Cable signal boosting

[AndyL]

It all started with trying to split the signal coming out of the wall to feed both my cable modem and the pci tv card. Well it didn't work, not enough signal I supposed,so I started poking around in e-bay for signal amps and saw all these different amps and accessories such as caps to end unused out lets.
I have several long runs coming into my house, the longest is coming into my office/library/comp room 200'+.
I was wondering if anybody has experience in signal boosting/grounding etc.
The best explanation I could find that made sense was from this company in their out side box auction-
http://cgi.ebay.com/KEPTEL-CG-1000-COAX-CABLE-TV-DEMARCATION-ENCLOSURE_W0QQitemZ5852565073QQcategoryZ39803QQcmd ZViewItem
Has anyone any suggestions on brands or signal amp level ie 15 db vs 25db+ and are all these items necessary/available cheaper or at a higher quality elswhere. I really don't want to spend a fortune on this setup but want reasonable results,
thanks for any thoughts,
Andy

[helpdeskguy]

you dont want to run the cable modem through an amplifier . the cable modem should be off the first split in the house any splits after that can be amplified. you said you have several long runs coming into your house. is this from the pole or ped to your house or from the demarcation point to the modem itself. also what type of splitter did you try to use 900mhz ,2ghz? . the lower mhz such as 900 will cause problems and should not be used.

[mholtum]

I got a cable amplifier for my room box when I had COX. I am now on DISH. Do you still need one? I can send you the one I have as I dont need it.