HTPC issues...

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Using an Intel G860, 8GB ddr3, silicone dust hdrhomerun prime.

Problem is sometimes when watching TV, the picture gets really bad pixilated. Almost as if some of the pixels are being dropped/loss. Whats causing this?
 
Most likely noise and interference on the lines. Its not uncommon, but if it happens alot you would have to call the cable company to have a tech check the lines.

Could try changing out any old splitters to see if it improves.
 
I wilk just run new cable myself if thats most likely the issue. Thanks.

What kind of splitters should I use?
 
Skillz said:
I wilk just run new cable myself if thats most likely the issue. Thanks.

What kind of splitters should I use?
Click to expand...

I would use ones that would atleast pass 1GHz. You could try it, but I would suspect its not any of the cables inside the home.

But it doesn't hurt to eliminate those as a possibility.
 
qbanb8582 said:
I would use ones that would atleast pass 1GHz. You could try it, but I would suspect its not any of the cables inside the home.

But it doesn't hurt to eliminate those as a possibility.
Click to expand...

Well I'm wondering if I am trying to push too much through a single cable line then. The cables physically look to be in good shape.

From the box outside, I have it on a two way splitter. One side goes straight to the computer room, the other side goes to a 4 way splitter (or 3 way, I forget) that goes to the rest of the rooms in the house. The one in the computer room is on another 2 way splitter. One goes to the cable modem and one goes to the Silicon Dust HDHomeRun Prime TV Tuner, it's 3 HD tuners in one. So basically a single line is carrying 3 HD signals + the cable Internet signal.

What I was thinking it might have been was my network. How much bandwidth does a single HD stream consume? My network still passes through 10/100 equipment (the router) so it's limited to 100mbps. I would think that's plenty of room to handle 3 HD streams, but maybe it's not?
 
You're not "pushing too much through a single cable". It doesn't work like that at all. It's not like saturating a network connection.

From what you've posted, too weak a signal going to the Prime, but since the cable modem works, change out the cable to the Prime. And if that doesn't work, change the splitter too.
 
valve1138 said:
You're not "pushing too much through a single cable". It doesn't work like that at all. It's not like saturating a network connection.

From what you've posted, too weak a signal going to the Prime, but since the cable modem works, change out the cable to the Prime. And if that doesn't work, change the splitter too.
Click to expand...

So the only way to get "loss" on a cable line is via splitters and distance? :eek:

I will switch out the cable to the Prime and Cable Modem. I do have issues with it sometimes dropping my connection. Never thought they could potentially be related. I will also go with a better rated splitter, one that's at least 1Ghz. Any recommendations? I'm an Amazon Prime member BTW.
 
Skillz said:
So the only way to get "loss" on a cable line is via splitters and distance? :eek:

I will switch out the cable to the Prime and Cable Modem. I do have issues with it sometimes dropping my connection. Never thought they could potentially be related. I will also go with a better rated splitter, one that's at least 1Ghz. Any recommendations? I'm an Amazon Prime member BTW.
Click to expand...

Ok, in that case, with issues with the cable modem, you have a low signal level. Not a problem, easily solved.

Yes, correct.

Essentially you need to boost your signal a bit where it enters the house, at that first two-way splitter. I'd replace that first two-way with this:

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Ampli...id=1362142252&sr=8-3&keywords=cable+amplifier.

I have the same one. Works great with my cable modem and Ceton InfiniTV.

Also get a pack of these to cap the two unused ports.

http://www.amazon.com/Type-75-Ohm-Terminator-Pack/dp/B000AAN76Y/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_y

If, you stil have issues with the Prime, you can run separate cables from that amp to both the prime and modem individually to get a touch more signal to it.
 
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valve1138 said:
It comes with a little wall wart that you hook up to a power port on the amp. It uses a coax wire to connect the two.
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So you plug in to a wall outlet, then that runs coax to one of the ports on the amplifier for power? So I'll need to run another coax cable from a power source? I'm pretty sure I don't have any power sources outside near the box, so it will have to come from within' the house somewhere.
 
Skillz said:
So you plug in to a wall outlet, then that runs coax to one of the ports on the amplifier for power? So I'll need to run another coax cable from a power source? I'm pretty sure I don't have any power sources outside near the box, so it will have to come from within' the house somewhere.
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Correct. It's made that way to do just that.

They also have a power inserter adaptor for it that lets you send power over the existing line connected to output #1 if you don't want to run a new coax out there. The part number is in one of the pictures. Part # PCT-MPI-1G
 
valve1138 said:
Correct. It's made that way to do just that.

They also have a power inserter adaptor for it that lets you send power over the existing line connected to output #1 if you don't want to run a new coax out there. The part number is in one of the pictures. Part # PCT-MPI-1G
Click to expand...

