I'm very happy with this device. Looking at the reviews, I think those who are unhappy with it do not understand what it does:
An amplifier like this is not a magic box that will convert an unusable signal (say from a digital TV antenna) into a usable signal; rather it solves a very specific problem.
Suppose you have an signal that is usable at the point of the antenna, but is NOT usable at the point where you want to use it. This might be because you have a long run of coax cable between the antenna and your TV/converter box/tuner/whatever; or it might be because you want to split the signal to feed it into multiple TV/tuner boxes/etc. If this is you situation, the device works very well.
If your problem is that your signal is too weak to be useful directly at the point it comes out the antenna, even before it goes through any long runs of coax or splitters, then no amplifier in the world is going to help you out. What you need is to acquire a better signal. Depending on your circumstances, this might be done by
- changing the angle/orientation of your antenna
- moving it around the room (so it's nearer windows or away from metal or whatever)
- moving it higher (if necessary going outside the house and onto the roof)
- or getting a larger antenna with a larger collecting area. 4 PORT CABLE TV / HDTV / DIGITAL AMPLIFIER INTERNET MODEM SIGNAL BOOSTER INTERNET AMP
Updated 11-1-09
One year later the unit is still working great. It is even in the attic cooking in at over 100'F in the summertime. The local TV stations have converted to digital and finally completed their broadcast antenna upgrade. I now have receive 65 digital broadcast stations mostly without any problems. Occassional pixelation or signal loss on the marginal stations, but I am not sure if it due to rain, fog, or wind. This is about 4 times more stations than I got before. I could not be happier. Who needs cable.
Original review
My digital signal was getting too weak using a splitter. Every splitter cuts the signal in half and my cable runs are 50-100' each. I wanted to share 3 TVs on my attic antenna. Installing the PCT-MA2-4P in the attic next to the antenna, using a power inserter solved the problem. Just like each TV had is own 12' long antenna. Many distribution amps require an AC outlet at the distribution amplifier and I didn't want to install a duplex outlet in the attic. The PCT-MA2-4P with the power inserter allowed me to have the power supply at the TV set and distribute power over the coax cable. This solved my problem perfectly.
I had a new house that included a GE Smart Center with an amplifier for both cable and satellite. After the purchase of a new HD TV it was obvious the cable signal to the new TV that was 75 feet away from the GE amp was terrible. The cable signal coming into the house at the GE amplifier was good. Replaced the GE amp with this PCT amplifier and the picture was just like having the TV hooked up where the cable entered the house. It was an incredible difference and the PCT amp is literally 1/15th the size of the GE amp it replaced. The unexpected bonus to this purchase is the internet connection. The cable modem is now hooked up to the one port on the PCT amp that boosts the signal in both directions. It has speeded up the internet connection considerably. This product far exceeded my expectations which warranted this write-up. Be advised it only works with cable not satellite systems.
Although I have faily decent signal at my house I decided to buy this amplifier. Reason: While the signal was "decent" I had trouble once I hooked up all of the appliances. The Cable company was going to boost the signal but after several attempts I decided it would be worth the investment and not bother with the cable company.
Although I don't have a signal meter, I figured out (from the cable guy) that the cable box had a built in digital meter which display signal strength on your TV! You just have to know to push the right buttons. I have a "Scientific Atlanta - Explorer 4240 HDC" cable box. On this box you will have to hold the "select" button down for 3-4 seconds, release it and then press the info button. You will get a display of your cable signal strength on TV. To exit just press the exit button. So here is what you will see amoung 52 other pages of information!
Tuner | 585 MHz | 2 dBmV | 3 to 4/Sec (avg)
FDC | 74 MHz | -10 dBmV | 114/Sec (avg)
RDC | 23.5 MHz | 51 dBmV | 0 uSec
The above data was when I did NOT connect the amplifier. After I connected the amplifier I got the data below:
Tuner | 585 MHz | 10 dBmV | 30/Sec (avg)
FDC | 74 MHz | -2 dBmV | 0/Sec (avg)
RDC | 23.5 MHz | 56 dBmV | 0 uSec
Between the two it has shown a clear improvement of 8 dBmV for Tuner and FDC (Forward Data Channel), and about 5 dBmV for RDC (Reverse Data Channel). The last column is the error rate (I think). This actually was 30 at first but then dropped to 0/sec, making all of them 0/sec. I am assuming that must be good.
The TV reception on the analog sets seems less grainy than before. The digital is of course the same as expected. However one of the most compelling reasons why this is going to help me, is with the use of my PVR and the TV Guide in the PVR. I have a Philips PVR, which get's into a "bad mood" sometimes - stops recording and hangs. I recently have attributed this to a bad signal strength. Will have to wait and watch to see if this theory is true. However, now I am feeding it a pure source from the amplifier with no splits.
My cable internet seems to be fine, although I am not sure if the speed was improved.
So all in all, I have avoided many splitters with this and am assured of a great signal at all points and at all times. Now if I have issues, I can call the cable company and be assured that this is a major fault at their end, because my end cannot be better.
Last but not the least - the seller had included an additinal set of color printed instructions. That is truly appreciated. In fact their commitment to making sure I have the right instructions is what is making me write this lengthy review. Keep it up.
And one last thing. The 8-port amp, MAY not be a good buy in my opinion because the amplification is only 4db. So I would suggest you stick with the 4-port amp which has an amplification of 7db on paper and 8db on the product! One extra db for the customer. - Signal Booster - Splitter - Antenna Amplifier - Amplifier'
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