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Generally you'll find the most effective location for an amp is at the antenna. That's because an amplifier can only overcome the losses and noise issues of components on the output side of the amp. Amplifiers do not / can not 'pull' signal from the antenna, cable or air. If you don't have a good signal from the antenna, you'll only amplify the noise and low quality signal. Making it a noisy low quality signal more powerful is not an improvement, amplified noise is not going to help the tuner recover error free data. Then to make matters worse, even the best amplifiers add a bit more noise of their own.
Most digital TV signal meters offer some indication of signal quality... usually based on digital error rate rather than signal power level. So once you have added enough amplification to overcome the losses and tuner noise figure in your system, you'll see little if any additional improvement in meter readings. So there's little to be gained from amplifier gain in excess of the sum of cable losses, splitter losses and tuner noise figure. In fact excess gain invites distortion that interferes with reliable reception.
Bottom line, reliable reception is primarily a function of the antenna choice and it's location. Antenna gain is better than amplifier gain.
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