Ah nice, didn't even notice that. I think I might go that route, since I don't really wanna have to run a second line. Running power through the same line as the signal shouldn't hurt anything I assume.
 
Skillz said:
Ah nice, didn't even notice that. I think I might go that route, since I don't really wanna have to run a second line. Running power through the same line as the signal shouldn't hurt anything I assume.
Click to expand...

Nope, it's made to do that.
 
Got it all hooked up yesterday. According to my modems status page, I've picked up 6 - 7 dB across the 4 channels on the modem. Going to see about redoing the cables inside the house (under the desk) since they are way too long for the distance they need to go. Solely to clean up the area a little. The power adapter, power splitter, two way splitter and tv tuner are all literally within' inches of one another. The modem is the only thing far away sitting on top of the desk.

Are some cable better than other cable, like networking cable or should it all be the same?
 
Skillz said:
Got it all hooked up yesterday. According to my modems status page, I've picked up 6 - 7 dB across the 4 channels on the modem.
Click to expand...


Skillz, how did you check the signal on your modem's status page?? I have a modem that is connected to a Linksys wireless router and I've logged into my router before, but I dont think that I've ever logged into the modem. Would I be able to check the dB level by logging into my router?? Should the signal be in a certain dB range to be considered a "good signal"??

I have recently had some dropped wireless connections and also some pixilation while watching TV. After reading thru this thread, I just figured that I'd check into this to see if I'm having similar issues.

Thanks in advance.
 
Depend son what modem you have. I have a Motorola Sb141 and the modems IP is 192.168.100.1. Simply entering that into your browser will load up the modems stats page.

Wont fix the dropped wireless connections.

Also I have not had a chance to see if the amp has solved the play back issues yet; it might take me a while before I can confirm since it doesn't happen all the time.
 
dar124 said:
Skillz, how did you check the signal on your modem's status page?? I have a modem that is connected to a Linksys wireless router and I've logged into my router before, but I dont think that I've ever logged into the modem. Would I be able to check the dB level by logging into my router?? Should the signal be in a certain dB range to be considered a "good signal"??

I have recently had some dropped wireless connections and also some pixilation while watching TV. After reading thru this thread, I just figured that I'd check into this to see if I'm having similar issues.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

For a SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) you want to be usually higher then 32. For your power levels you want it as close to 0 dBmV. If you go above -10 dBmV you could see packet loss and connectivity issues.

To see this you won't see it in ur router it would be on the modem page.

But dropping wireless and pixelated TV wouldn't be an issue with your modem though. But seeing signal and power levels on your modem could point you in the right direction.
 
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Yep, I was able to log into it using the 192.168.100.1 IP address. The modem is a Scientific Atlanta 2100.

Kind of interesting. I have logged into my router before, but never the modem. Here are a couple of screen shots of the different tabs.

Modem1.jpg


Modem2.jpg


Do these numbers look good?? From qbanb8582's reply it looks like they're ok. Just wanted to get a 2nd opinion.
 
Your transmit is too high, you really want it below 48. That amp is passive return which means it only amplifies the signal from the cable company to you not the return signal, you've got way too many splitters between the outside cable and your cable modem, ideally you want the modem to connect directly to the outside splitter with no other splitters in between, and if there has to be splitters in between then they should be active return amplifiers unless you have a really strong signal to begin with.

edit: You lose 3.5dB of signal for every 2 way splitter, around 5dB for a 3 way and around 7dB for a 4 way, so if you're really going through an extra 2 way and 4 way that's an extra 10.5dB of signal loss, which if you had the modem straight into the outside splitter would make your transmit around 42dB which is a much healthier signal.
 
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Thanks for the reply Dragon. I've actually posted the past couple of questions here and screen shots with my modem info (guess I sort of hijacked this thread, sorry Skillz). I could have started a new thread for my questions, but I figured that they were along the same lines so I just added them here to this thread.


I looked at my coax lines tonite and I dont think that I can get away with removing any splitters. My cable comes into my basement, into a 2 way splitter. One line goes to the main TV on the 1st floor, the other runs thru the 1st & 2nd floor walls into the attic. From there it goes into another 2 way splitter with one drop into the master bedroom for our TV and the other drop into the 2nd bedroom/office where the modem/router/desktop PC is located. So without some crazy re-cabling I think that I'm stuck with having these 2 splitters.

If I'm understanding right, I should be able to get an active return amplifier pretty much in place of the first 2 way splitter in the basement and that would increase the return signal?? Which should make the signal to my main floor TV, bedroom TV and modem better?? If that is the case, do you have any suggestions for a 2 way or 3 way active return amplifiers??
 
