What Is a Loft Box?

How a Loft Box Works

• A loft box is de-combiner wall plate in which you plug in satellite, cable, radio, television and other aerial signals. The de-combiner wall plate separates the signals and directs them to the appropriate electronic device through a single coaxial cable. Instead of plugging several cables into the back of a television set or entertainment center, a lock box allows you to plug all the necessary cables into the small wall plate so you only need to plug one cable into the television set. A lock box also uses a second cable to return feeds back into the wall plate so you can distribute the signals to devices in other rooms, such as a bedroom.

Picture Quality

• If you have a high-definition television, you will need to use an HDMI amplifier splitter to continue watching movies and television shows in high-definition formats if you use a loft box. However, because radio frequency signals pass through a loft box unaltered, images from cable, satellite and DVD players are not affected. The type of loft you use should not affect picture or sound quality, but the ultra-high-frequency channels in use, as well as the type and length of the coaxial cable, can make a difference. Incidentally, if your television does not currently have good picture quality, a loft box will not improve the situation.

Before Purchasing a Loft Box

• To help determine the right type of loft box for your home, it is best to draw a sketch of the current locations of your satellite dish or cable box, televisions, DVD players and other entertainment system components. This sketch will help you figure out how to organize the cables and determine the types of additional cables and connectors you may need. In your sketches, include the location of electrical sockets and in-wall television antennas.

Considerations

• Long lengths of coaxial cables can be detrimental to signal quality. Every meter of cable will result in a 0.18 decibel loss. When there is a 3 decibel loss, you have lost 50 percent of the signal going into the loft box. Consequently, you may need to consider using shorter cables or signal amplifiers if you are interested in using a loft box system.