Can you use a DIRECTV splitter to split an antenna line?

Folks, I’ve never tried to mislead you. I’m a DIRECTV fan, for about 20 years now. I think it’s still the best entertainment value out there. Yeah, there’s streaming and there’s antenna TV and there’s… I don’t know, reading a book. But I think if you look at the value of what you get from DIRECTV Satellite, it’s really off the charts. Satellite TV is more reliable than internet, and it gives you about ten times as much content as antennas. Add niceties like a DVR and you can see why I like it.

But yes, I get it. Times are tough and your entertainment dollar has to go further. Everything’s getting more expensive. That’s why a lot of folks choose to get rid of a traditional pay-TV subscription and go to streaming only. Then, many of those folks realize they miss local channels. So, they put in an antenna.

That’s when they look at all that old DIRECTV wiring and wonder if it can be used to distribute an antenna signal throughout the house. Coax cable is coax cable, right? And all those splitters are all in place to get signal from room to room. Can’t you just use what you have?

Yeah, kinda, but you shouldn’t. 

First of all, using a DIRECTV splitter for an antenna is really a waste of money. Antenna splitters just don’t need to be built to the level of quality that DIRECTV splitters are. But let’s pretend for a minute that you already have the splitters. Is there any harm in using them?

Surprisingly the answer can be “yes.” DIRECTV splitters are specially designed to let frequencies pass from port to port. This could make no difference, but if any of your TVs is bouncing back interference due to a bad cable, it won’t stay isolated… it could affect every TV. In general, despite their high cost, DIRECTV splitters are about the worst possible solution for splitting TV antenna signals. I hate to admit it, but getting a splitter at the local drug store is going to work out better for you.

But I have to admit…

…all that said, it works. I know, I’ve tried it in a pinch. If you have plenty of DIRECTV splitters sitting around and no antenna splitters, look all I can say is it works. I didn’t see any ill effects from it. I wouldn’t have set out to spend that amount of money on something like that but it didn’t seem to hurt anything. Signals were about 3dB lower than a straight run, which is on par with what I see with other splitters.

So, if that’s what you need to do, I wouldn’t worry about it. You might take the time to get a cheaper splitter at some point and maybe give those DIRECTV splitters a rest. Certainly, if you are having problems with picture or sound on any TV, you’ll want to replace those splitters.

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About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.