TWC just installed cable in my house, 1 room w/ HD receiver and internet with 2 other rooms cable only. I changed the wire to move the HD receiver/modem to a different wall location and noticed the splitter used was 3-way with two outputs at 8db and one at 3.5db. The HD and modem are both on the 3.5db output; the two cable-only rooms are on the 8db outputs. I'm not a cable installer, but I was under the impression that the db indicated signal strength. Logic leads me to believe the HD/modem should be on the highest-strength line for bandwidth. Please school me on this.
The numbers are referring to the signal loss after the split. Unless you have really weak signal coming into the house you should be fine on any outlet that is active with the TV. Depending on how it is setup the modem could have a little trouble if you move it but with only 4 lines you should be fine. Edit...your signal strenght will not effect your internet speed, it will either work or it won't.
Splitter loss indicated is how much loss there is thru the splitter. For example if you have +10dbmv going into the splitter, then you will have +2dbm coming out of the 8dbmv ports, (10-8=2)and 6.5dbmv coming out of the 3.5 port, (10-3.5=6.5) This also works the same in reverse as the cable modem has to transmitt upstream. Generally modems are connected to the lowest loss port to prevent them from transmitting too high or at or near their max transmit level. Which you dont want. You also need a minimum signal hitting the HD receiver, thus they are usually connected to the low loss port. However it will probably work OK on either port. A 3 way splitter, is internally a 2 way splitter feeding a 2 way splitter, so 2 of the legs will have twice the loss of the one unbalanced legs. TH
This is not correct. Cable modems work properly only in a narrow range of signal strength. The faster the speed, the narrower the range. A Docsis 3 modem will only work properly when the downstream signal is within -5dbmV to 5dbmV. Too hot of a signal is actually worse than too weak of a signal, because it can literally burn out cable modems/converter boxes. The cable modem also wants a fairly tight Signal to Noise Ratio. Amplifying or boosting the signal also boosts the noise. So, if the service is working properly and everything is within cable company specs, you will only cause yourself a bunch of very frustrating, potentially expensive problems by screwing around with it.
Thanks all for the input and clarification. Wasn't trying to re-engineer the system, just trying to change to a different cable outlet. New outlet was connected to the same 3.5db output on the splitter. Does the cable modem work better with a dedicated line? Currently the HD receiver and modem split off the same cable.
