[mythtv-users] HDHomeRun Vs. PCIe tuner card?

[Eric Sharkey]

On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 10:55 AM, Brian Wood<beww at beww.org> wrote:
> A "powered splitter" is simply an amplifier with an attached hybrid splitter.
> Whether it is the best solution for you would depend on whether you rally
> need an amplifier

When I moved into my current house about 4 years ago, I was feeding a
Series 1 TiVo, a PVR-150 in my mythtv, a cable modem, and a VCR.  The
signal was just barely watchable and getting a ~$20 4-way powered
splitter helped quite a bit but I found that I couldn't get the cable
modem to work reliably through the powered splitter.  I ended up using
a two way unpowered splitter to split out a line for the modem, and
then the powered splitter to  feed everything else.

Today, I've disconnected the VCR, added a DCH-3200 cable box and an
HDHR using both tuners.

What I've found is that the powered splitter seems to be actively
harmful to the HDHR, cable box, and (when I tried it) the digital
tuner in my TV.  I still use the powered splitter to feed the PVR-150
and TiVo, but everything else goes through unpowered splitters.  For
some reason, it seems to really mess up digital signals while
significantly improving the quality of analog signals.  A more
sophisticated splitter might have different results.

Eric