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Topic: Geek Question (HDMI Splitters?)

Tea Bagger
Sarge
Member # 97

Member Rated:

posted 09-26-2011 12:13 PM

I was very excited when I purchased my big screen TV last year. I located the perfect wall to mount it on, and ran a new electrical outlet and HDMI outlet behind the mount. I was very pleased all the wires were nicely hidden.

I did not think about the DVD player needing an addtional HDMI cable back to the TV. This sucks. I do not want any stinking cables hanging in front of the wall. Every time I switch to DVD I have to pull the HDMI cable out of the cable box.

Do any of you geek fellas know if there is an HDMI cable capable of 2 outputs?

Thanks.

Posts: 1320 | From: IP: Logged | Registered: Jun 1999 | IP: Logged

Cacophonous
Sarge
Member # 19

Member Rated:

posted 09-26-2011 01:19 PM

They make splitters but I don't see how that would work having two different signals coming into the same port on the TV.

I would yank it down and run a second cable myself. When I did my wall mount TV I ran every possible cable thru wall for future.

You could try something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882754017

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Posts: 5571 | From: Yes | Registered: Jun 1999 | IP: Logged

WillyTrombone
Sarge
Member # 27

Member Rated:

posted 09-27-2011 04:02 AM

HDMI is a two-way protocol and the design specs unfortunately do not accommodate anything other than a 1-to-1 connection scheme. That said, it can work in some limited circumstances so some manufacturers produce y-cables. My understanding is that passive splitting will generally allow you to run one signal to many devices but will usually not work properly for selecting between different inputs for one display. If it's going to work, it will probably require that not more than one of your input devices be active at any given time, and might still prevent proper 2 way handshaking.

For your application, you would definitely want an active, powered splitter. Something like what's available here: http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10113#1011301
They'll effectively disconnect the unused input signal so the TV doesn't get confused and 2 way communication doesn't get disrupted. They'll also allow for longer cable runs since they're amplified repeaters. Also, I'm not 100% positive (so ymmv) but I think some models will actually strip the HDCP data from the signal. (and the only situations I can think of where this would be helpful is if the signal is to be viewed on or captured by a non-compliant device like a PC)

[ 09-27-2011: Message edited by: WillyTrombone ]

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Posts: 2844 | From: the edge of forever | Registered: Jun 1999 | IP: Logged

Drako
Sarge
Member # 39

Member Rated:

posted 10-01-2011 12:27 AM

I used to run one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015YWKYY/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000BNSIC8&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0RWJE1MNR8 RWYFN79NQN

It's unpowered, but I had no problems at all with it, other than the fact that you have to walk over and push a button to switch devices.

My laziness fairly quickly pushed me into a more elegant solution. Nowadays I just route everything through my receiver and let it handle the switching. I have my Blu-Ray, DVD-recorder, sat receiver, and XB360 HDMI's all plugged into my main receiver, with a single HDMI out to the TV. Good receivers aren't cheap though

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Posts: 928 | From: Northern California | Registered: Jun 1999 | IP: Logged

WillyTrombone
Sarge
Member # 27

Member Rated:

posted 10-02-2011 07:10 PM

Good point, Drako. The switching part is more important than the powered part. Better switches tend to be powered because it's safer but I've hot swapped hdmi leads enough to doubt whether soft switching is really necessary. The connectors themselves establish a common ground first like USB does and well designed circuits won't leave any inductors attached to a breaking point without any flyback protection.

And a receiver probably is the best way to go. Remote controls are nice.

[ 10-02-2011: Message edited by: WillyTrombone ]

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Posts: 2844 | From: the edge of forever | Registered: Jun 1999 | IP: Logged

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