Customer Reviews

Electroline EDA-FT08300 8-Port TV Signal Booster/Amplifier with Active Return Path (Retail Package with 5-Year Warranty)

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

NOTE: ELECTROLINE RECENTLY DISCONTINUED THE Electroline EDA FT08100 8-port TV Signal Booster/Amplifier with Active Return Path AND REPLACED IT WITH THE Electroline EDA-FT08300 8-Port TV Signal Booster/Amplifier with Active Return Path (Retail Package with 10-Year Warranty), AN UPDATED MODEL.

The Electroline EDA-FT08300 is the NEW workhorse of the Electroline product line. It provides bulletproof performance and reliability with GUARANTEED compatibility to all cable services.

How does it work? The EDA-FT08300 incorporates two high quality amplifiers inside one package. One amplifier boosts the forward path (for TV reception and modem downloads) while the other amplifier boosts the Return Path (used for interactive services and modem uploads). By having both high quality amps in one package it becomes the perfect solution to problems with cable modems and TV reception inside your home. It is the only product on the market that can handle the full power required to support cable modems, and it's design (inherited from the EDA-FT08100) has a proven track record of over FIVE years of favorable operation and reviews.

This is not so much of a review as some guidance to understanding whether or not this product is for you. CableTVamps has sold the EDA-FT08100 product since it was first introduced by Electroline back in 2005. We are Electroline's longest running retailer, so we have a lot of experience with the use of Active Return amplifiers.

First, if you are using a Satellite system - just walk on by. None of Electroline's products are for use with satellite TV, and you should not expect it to work when hooked up to your satellite system. The product will get damaged if connected to satellite, and will block the satellite signal.

Second, if you have an ANTENNA and are looking for an HD amplifier, this is not a good choice. The FT08300 should only be used for Cable TV. There are lower cost options for pure HD amplification like the Electroline EDA-2800 Eight Port Cable TV HDTV Signal Booster/Amplifier (Retail Package) or Electroline EDA-2400 Four Port Cable TV HDTV Signal Booster/Amplifier (Retail Package). In addition an Active Return amplifier should never be used with an antenna.

Third, Active Return is generally only needed when you get up past 4 connections. When you have fewer connections, the Return Path Insertion Loss (which is your cable modem's enemy) is generally not a problem. Cable converter boxes and TVs are not as sensitive to return path problems, so in general you can get by with a less expensive product unless you already have problems with your interactive services (pay per view, On Demand). When you have a cable modem and a bunch of other connections, The FT08300 provides a guaranteed way of resolving TV picture problems and keeping your cable modem happy.

We always suggest to our customers to do a little homework and see if they need The EDA-FT08300. The way to find out if you need EDA-FT08300 active return is to get your cable modem's signal levels. We can't share any links in our review, but if you Google CABLETVAMPS CABLE MODEM you can find our User Forum page with detailed instructions on finding out the health of your cable modem. If your cable modem signal levels are healthy without this amplifier installed, you will probably not notice any major improvement in internet speeds or reliability.

The FT08300 is safe to use with all of your cable services - you just take out your splitters, hook up everything to the amp, plug it in, and enjoy faster Internet and a better TV picture.

Lastly you need to keep things in perspective. If the picture or cable modem problems are caused by cabling issues inside your home, an amplifier might not help. In order to achieve the best results the amplifier must be installed as close as possible to where the cable comes into the house - before splitters and cabling have a chance to degrade it. We have generally found that amplifiers help in most situations - but if your purchase does not help resolve your problems we can help you - just email us.

Bottom line: it works.

Comcast recently made changes which forced us to put digital boxes at every TV. This is not the FCC switch from analog to digital (which was over 2 years ago ??) although that's what Comcast tried to convince me. Until recently we've had one TV with a digital box (including DVR) from Comcast, one TV with a built-in cable tuner which only received the basic channels, and a new TV which had a built-in digital tuner. Suddenly, our 1-year-old TV with the digital tuner was worthless, without an external box. What Comcast actually did was to encrypt all signals, which forces law-abiding bill-paying cable customers such as us to have a tacked-on box. Now we have one remote for changing channels, volume or power on/off but we still have to use the TV's original remote for all other features. But many features of the TV are defeated, such as 'deleting' the channels that we'd prefer our kids not to see while channel surfing. Thanks a lot, Comcast. We were ready for "full digital" with our new TV, but not fully-encrypted "Comcast" digital.

Worse, many channels clipped in and out. Sometimes the video would pause and restart. Sometimes we just got a message that the signal was interrupted. This occured on all 3 TV's - even the one with the Comcast HD/DVR box. I tried various cables and checked connections multiple times, because Comcast kept blaming the problems on wiring. No explanation, of course, on why the TV with the DVR box (no wiring changes at all) suddenly experienced problems also.

