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3. TV Antennas

How to Connect Multiple TVs to your OTA Antenna

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FIVE STEPS TO CONNECTING YOUR ANTENNA TO MULTIPLE TVs

Connect Multiple TVs to One Antenna
Free HDTV on Every Screen in Your Home

First of all congratulations! If you are reading this post you are ahead of the masses and have realized OTA (Over-the-Air) TV is an amazing alternative to Cable TV. Now you are looking for a way to connect an HD antenna to multiple TVs in your house.

1. Install your Antenna.

For some, an Indoor Antenna (like the excellent Mohu Leaf 30) will work, but for those who need to access a far away signal, an Outdoor Antenna (we recommend the Winegard Elite 7550) will be necessary.

If you are new to Antenna Installation, here is a video I put together on how to install the Mohu Leaf Outdoor Antenna:

If you are not sure what channels you will get, try using AntennaWeb’s lookup tool. And if you don’t know what subchannels are yet.. take a quick read.

 
Click Below to Learn More:
Indoor AntennasOutdoor AntennasOTA DVRs
Leafrsz_sky TiVo Roamio
Mohu Antennas are the #1 Selling Antennas on Amazon for a Reason!

2. Connect the Coaxial Cable to an RF Coaxial Splitter.

Once you have your Antenna all hooked up, the next thing you need to do is connect a coaxial splitter. This is an inexpensive device designed for splitting an antenna signal to multiple TVs. This lets you use one antenna for multiple TVs, so you can watch your local channels on every television in your house.

Worth noting here is that splitting the signal can result is a 50% drop in signal strength (3.5db). Furthermore, every additional split will continue to decrease the overall signals strength. So if you have a weak or marginal signal coming from your antenna, splitting it will have a negative effect. This also means that if you only need a two-way splitter, don’t use a 4-way splitter because you’re losing more signal strength with every unused output.
Finally the more distance the signal has to travel, the weaker the signal becomes. So fewer feet in coaxial cable, means stronger signal, equating to better picture quality.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; you won’t even know if splitting the antenna signal to multiple TVs will cause a problem – until you test it.
HOW TO CONNECT YOUR ANTENNA TO MULTIPLE TVs

Side Note: Be careful with 3-way splitters. Signal loss can vary substantially across the three outputs. Meaning if used, two TVs could work fine, while the third would suffer from a weaker signal. I did some research and found an example of a Splitter that addresses this issue: the Monster Standard RF Splitter.

Click here to read the reviews: “If you are looking for a 3-way splitter with an equal signal loss on all 3 outputs, for $12 this is a good value.”

To learn about a DVR for Over-the-Air TV – Read: Recording Over the Air Channels With No Subscription Fees

3. Connect Your Main TV

I don’t suggest connecting more than one TV at a time because if something goes wrong you won’t know where the issue is. As I eluded too above, we are trying to remove as many variables as possible from the installation. If done correctly, this method will allow us to troubleshoot any hiccups, more effectively.

4. Connect the 2nd TV

Once you got the first TV working as expected, then hook up your 2nd TV.  If successful go ahead and connect three TVs. And again, test the signal. If any point during these steps you notice that you have lost signal strength, it is time look into buying an amplifier. If this is not an issue, YOU ARE DONE, my friend.

5. Determining if you Need a Coaxial Amplifier

I don’t suggest starting out with an amplifier because some antennas come with built-in amplifiers that can easily support multiple TVs.

“The reason we want to first try installing amplifiers first is signal overload. If the signal is strong from the tower, too much amplification can overload the tuner and cause the TV tuner not to receive the channel. Amplification should always be seen as a way to improve reception, not installed by default.” Grounded Reason

When buying an amplifier you need to understand that there are two basic types:

  • PRE Amplifiers amplifies the signal received by the antenna into the down cable. It should not be anywhere but on the original antenna cable right at the antenna.
    • Amplify Adjustable Gain PreamplifierChannel Master Amplify Adjustable Gain PreAmplifier – By design, this PreAmplifier can boost signal strength on any Indoor or Outdoor Antenna on the market. Professional grade, easy to install, TV antenna amplifier.
      Buy Direct
  • DISTRIBUTION Amplifiers allows you to redistribute that signal through multiple outputs while maintaining the same signal strength.
    • HOW TO CONNECT YOUR ANTENNA TO MULTIPLE TVs Tip: Read the Amazon reviews on the Channel Master 3414 4 Outputs Distribution Amplifier. This thing is a beast!
If you would rather not deal with an amplifier all together, the Sky from Mohu, for example, is small, powerful outdoor antenna that can provide uncompressed HD broadcast to multiple televisions in a home (also has a range of 60 miles by the way).

Going Wireless

If you would rather go wireless, and stream your OTA signal across your entire home, to every WiFi connected device, then check out the HDHomeRun. 
HDHomeRun Connect diagram
If you have already connected multiple TVs to your antenna, what suggestions do you have for us? What did I miss? Cheers!