How to connect digital cable to a 2nd tv?

Question

I have the cable coming out of the wall, then into the Digital cable box, then to my TV. So, I have digital cable.
I want to hook up cable to a 2nd TV in my other bedroom. Of course it wouldnt be on the digital box.
Can I just get a splitter and run a cat5 cord to the TV in the other room, and it will get non-digital cable TV?
(The line from the wall is already split once with a splitter, to go into my cable internet modem.)

Answer 1

You can put a splitter on the line going to your cable box and connect one output to your cable box and the other to your second TV. Use RF coaxial cable. Make sure the splitter is a bidirectional type for cable use. If the splitter drops the signal power too much, your cable box might have problems, or the second TV might get snowy. If tht happens, you'll want to put an amplifier, again a bidirectional type, before the splitter.

Answer 2

Digital cable service is *compressed*, and needs to be decoded by the cable box before it can be viewed on your TV. However, I've read that some cable networks aren't 100% digital and mix both analog and digital on the same wire, with the over-the-air (local) broadcast channels remaining in analog. So you might be able to get these channels without the box. Try bypassing the box and connecting directly to the TV and see if you get anything.

Also, your connection to the second TV must be via Coax cable, not CAT-5 - that's only for computer networking.