Among the other issues (some mentioned briefly above) it appears that the hardware Comcast forces us to use is garbage. We had not problems with the TV's built-in tuner, until Comcast disabled that method. Yet the boxes they provide apparently demand a much stronger signal AND created probelems with the box that had been working before.

Along comes the Electroline signal booster. We have home runds from each outlet to a central distribution box for our CATV signal. We've had 2 splitters: one provides a dedicated run to our broadband modem and the other side for TV's. That second side is split for each TV location. These were high-end splitters, and we never had a problem with digital services. But apparently, not good enough anymore since we need to insert the Comcast converters (junk).

Inserting the Electroline drop amp cleared up everything. No change in broadband speed; it was already blazing fast and I don't think there's anything further I can do on my end to boost speed. And the digital services at our main TV works just as it used to, before the converters were added to the other two. Now all 3 TV's have a clear signal. And if there are any future problems, I can be 100% confident that if Comcast ever has to send a truck that they will find the problem on their end.

If it wasn't for the great internet speed, I'd dump Comcast. No way I'd pay for TV from them, with their pitiful service and unfair practices. But at least the Electroline did like it was intended, and compensated for Comcast's garbage.

If you have a bad signal coming into your home, call your cable company. Neither this amp or any other amp in the world will take a bad feed and turn it into a good one.

That said, if you have a good signal, but want to feed up to 8 devices including TV, DVR, Cable Modem, etc., this is exactly what you need. Evey output is as flawless as the input.

It's a heavy-duty unit built into some sort of molded metal case, and uses a transformer with a cable TV connector on it, so that the power feed is done with sturdy coax instead of cheesy thin wire that breaks at the first tug.

I purchased this product 3 ½ weeks ago to replace a non-amplified 4-way splitter and fix issues with poor CATV picture quality and intermittent access to on-demand services. I opted to pay a bit more for the active return path feature that this product incorporates. I use it with Time Warner HD digital cable on-demand system with a broadband cable modem for my internet. It works extremely well and has not caused any problems with on-demand features, internet access or the VPN that I run to a corporate network. TV channels that previously would show with a message of `tuning - inaccessible' now display properly and pixilated and frozen screens are a thing of the past.

The product seems rugged and very well made. If I had to complain about anything it is the extremely tiny slotted holes for attaching it to a wall and the fact that no screws are included in the package. C'mon, for [...] you could include two 5 cent screws to mount it with. Note that you will need #6 screws or smaller to fit through the narrow slots. It would have been nice to have a wider slot so a beefier screw can be used in situations where you need to mount further from the wall to avoid incoming service wires and conflicts with the wires attaching to the 8 ports. Keep in mind that the ports are on the side as opposed to the front face like some other amplifier manufacturers so a little space from the wall helps your knuckles when attaching to the 4 ports closest to the wall.

As others have mentioned, you will need a short (or long depending on proximity to power outlet) length of coax cable with standard F-Type connector ends to run from the power transformer to the power input port. Most people have some of this around the house but make sure you have an adequate wire length along with the screws mentioned above, before starting installation or you're likely to need to stop mid-way for a trip to the hardware store. For a quality install, if you're not planning on using all ports, F-Type termination caps should be on your list as well as a length of bare copper wire to attach the grounding screw on the device to a ground source (copper plumbing line, steel structural element or existing electrical ground wire). I had all the miscellaneous accessories for installation handy, but if you're not a packrat you may have a bit of inexpensive shopping to do.

The bottom line: It works exactly as indicated, all my previous picture quality and on-demand communication issues have disappeared and the best part is I now have eight ports instead of four. I do not have VOIP or cable phone service so I cannot comment on how active return path works with those features. As I recall, the instructions addressed how to install for a cable phone situation.

Okay, by reviewing this product, and needing this many connections, yes we are TV Junkies.

We have 6 TV's, one with PIP (7 Connections#. One Internet Modem. For a total of 8 connections.

I had rewired every TV in my house. In order to get the needed number of connections, I replaced all the old splitters with new 1GHZ splitters. Most of the TV's reception was OKAY, however, the higher HD channels pixelated from time to time. Added to which, this pixelation caried over to Comcasts DVR service. I was at my wits end as far as reception and quality of signal. I had contacted Comcast to see if they offered anything for multi-tv homes such as ours. They had nothing to offer except sending a technician out. #Don't get me started about their service#

So I did what any good techie would do... Googled it. I read an interesting article about what happens with splitters, etc. The article concluded by stating that not all drop amplifiers solve all problems. Also, the Drop Amplifier needs to match the type and frequency range of service you are getting from the cable provider. An example would be, trying to amplify bass #Low Notes# in a car stereo, and setting the crossover to amplify 20KHz #High notes# instead of 20Hz #Low Notes#. If you amplify the wrong frerquency, the result is no change in quality.

