Quote:
|
Originally Posted by 2sheds
electricity doesn't really work like that. in either case (3-way splitter or 2 2-way splitters) all three end points get the same level of signal. the reason splitting the cable degrades the signal is because of the interference and loss introduced into the signal by the splitter itself. using a 3-way splitter would result in one split in front of each endpoint, and they all would experience about the same signal degradation. using 2 2-way splitters would result in one split in front of the cable modem (same as above), but now two splits in front of the other two endpoints. the net effect would be zero on the cable modem, but roughly twice as much interference on the other two.
whether you'd notice a difference in either case is doubtful, but i'd recommend a single 3-way splitter.
|
Electricity really does work that way. Splitters don't introduce interference or loss, unless you use a piece of crap splitter. Interference problems arise when the signal to noise ratio on the line drops. The loss comes from dividing the signal and sending it down more than one pathway. A good 2-way splitter will have a 3 db loss for each outlet, using some algebra and formulas this equates to each outlet getting 50% of the total power/signal.
If there wasn't a cable modem I would recommend a 3-way splitter so that all three taps would get an equal level rather than the 50%,25%,25% that you would get with 2 2-way's, but there is a cable modem and it benefits from having a strong signal so 2 2-ways are better suited.