Whether you are obtaining TV Signal from an Antenna, Dish or Cable TV connection its very likely that you will want to split that signal to feed more than one TV. The problem with Splitting the TV Signal to attach another Television is that each split will degrade the signal. This can end up being so bad that a very strong signal at your antenna won’t even sync with your TV Tuner.
When considering your wiring layout you should normally place your antenna over your bedrooms this way the splits to each bedroom will be the shortest runs.
Your next most important split is normally to the living room however if you have a DVR or Media Center computer recording shows this could be your primary concern so that all your shows record best.
When running cable you need to keep your runs as short as possible.
You also need to keep the number of splits to a minimum.
If you have 5 rooms that need TV Signal then you should purchase a single splitter that can have single lines run to each room. What you don’t want to do is start at one end of the house with a single splitter then continue to add more splitters as you snake the coax around your home. This will end up costing you so much signal that the final rooms might not even get signal.
Remember that each split you make is just about as bad as cutting the signal power in half.
Also when choosing a splitter you want one with the fewest number of ports to meet your needs. If you have a 8 port splitter the internal wiring of the splitter reduces power to each port… It does not matter how many cables are actually attached.. those 2 open ports you’re not using are still getting their fair split.
If you find your requirements reduce your signal too much you can replace your main splitter with a distribution amp. Distribution amps are made to be used within the wiring layout to compensate for loss of signal due to splitting and from wire length.
Distribution amps have different power outputs based on the number of ports … just like your splitter. A Distribution amp with 2 ports will be twice as strong as a 4 port and a 8 port model is basically a straight even trade and will give you only about 3db output per port which compensates just enough to keep the input the same power as the output.
Final Note
Using splitters is fine if you reduce the number of them to only the exact number of splits you need to serve all your needs.
If you have 9 rooms in your house that you want to wire for Cable or Antenna but you know only 3 of them will be used then get a 4 way splitter and keep the other rooms disconnected.
A distribution amp can also give your signal a little bump but be careful about that.. you shouldn’t amp your cable modem.. you should make sure any amp or splitter is bidirectional.. and remember too much amp can be just as bad as too little signal power.. it will push strong signal above the top range that your TV Tuner can recognize.