Will the TV Signal Booster Improve My Reception?

Will a TV signal amplifier improve my reception? This is probably one of the most common questions asked by customers, and there is never a "one size fits all" answer. So first it is important to try to understand the different products on the market and what they do. You'll then be able to make an informed decision about what works best for you in your setup, as this will vary from person to person.

Again, this is a very common question and the answer is simple - no difference. They function in the same way. Usually, this depends on the manufacturer's preference. However, from a technical point of view, there is no difference. They all start using a variety of different products to "enhance" or "amplify" your existing terrestrial signal. So a TV signal booster with 4 outputs will be the same as a TV amplifier with 4 outputs.

The word booster makes you think that maybe it will give your signal (which can sometimes be interrupted) the boost it needs to achieve stability. This is most likely the case, but the amplifier will do the same thing. When you're considering which type of amplification equipment to buy, the important number to look at is the amount of gain it will give you.

On any TV signal booster or TV signal amplifier, it will tell you what to expect from it. The Product will provide relatively low gain, high gain, or variable gain, which allows you to adjust the gain accordingly as needed. A variable gain amplifier or booster is very useful on tours because depending on where you are staying at any given time, the over-the-air signal you receive from your local transmitter is likely to vary greatly from one to the other.

The variable options mean you can turn the gain up in low signal areas and down in high signal areas... too much signal can be as damaging to your TV reception as not enough! In the absence of much technical and scare off DIY'er, too much signal from the distribution system can cause the picture to break because it allows a lot of other signals that you don't need to be injected into the system and thus cause the picture to go up.

Unfortunately, there is no signal meter to see exactly what you're receiving, so to speak, "in the dark" diagnostics are quite a tricky problem, and require a lot of trial and error to adjust the variable on the booster/amplifier control. If you're still having issues, it's always a good idea to ask the site owner in the case of a tour, as it's a problem they've had before.

If you're watching TV and the signal keeps dropping, or there's actually no signal at all, that's a sign that you need some kind of amplification in your system.

Throughout this article, we've been discussing gain and the different levels that can be achieved with different products, but why is gain so important? All our TV signals are now digital and therefore more sensitive to interference. Whereas in the past, if you had a bit of a weak signal, you would see "snowflakes" or blur on the screen, but the picture was still viewable, with digital the picture was either there or not. This ambiguity now translates into a broken picture or a complete loss of the picture.

There are all sorts of things that can interfere with our TV reception, from our surroundings i.e. trees to other man-made issues like cell phone masts, and 4G/5G interference. To alleviate these problems, we can use what we know about amplifier gain to help us. So, in areas of poor reception, a high gain amplifier might be the best option, however, with too much gain, you'll add all the other "noise" along with it, which will interfere with the reception your channel is looking for.

That's why in the RV/TV community, a variable TV signal booster is often the best option. Using these types of products means you should be able to get a good TV signal wherever you go, whether it's right next to a transmitter on the Isle of Wight or buried in the deep forests of Dorset.

The above describes the use of TV signal amplifiers in detail. If you want to know more or want to buy TV signal amplifiers, please contact us.

Haoze is a professional custom antenna accessories manufacturer. Our products are TV signal amplifiers, CATV amplifiers, CATV splitters and splitters, satellite splitters, CATV wall sockets (terminal boxes), and other high-quality CATV system accessories, audio video connectors, etc. We have our own engineers, so we can design and produce products according to customers' requirements. All products are produced by automatic machines and thoroughly tested to ensure the quality of our products.