Improving TV Reception
 

Last tech-related question for the day. Today I subscribed to Comcast High Speed DSL, in which the house gets its internet access from the cable outlet. We were given a splitter, one side for DSL, the other for cable TV. I currently have the router and modem set up in my room, including the splitter. The problem here is that my TV's reception took a noticable drop in quality, and it was pretty crappy to begin with (the cable is hooked to my VCR, in which I then hook to my TV).

The quickest and most obvious solution is to move the router downstairs, although I do like the benefit of having the guaranteed fastest connection right now (though it's a pretty powerful setup, so it shouldn't really matter). I still would like some options on how I can improve my TV's reception though, via antennas or whatnot.

Whenever you split a cable connection like that, you lose some signal. Or rather, you share it. How many other times is it split in your house?

As for how to improve reception, if it's cable TV adding antennas will not help, since you're not receiving any of those signals via "airwaves." The only solution to help you get better quality is to not split your cable. You might try bypassing your VCR and seeing if that helps at all...

I believe there's only one more splitter in the house (in my parent's room), but I thought about your idea. The problem is I think my room requires the cable to be hooked to my VCR in order to get the same channels as everyone else. Don't ask me why, I never could figure out cable televion out.

Well, if your TV is cable ready then you should just be able to go into the TV's menu and find the option to auto program all your channels. It's usually in "setup" or something similar. After that it goes through all the channels it can and anything with a video signal is saved to the memory.

You can add a amplifier, which can improve the signal quailty

Got anymore details on that, and maybe some links?

I think I tried the autoprogram before, and either missed some channels or got a lousy reception without it being hooked to the VCR. But I can't say for certain until I try it (tommorow, too tired now).

You don't need any links, it's called Radioshack*, or any store like it.

All you need to get is an in-line amplifier or two. I don't know whether placing an amplifier before or after the splitter will give you the better results, though.

*(I don't entirely recommend Radioshack, because they overcharge for products.)

Well, I'd at least like to see how much they go for (online or instore).

Well, the major shops are selling them for about $30 a pop. If you want to look around a bit yourself, what you're looking for is a bidirectional in-line cable/coaxial amplifier or bidirectional RF amplifier.

I guess Radioshack is my best bet; I could always return it if it doesn't work, but I would like to decide within the week whether to keep the router in my room or not.

On a slightly related note, I discovered that my other problem (posted in Help Thread) is called Banding.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...hlight=banding

Seems I need a ground isolator to fix that problem. Know anything about that (also looking for what place has it for cheapest)?