I found this drop amplifier, which matched the number of connections needed exactly, and was correct for Comcast's operating range. Added to which, it amplified the return frequency as well. The return frequency supports Internet Modems, On-Demand, Pay Per View, etc from Comcast.

The hookup was easy - less than 30 minutes (I also took the time to label the wires). Power was easy - power pack placed in outlet, and used one of the jumper RG wires that was no longer needed from all the splitters.

Results: Great Product! Excellent signal to all TV's, DVR, On-Demand, and Pay per view are fully functional. Internet is great as well. WOW, now if only Comcast knew about this.... They would porbably rent it to you for 5.00 per month...

This brand/device seemed one of the better in the market, and it did not disappoint.

My best surprise is that the cable modem (Comcast) seems to be faster responding then with the previous cheap booster I had.

The build of the device feels sturdy and looks like it can withstand a hit. Hooking up took me less then 2 minutes, it is all very self explanatory.

Skip all the other amps on the market. This is the one you need for supplying signal to all the rooms in your house from the one line in from your cable company. Works great with the On Demand feature of your cable box as well as with your cable modem. Have installed one in my house as well as my parents. Works Great and well worth the money.

I bought the eda-ft08300 from Amazon in the summer of last year. The unit is a bit expensive, but I think the cost is diminished by not having to buy several 1ghz splitters and install them all over the house as you add runs. This unit looks good, works great, and allows you to terminate all runs to a single distribution area. I have all my network and phone gear in one place, so it is nice to also have a single point of termination for coax.

Each drop has great coax signal -- whether it be cable modem, Digitial TV, or HD.

I general contracted the building of my house in 2007-2008, and installed all of the low voltage wiring myself (cat5e for phone, cat6 ethernet, and RG6 cable), big DIY job in a 2500 sq. ft. house. What I failed to do was take into consideration that I would need a good cable amplifier for supporting all 12 cable runs (some in excess of 125 ft.) throughout my home. I initially used 4-way and 8-way On-Q passive splitter modules with a 20dB CE Labs Prograde amp out front, amplifying the line-in from TWC, but signal degradation across those splitters would still be drastic enough to cause reception issues (artifacting and drop-outs) with my HDTV cable box, especially among the higher-frequency HDTV channels.

After contacting the knowledgeable staff at Cable TV Amps, it was clear to them that I needed an active return-path amplifier as my cable modem upstream power was a whopping 58 dBmV, meaning that the cable modem really had to work hard in order to return RF signal to the cable company. Additionally, the 20dB bi-directional Amp (with passive return path amp) was not doing enough to boost the signal to my HDTV cable box. My HDTV cable box was suffering both from weak tuner signal and every high return path (RDC) power, 58 dBmV, and this was with a 20dB bi-directional amp installed out front.

Once I received the EDA-FT08300 8-way amp (with return path amp) from Amazon, I quickly got rid of the passive splitter modules, the CE Labs 20dB Prograde Amp, and plugged in the new Amp. Installation was a breeze, the Amp comes with a power adapter but you need to either make your own RG6 coax cable or buy one long enough to reach the power adapter from the Amp, no big deal. After getting read-outs from my cable modem and my HDTV settop cable box, my RDC (return path) power level was reduced from 58 dBmV to 44 dBmV, tuner signal strength when from 1 dBmV to 8 dBmV, and the signal to noise ratio on my Cable Modem was improved by 8 dB (from 31 to 39 dB), a huge improvement. I have coupled the EDA-FT08300 with the EDA-UG2402 for the additional 4 ports that I needed, which is specially designed to properly distribute an already-amplified cable signal.

If you have a large, centralized cable installation with 4 or more long home-runs (50-75 ft. or longer), you NEED the EDA-FT08300, especially because of its active return path 0-loss amplification. High return path power readings from your cable box or cable modem can cause major performance issues, and prevent your cable box from receiving automated updates from the cable company. Since installing the FT08300, I have absolutely no HDTV reception problems or artifacting, and my cable modem now operates within cable company specs without any problems whatsoever. The EDA-FT08300 is truly a high-end amp, and worth its weight in gold for any large in-home or commercial cable modem or cable TV installations.

This is an excellent product. Not only did it fix my weak cable signal it also boosted my cable internet signal as well. This amplifier also allows my digital cable box to receive updates from comcast without any problem. I highly recommed it.