I Just installed a Television Tuner Card in my PC, and I have a problem...
 

I have a cable modem and I just installed a television tuner card in my PC. I tried to use a splitter to connect the cable to my modem and to the TV card. Neither cable nor the TV worked. If I connect the cable directly to the TV card it works fine, but of course, no internet. I just can't make both TV and internet work at the same time.

Any suggestions?

You may need a signal booster. I did. You can get one at radio shack.

You might also double-check how you wired the splitter. Generally they have diodes in them that make the signal one-way only. If you plugged your signal from the wall into an "output", that would create the situation you're getting.

Did your problem manifest itself the same way as mine? No signal to either the TV or the modem using a splitter?

How much did the signal booster cost?


Thanks to everyone for the quick responses.

I have no idea, but here are some of the random thoughts that popped up.

I was under the impression that when you access the internet with cable, you can't split it. I mean, the cable for the internet and the cable for the television are two seperate lines and the cable for the internet can't be split. At least, that's what the cable installer told a friend of mine when she signed up to justify running two bits of cable to her house.

Also, I'm under the impression that digital cable (I don't know if that's what you have, but I thought I'd add it) has to be split after the box. For instance, right now, I've got crappy Cox cable. The non-digital channels work fine no matter where I split the line, but the high dollar digital channels won't work on all the televisions unless I split the line after it runs through the box on top of the tv.

A signal booster only helps reception if you've already split a number of times. I have one line that runs to the house right now and I've split it to four televisions. Now as I was doing this, I noticed a discernable difference in picture quality as I continued to split it, but it was gradual. A booster did fix that. You said, however, there's no picture at all, which leads me to believe that a booster isn't going to solve the problem.

Cable internet can be split, and they do use the same lines. If you have the option for digital cable, you are already have the signal running through your lines. If you don't have the digital box on every TV, the ones that do not have the box will just have the analog stations.

Thanks to all of you for your answers.

Reading some of them, I think I might not have been clear.

I have a cable that is dedicated to my PC. I can successfully use that cable to get internet *OR* TV on my computer, which means that both come in on the same cable. I installed a two-way splitter, and connected one cable to my internal TV card, and one to my external modem, in which case, I get neither TV nor internet.

Does anyone else in TFP have a tv card in your computer? How do you make it work simultaneously with the internet? My tv card is a ATI TV Wonder Pro.

Thanks to everyone again for your answers.

Yea, I can vouch that you should be able to get this set up to work. In the process of me trying to get everything up and running, I seem to remember that I tried using a signal booster... only to have it screw with the modem's ability to get a connection. So that might be an issue.

I'm no expert on signal processing, but you might want to look into a better-quality splitter. My guess is that a poorly designed splitter can result in poor signal output, but a better designed one with a good frequency range will work fine.

One last random thought. I noticed that my cable modem, when near the cable box for my TV, can cause some interference for my cable TV recpetion. So maybe try moving your cable modem (and/or your router) a few feet away if it's near by.

I just thought of something... you say you have a dedicated cable line for your internet connection, right? Which implies you have a dedicated line for your cable TV. Is it out of the question that you split the line for your TV, then have one of the outputs go all the way to the TV card in your computer? That way your cable modem is guaranteed to have a solid connection. Might not be feasible, depending on how your place of dwelling is oriented, but that might be the ideal solution.

Ok, I bought a new splitter, and it didn't help. Now I'm considering buying a signal booster, but it costs about $40.

jhkayakr, did it completely solve your problem?

Ask your cable company if you can try one of their splitters. All the splitters I've ever bought have had major signal leakage issues, and have had bad picture on the TV (I'm running the same setup you are - - ATI AIW card and cable modem off the same line). . .But when I used the cable company's splitter, it worked fine.

Thanks shakran, I'll give them a call.

good post shakran. thats what happened to me. the wiring in my townhouse complax is total shite. and when i split my cable it got messed....mind you, its split 3 ways. im using 2 splitters from the cable company, and everything is working fine, on top of having poor signal strength in the first place...

Just from experience signal booster wouldn't help your problem, atleast not a 40 dollar one anyway. The downside to the signal boost is that it just amplifies whatever signal you give it - which usually means alot more noise as well - plus for cable modems to work correctly you would have to buy a two-way booster which is even more expensive. Cable companies splitter is the best way to go, that or a good splitter with the higher frequency rating.

It solved my problem, but there is also some type of noise filter on the line. M y cable is probably split about 10 times. Its odd that nothing works for you. It sounds like you don't even have a signal at all. True?

Jhkayakr, I have a good signal if I only connect the modem OR the TV tuner. I don't have any signal after I install the 2-way splitter-- in which case neither my internet nor my TV tuner works.

My money is on the splitter. See if you can get a decent one from the cable company.

I got a splitter from the cable company. It didn't help. They're going to send a technician to my house on Friday. He'll probably either run a separate line or install a signal booster.
Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.

crappy cable
 

I've got the ATI Wonder Pro, and I ran into the same problem. All of the above replies are hitting the nail on the head, but, not really driving all the way into the wood (huh huh..he said wood..)..
First off, let's talk about where your signal is going NOW; crappy splitters do cause a great amount of resistance in the line, and, as a rule (of course) the more that you split the line from your original connection into the home, the less in signal strength you have delivered to each outlet (tv's, cable modems, etc..). (These signal strengths are measured in Db). Also, try to cap off any unused cable lines in your home, because the ends that are unused become small "transmitters", emitting that cable signal into the dead air, hence, causing more resistance in the whole circuit, and could actually collect odd radio signals, injecting interference into the circuit, too (bad lines on your tv, whining noises as cars drive by, etc, etc..) You can buy RG-59 (that's the cable type for most cable lines in your home) caps from Radio Shack, relatively cheap to solve this.
Second, let's talk about what to do when you have thirteen thousand television sets in the home, that the cable guy didn't install, but you did. That's totally legal, as long as you have done it "inside" of your home, and not fooled with the splitter that they have installed on the outside of your home...You now need to get a signal (db) amplifier. The Radio Shack equipment SUCKS (big, green, hairy, nasty ones). They're cheaply made, and do not contain the better made circuitry that eliminate the boosting of other shit like those odd signals that I spoke of earlier in this book...Ebay (spam, I know) has a dealer that stocks some pretty good deals on proffesional grade line boosters/splitters and caps (amoung other thangs) I've had good luck with his guy's equip..From here, you can contact him and tell him your prob, and he can help you out fairly quickly and honestly w/o any hassle.
Last, as you go to purchase one of these amplifiers, keep in mind that the tv connections in your house only "receive" a cable signal, whereas your cable modem receives and transmits a signal to and fro the cable co- If you experience drops in your connections over the internet, then your signal(s) to and fro the cable modem need to be amplified, as well- In this instance you will need to purchase a bi-linear amp.
Hope that I could help, but really, check this do0d for your problem solving needs..lookie here. (I have no affiliation with this cat, he's just helped me create some wonderful tv in my home!)

Hope that I could help.


-t

t0mmski, thanks for the great answer. I'll definately check all my splitters to make sure they aren't in need of caps.

Friday the cable guy came and installed a signal booster. Everything works perfect now. I have both TV and TFP at the same time. Now that rocks!
Thanks everyone for the help.
AS

No the cable internet does not conflict with cable channels, coaxial can have a multitude of stuff going over it; they don’t interfere with each other. They are in separate bandwidth of the system, until we get into ultra wide band, they don’t overlap at all.