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Old 18-Oct-2010, 9:43 PM   #7
Tigerbangs
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It's easy to assume that more gain=better preamplifier, but that's really not the case. When selecting a preamp, we need to make several calculations: ie, does it have enough gain to power all the TV sets in the house without signal loss, and to cover our line and splitting losses. Digital signals, however, do not benefit from MORE gain once the minimum signal requirements of the tuner are met.

More important than gain in this situation is the preamplifier's noise figure, which is critical when determining how adversely a preamplifier's internal noise will affect the signal-to-noise ratio of the incoming signal. Digital TV signals must have a minimum signal-to-noise ratio in order for the tuner to be able to decode the signal. Any noise added by the preamplifier reduces the available signal-to-noise ratio available from the antenna. Good preamplifiers have low ratios, but there are differences between preamps, and, in your situation, where you will be scratching for all the signal that you can get, the added noise of a preamp is critical.

In your case, both preamplifiers have more than enough gain, even to run 4 TV sets from your one antenna, and both preamps will allow you to run very long lengths of coax cable without losing signal. In this case, however, the noise figure of the Channel Master Titan 7777 is very slightly lower than that of the Winegard AP-8275. The Channel Master is more expensive, in most cases, however, and it's primary benefit over the Winegard is that it offers separate inputs for VHF and UHF antennas for those people who intend to use separate antennas. For your application, the potentially lower cost, and the fact that you will be using only one antenna, may swing the decision to the Winegard, but both are very good preamplifiers.
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