You really should add a 2-way splitter to the cable line that comes to your house outside, send one side to the splitters currently installed and then send a dedicated line straight to your modem. Very similar to how my setup was done prior to installing this amp. I had a dedicated line on a 2way splitter straight to the computer room, then the other side of that 2way went to a 3way that feed cabled TV to the rest of the house. Wasn't until later that I added a tv tuner in the computer room, so I had to add a splitter there as well. Then I got an amp.
 
valve1138 said:
Hows it working now?
Click to expand...

So far it seems to be doing good.

I haven't done any extensive uploading on my Internet, so I haven't had a chance to see if that gets dropped.

I did watch about 3 hours of live TV last night and didn't notice any pixilation happening. I'm not sure how often it happens for me to call it fixed or if it only happened on one channel or specific channels. So I'm gonna continue to check it out. I do have a bunch of recorded TV and for now I've only watched stuff since after I "fixed" the issue, I haven't watched anything before which I should do now to see what channels it occurred on.

Big thanks for all the help man. :cool:
 
Skillz said:
You really should add a 2-way splitter to the cable line that comes to your house outside, send one side to the splitters currently installed and then send a dedicated line straight to your modem. Very similar to how my setup was done prior to installing this amp. I had a dedicated line on a 2way splitter straight to the computer room, then the other side of that 2way went to a 3way that feed cabled TV to the rest of the house. Wasn't until later that I added a tv tuner in the computer room, so I had to add a splitter there as well. Then I got an amp.
Click to expand...


Right now I dont think that I'll be able to add a dedicated line up to my modem. Eventually the modem/router/desktop PC will be moved from the 2nd level bedroom (hopefully to the basement :D). And at that time, which will probably be 2 years from now, I should be able to add a dedicated line for the modem.

But for now, I think that I'm gonna try to add an active return signal amplifier. The one that Dragon linked to (here) is only a 1 port amplifier. I did a bit of searching online for 2 port active return amplifiers and I found a few (listed below). I'm assuming that I could just replace the 2 way splitter in the basement with a 2 port amplifier?? And that would give me an amplified signal to my main floor TV and to the run up to the 2nd level bedrooms & my modem?? But with this being something new that I'm looking into, I just wanted to double check here for some more [H] input.

I found this PCT brand 2 port amplifier, but I wasnt sure about the "Modem/VoIP Bypass"??
PCT 2-Port Active Return Splitter Amplifier With Modem/VoIP Telephone Bypass


I also found these 3, but I wasnt sure about this Tru Spec brand??
Bi-directional 2-WAY 1GHZ Amplifier with Active Return

BiDirectional 4Way 1GHz Amplifier with Active Return Quad output

CATV 2 Amplifier w/ Active Return

Thanks in advance for any input.
 
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The variable gain amp I listed will give you more flexibility as you can adjust it based on how many splitters you're trying to go through.
 
-Dragon- said:
The variable gain amp I listed will give you more flexibility as you can adjust it based on how many splitters you're trying to go through.
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Ok, that makes sense.

At first I was thinking it would be used as a replacement for the splitter off of the main cable line coming into the house, which would require it to be a 2 way splitter. But I would just use the one you listed ahead of that first splitter down in the basement. And then I would be able to adjust the levels for both TV's and the modem all from that one point.
 
I have found that cheap or bad splitters ANYWHERE in the house cause me to have connection and tv quality issues. My 2 cents real value=.5 cents.
 
Actually due to the shared connection setup of cable networks, a bad splitter anywhere in your house can cause your neighbors to have connection and tv quality issues. Honestly cable networks are horrible as far as clean signals go, they just have way way more bandwidth than telephone networks (and use some of that bandwidth for ECC features to compensate for the noise) and are way way cheaper than fiber networks.
 
So when I eventually pic up this PCT 1-Port Variable Gain Amplifier With Active Return would it be worth it for me to also get a couple of new splitter's to switch out the ones I currently have??

If so any recommendations on brands?? I wouldnt want to replace them and then just install another cheap/bad splitter in its place.
 
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-Dragon- said:
Actually due to the shared connection setup of cable networks, a bad splitter anywhere in your house can cause your neighbors to have connection and tv quality issues. Honestly cable networks are horrible as far as clean signals go, they just have way way more bandwidth than telephone networks (and use some of that bandwidth for ECC features to compensate for the noise) and are way way cheaper than fiber networks.
Click to expand...

Thank you for affirming this. I heard it once and wasn't sure it was true. It is amazing that the cable signal is as good as it is with people doing their own work.
 
