can anyone recommend a good splitter(s)

[night]

powered i assume. and the best way to go about it

cuz by the time my mess is done there will be at least 5 connections.
at the wall it goes 3 direction: modem, bedroom, and htpc which will be split into 3 for 2 150's and the cable box.
ive read something of higher frequency splitters (all ive seen say 900mhz) for digital stuff but not noticed any in stores.

[IVB]

Powered is definitely the way to go; i had to split my cable 3 ways, and a non-powered splitter sapped too much juice.

I just got the generic RadioShack powered one - worked fine.

[dbfresh23]

Have you tried a normal splitter and had problems with it? Regular cable (unlike directv) doesn't really have "powered splitters" - they have signal amplifiers. I'd suggest putting a splitter in place and then if you notice some sort of weak signal then maybe look into an amplifier. I know people with 4+ TVs and digital cable that don't have a need for any amplification. The cable company around here generally installs 1ghz splitters.

[IVB]

I tried that; putting in two pieces of hardware, a splitter and an amp didn't cut it. I tried a regular splitter, an expensive splitter, an expensive splitter and an amplifier, varying the location of the amp [before splitter/after splitter].

I spent gobs of $$ and time until I went down the powered splitter/splitting amplifier route.

For the extra $35, I'd just go ahead and buy the splitting amplifier route.

[naln]

I would recommend a multiport powered signal amplifier instead of just a splitter. You can usually buy a 4 port unit for around $15 and 8 port unit for around $25-30 or so-if you need bidirectional ones- it'll be more expensive. Bidirectional ones usually let signals pass back- like when using PPV etc.

[DFA]

I use professional grade GaAs drop-amp splitters.

Where the cable hits my house, I have a 4-way drop-amp. From there where the cable hits the Home Theater and HTPC stuff, I have a 8-way drop-amp of which 6 are in use and 2 are spare / future (spares are impedance terminated as they should be).

I use forward AND reverse path amplifying drop-amps. The most common drop-amps found are forward path amplifiers only and reverse path pass through only. Each split attenuates the reverse path just like the forward path.That's fine unless you have a lot of splitters / splits until enough attenuation accumulates for the reverse path such that things like the cable modem and STB's begin to crap out (can receive but can't send). Cable modems and STB's automatically adjsut their transmit gain to overcome splitter attenuation (yours as well as the CableCos) along the reverse path but these devices have an upper limit (can't remember the max dB value off the top of my head). 2 or 3 splits for a cable modem or STB should be no problem along an unamplified reverse path. Beyond that, good idea to check and see what the STB and/or modem is pushing (STB diagnostics screens will tell you, for example).

DFA

[paulbeers]

Someone may correct me if I am wrong, but isn't a "powered splitter" actually used to send power to say antennae's that are in your attic, etc? Otherwise, what we are talking about is a signal amplifier. The two are completely different beasts.

[naln]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

Someone may correct me if I am wrong, but isn't a "powered splitter" actually used to send power to say antennae's that are in your attic, etc? Otherwise, what we are talking about is a signal amplifier. The two are completely different beasts.

I think a powered splitter is just is a signal amplifier-
And I am not sure if there is any power sent to the antenna etc- just the signals that the antenna receives are amplified- with varying degrees of finesse by various splitters/amplifiers/ signal conditioners etc...IMHO...not very knowledgeable on any of this- just what I think it is....please feel free to correct this.

[Menehune]

A powered splitter is a splitter with an amplifier built into it. Typically the powered splitters have 2 or more outputs and one input.

A power inserter is typically used to send power thru the coax from inside the house up the coax to a downconverter or amplifier on the antenna outside the house. Inserters have two connections-"To antenna" and "To TV". Power leaves the "To antenna" side and goes up the cable to the receiver/amp. Think DISH receivers, C/Ku band satellite dishes, or UHF/VHF beams with amplifiers built into them.