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I have been meaning to find an answer to the question forever. What is the point of using high quality cable from the wall to the cable box, tv etc if the cable running through the house is crap? Now I run monser cable from the wall to the surge protector then to my HDTV cable box then monster componet cable from there to my tv. Now I do this because I was told I should, but is it truly worth 70bucks to shield the signal before its decoded when its been running for miles and miles through crap cable?
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It's always important to shield a video signal. However, your question as to the value, the value is in the eye of the beholder. It's up to you if it has value. Given the standard industrial grade cable to your house, from your wall to the HD box could certainly be that. I can see value to a higher grade cable from the HD box to your video display. As to whether you need M...... that's a judgement call, not one for me to make.Doug
"I'm out there Jerry, and I'm loving every minute of it!" - Kramer -
A fair question indeed, and IMHO, one not limited to just your TV cable. You'll find plenty of folks who claim you'll need high quality, aftermarket power cords (read expensive) to get the most out of your components too. How three feet of 10 AWG copper is supposed to counter the negative effects of miles of copper between the power plant and your home is almost laughable. In most cases, but certainly not all, higher quality (and naturally, higher priced) cable will be better shielded, keeping out stuff that might be running through your room, but I seriously doubt a few feet of high priced cable from the wall to the box will make a difference. Audioholics has a bunch of interesting cable articles on their site, but most of them deal with speaker cables.Comment
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I'm no expert here, but my understanding is that certain parts in components such as amplifiers can emit electro-magnetic fields which can be picked up by cables if not shielded against it. Once this "noise" enters, it contaminates the signal. Can't remember what was written exactly, but I once asked a similar question at another forum and several EE's chimed in supporting this possibility. I do know that, on occasion, I've had a buzz in my speakers that was alliviated by repositioning the cables away from each other and moved further away from other components.KeithComment
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Will,
No need to sweat it. Nothing special is needed for RF signals (which is what your cable TV feed is – sorry Lex.
). All you need is a decent-quality RG-6 cable; most anything off-the-shelf will have adequate shielding. I prefer the kind with screw-on connections rather than push-on, as the former insures a better connection.
Regards,
Wayne A. PflughauptComment
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Like Wayne said, shielding is key for RF cables. Those who find an improvement in their cable TV signal after swapping out a 6 footer between the wall and the box is likely seeing an improvement in the shielding performance. Any decent quality RG-6 with good connectors (properly crimped on) will work fine.
If the cable isn't shielded properly, not only will interference get in, it can also get out. Most issues with cable TV performance is a result of the cabling inside the house. One bad connector can adversely affect the performance through the entire house.Comment
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Adding a little to this: From what I hear, cable TV techs attribute poorly-terminated coaxial cables as the #1 cause of service complaints. Therefore “properly crimped” connectors is a key element. Off-the-shelf cables with molded terminated ends are usually safe, but anything with a manually crimped-on end should be suspect. To check its legitimacy, give the connector a gentle tug – it should not come off.Those who find an improvement in their cable TV signal after swapping out a 6 footer between the wall and the box is likely seeing an improvement in the shielding performance. Any decent quality RG-6 with good connectors (properly crimped on) will work fine.
If it does, don’t take the tact, “That’s great, I just ruined a perfectly good cable.” No, it was faulty to begin with – you just saved yourself trouble down the road.
Regards,
Wayne A. PflughauptComment
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