Which jack on the splitter should I connect the modem to?

[Xylob the Destroyer]

I'm not sure which jack I should connect my modem to.
The splitter has 3 outs - two are labeled at "Out -3.5dB" and one is labeled as "Out -7dB".

I've googled up "cable television signal" and "cable television signal to noise ratio" but haven't found much - perhaps I'm not using the correct search terms?
I did find this link with some good info - http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/signal.html#goodlevs - but it still doesn't really answer my question...
based on

Downstream SNR: should be 30 dB or higher: the higher the better. As the SNR decreases below 30 dB, performance will steadily decrease, and errors will increase. The cable modem might stop working properly if the SNR drops below 23.5 dB

I would think that maybe the -3.5 would be better as the numbers above are expressed as positive integers and not negative
Maybe?

Or am I comparing apples to oranges here?
Is what's on the splitter a 'power' level opposed to a signal level?

Any on topic help would be greatly appreciated. Even if it's just better search terms to use that what I've tried.

TIA!

[Xylob the Destroyer]

Oh yeah - the splitter is in the basement and the "IN" is connected directly to the cable coming into the house from outside.
The "OUT"s will all be connected to the in-wall cable throughout the house.
1 goes to a Pace TDC577X DVR.
1 goes to the Mororola a SB5120 "Surf Board" modem.
1 goes to a cable-ready TV.
no other devices or splitters in between etc etc.

[gadgetguy]

Do you have the Manu/Model of the splitter? The labels should be referencing the signal loss through the port, but without the specs on the splitter itself, it's hard to say for sure why the one port would show a greater loss than the other two. When I had cable internet, the incoming cable went to a two port splitter, one side continued to the rest of the house for TV, the other side went to a filter, then on to the modem. I'm guessing that your splitter incorporates the filter and outputs on the -7db.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

hmmmm....
didn't think of that.

brand name = evolution
model = EVO1-SP-3 Digital Splitter, 5-1002MHz

[Xylob the Destroyer]

found it: http://www.nco-corp.com/docs/NCO%20EvolutionDigitalSplitterSpecs.pdf
Too bad all of it is right over my head...

[gadgetguy]

OK that's not what I thought it might be. It's simply an unbalanced splitter. The labels indicate the mean loss through the each port. In general, use the highest loss port for the shortest cable run.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

The highest loss would be the one labeled "-7dB"?

[gadgetguy]

The highest loss would be the one labeled "-7dB"?

Yes