Just a quick update here. A guy at work had a 1000ft roll of RG6 in his garage and he brought me 50ft or so earlier this week. I figured that if I got some coax tools & connectors I could make up a few custom length cables, which would make it easier to add in the signal amplifier and also to clean up the existing coax runs. So yesterday I made some Amazon purchases. I picked up that PCT 1-Port Signal Amplifier w. Active Return , a couple of 2-way splitters to replace my existing ones, I also got a cutter, stripper & crimper kit, I read some good things about this stripper (figured I couldnt go wrong for $6.99) and a bag of 50 RG6 Ex6xl coax connectors. Kinda like Christmas in March!!! :D

Once I get all the deliveries I'll replace my 2 existing splitters and add in the signal amplifier. Are there any "rules" on the length for a coax cable?? Right now the line into the house goes into a 2-way splitter, so when I add that signal amplifier in there I'll only need a short length of coax approximately 5-8 inches (which I can now make), but I dont want it to be too short and cause other problems.

The coax line to my main floor TV comes up thru the floor, eveuntally, I'm going to put in a keystone wall plate behind the TV with coax and a network line. So that coax and these tools will come in handy again when I change that stuff out.
 
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Ok, I'm a bit stumped here. I just received the PCT 1-Port Variable Gain Signal Amplifier With Active Return that Dragon linked to above. I also checked to make sure that that is in fact what I ordered from Amazon, but the Signal Amp that I received seems to be a bit different??

On the signal amp that I received I dont see anywhere to adjust the signal. The pic from the amazon site also looks different from the one that I received??


From amazon:

91cvEsL0FSL__SL1500_.jpg




What I received:

2013-03-27_23-45-59_345.jpg


I'm not crazy these are different, right?? The "variable gain" was the important part of the one that I thought I was gonna receive. Will what I received work?? I'm thinking that I should return it to get the one that I was originally ordering.

Thanks in advance for any input.
 
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dar124 said:
Ok, I'm a bit stumped here. I just received the PCT 1-Port Variable Gain Signal Amplifier With Active Return that Dragon linked to above. I also checked to make sure that that is in fact what I ordered from Amazon, but the Signal Amp that I received seems to be a bit different??

On the signal amp that I received I dont see anywhere to adjust the signal. The pic from the amazon site also looks different from the one that I received??


From amazon:

[SNIP]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OA_0lqlX82k/UVPAsT0mJbI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/x6YUZTVFaZ4/s576/91cvEsL0FSL__SL1500_.jpg[/IMG]



What I received:

[SNIP]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-x2fc5I7wnLI/UVO-lRnMjUI/AAAAAAAAA74/n2_QxmkDgg0/s800/2013-03-27_23-45-59_345.jpg[/IMG]

I'm not crazy these are different, right?? The "variable gain" was the important part of the one that I thought I was gonna receive. Will what I received work?? I'm thinking that I should return it to get the one that I was originally ordering.

Thanks in advance for any input.
Click to expand...

Captain obvious says you got a different part number than what you ordered.
 
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It does have a different part number, which means it's not what you bought but I would give PCT a call and explain to them your situation.

http://pctcorporate.com/contact-top.html

They may be able to tell you what you have and whether or not it's an upgrade to what you wanted or not useful to you at all.
 
David_Schroth said:
Captain obvious says you got a different part number than what you ordered.
Click to expand...


Glad Captain Obvious showed up when he did!!! Seriously, I was spending so much time looking at the amp to find out where to make the adjustments on it that I didnt even catch the part number right on the front!!! :eek: It was a long day yesterday (and I was up too late last night).



Skillz said:
It does have a different part number, which means it's not what you bought but I would give PCT a call and explain to them your situation.

http://pctcorporate.com/contact-top.html

They may be able to tell you what you have and whether or not it's an upgrade to what you wanted or not useful to you at all.
Click to expand...


Thanks Skillz, I'll contact PCT in a little bit and see what they say.
 
So the only difference between the "pct-ma-b1015-1a-vg" and "pct-ma-b1015-1a" is the ability to adjust the signal.


I contacted the seller thru Amazon and they said there was a listing error on their webpage. They agreed to refund my money. I asked about exchanging it for the "pct-ma-b1015-1a-vg" that I originally wanted, but they dont carry that item. It's good that they're gonna refund my money, but does it seem right that I have to pay to ship the item back to them?? It was their error, they sent me the wrong item. Why should I have to pay to ship it back to get the refund??
 
I'd keep it. If fr some reason 15db is too much of boost you can buy "pads" of varying db to drop the level down.

Or just throw an extra splitter in :p
 
dar124 said:
So the only difference between the "pct-ma-b1015-1a-vg" and "pct-ma-b1015-1a" is the ability to adjust the signal.


I contacted the seller thru Amazon and they said there was a listing error on their webpage. They agreed to refund my money. I asked about exchanging it for the "pct-ma-b1015-1a-vg" that I originally wanted, but they dont carry that item. It's good that they're gonna refund my money, but does it seem right that I have to pay to ship the item back to them?? It was their error, they sent me the wrong item. Why should I have to pay to ship it back to get the refund??
Click to expand...

IIRC, Amazon's policy is for the seller to pay shipping in cases like this. Ask them for a shipping label.
 
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