Picture quality - Satellite w/coax versus cable

[beacher]

I am currently a cable customer due to the flexbility of having all channels on all TVs via the prewiring in my house. After seeing the digital clarity on a friends satellite system, I now find the static on the cable TV annoying. My biggest inhibbitor to switching to satellite is the complex wiring task to get the signal to 5 TVs throughout the house. I am contemplating the dish 522 to get 2 channels throughout the house (and PVR) without increasing my TV bill.

My question: The 2 larger TVs I want a good picture will require running coax from the satellite box (I do not want to undergo a major rewiring project at this time). The forum posts that describe configurations with coax frequently talk about picture quality issues running with coax. If I am going to have marginal pictures on these TVs due to the coax, I would rather stay with cable. Can anybody describe their successes or failures getting picture quality that surpasses cable using coax runs (one big screen TV will have a 40' coax run, the other will have a 100' coax run)? While I understand the PQ will be substandard to S-Video or RCA connections, how can I calibrate the degradation over coax?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[charper1]

I would install a multi-sat dish and run the RG6 into the attic or basement and into a distribution box and have a seperate RG6 run into each room. I am not a huge fan of the RF box method.

 

[leomarion]

On average the signal strenth on the output is around 10db. Attenuation or signal loss over the 40' run will be insignifigant and the loss to the 100' run will be around 3db which should not cause any quality problems. This is of course speeaking in terms of standard definition.

 

[beacher]

Thanks you for the answers! I am ready to sign up.

 

[dfergie]

Installers hooked my up my Brothers 36" Sony with coax when he went from so called "digital"cable to D* with a tivo the change in pq was like night and day... I showed him how to hook it to the svhs port and made it even better.