may as well get it on DVD! Thanks!
If your cable company cant get enough signal to service 5 outlets the you are too far from the tap or the drop is bad. You should have about 10 dbmv at the splitter. I would put a 2-way in, one leg feeding the modem, the other feeding a four way splitter. If you dont have enough signal after the first splitter then add an amplifier. In answer to your other question it would depend on whether or not the PPV is copyright protected, which it probably is.
I appreciate the feedback but I am not sure what a two way is. Are you referring to a splitter? If so what frequency should I get? The line that goes into my computer room has a 5-1000MHz, 110dB EMI ISOLATION 2-Way spliiter on it (REGAL #ZDS2DGH10) that splitts the line between my computer and my DRV box. Since the line is already split, will I see any different result if I do what you are asking me to do?
Do you also have a recommendation for a amplifier?
when they came to take care of me the comcast guy said the signal "seems a little week". he installed an amplifier at no charge. seems to me it's the cable companies responsibility to get a strong signal, not yours. after all you are paying for something you expect to work.
I have Comcast as well. They are scheduled to come out to look at my NEW DVR again tomorrow. I guess I will ask him if it is a different guy.
My digital cable/DVR box is in "Broadcast Mode" and it won't allow me to watch On Demand programming on it at all. Of course the tech deaprtment when you call in has no ide how to fix it. They know how to reboot the box and that's it
Bill- In my area we provide an amp at no charge if you have 4-5 sets and we cannot provide adequate signal. If you have more active sets then that we will provide an amp but there will be a one time 25.00 charge for it. ( although this charge is seldom seen as the techs carry amps and usually just install it as part of a routine service call)
Also an 8-way looses 11db on all legs. If you have a decent signal at your home you shouldnt have a problem. Especially if they are analog. Your reverse will suffer though if you have any two way devices on those ports. There arent too many homes that have the forsight to homerun all outlets to one point though. It usually isnt the amount of outlets but how they are run that kills the signal.
CableTool is right.I don't normally charge to install an amp.Some homes here in Baton Rouge though are being built with 8-10 outlet.Then a few more are added later!
The Comcast tech came out and discovered that I had it hooked up wrong. I had the cable going from my VCR to my 8300 and then to my TV. I did it this way because I like to capture some TV shows on my computer. The picture I get from my VCR has no pixelation in it so while I am DVR'ing the show as a backup, I capture from the VCR. It looks like I am going to have to run another line and split the TVs on one line and leave the computer on one line.
