Cable splitter

[VeeDubbs]

Hey guys -

Quick question. I have one cable outlet where I want both my xbox 360 and cable box. Will I experience any performance issues if I split that one outlet to both my cable box and cable modem?

 

[k1pp3r]

Get yourself a decent Bi-directional splitter (coax cable right?) you will get a tad bit of signal loss, but its nothing to worry about really. Unless you have really crappy signal

 

[Milenko]

any splitter degrades a signal, it just depends on how much.

if you get an amplifier (that is cable modem compatible) - you will boost your signal to the strength it was coming into your house.

i don't know if one split is even enough to make a difference. you could ask your cable provider for a splitter/amplifier. i use an electroline 8 port drop amp which boosts the signal coming into my house to 8 different tvs and a modem - but for you, it's probably overkill.

anyways, no, i don't think you'll notice a difference if you're splitting to just two devices.

 

[PanzerBoxb]

Check the signal strength with your cable modem first. The nominal range for most modems is +5db to -15db. In my experience you never want your signal down below -7db. A typical splitter will drop the signal by about 3.5db. If that will drop your signal too low, you will need either to run better cable or get an amp.

 

[Methodical]

A cable splitter will drop signal proportionally to the number of ports. a 2 port will cut signal in half, 4 port means each port gets 25% of orginal signal level.

Doesn't really matter until you do multiple splits, however.

 

[TechieSooner]

I have so many splits at this house it isn't funny...

Splits around all over the place (not even sure where exactly- I can count at least 3 splitters off the top of my head throughout the attic).

Running 4 TVs and the Cable modem, no issues at all.

I agree- any splitter cuts it down. Just make sure all your connections are solid and you shouldn't have issues.

 

[marley1]

Ideally you want the Cable on the first split. Sometimes you can get away with a bunch of splits sometimes the signal is way to low to let it work properly.

I try to always put it on the first splitter.