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HDMI Splitter Question

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joeyrupption

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Jun 5, 2007
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Paddock home theater gurus:

I’m planning a basic 4K TV and 1080p projector setup for my family room. I want to use the same AV receiver to handle everything and will not be watching them simultaneously.

Is it easy enough to run one HDMI output from the AVR into a powered splitter and have everything play nicely? Or will having a 1080p component connected to the AVR downgrade the 4k signal to 1080p as well?

Should I spring for an AVR with two HDMI outputs just to avoid the potential problems of a splitter? I’m using basic 5.1 components otherwise and don’t need the horsepower of a even a mid-level AVR to drive them.

All of the AV forum posts I’ve found seem outdated and do not address the 4k/1080p dilemma directly enough for my liking. I just recall reading about potential problems in passing.
 
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KyCatFan_rivals45723

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May 6, 2002
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Don't know if this is very helpful or not. Seems to say it causes problems if one of the tv's/projectors is a lower resolution than the other and both displays are being used at the same time, then it will put both at the lower resolution. Doesn't say if you use one at a time what happens.

If you have one source, and want to send that source's signal to multiple TVs, you need an HDMI splitter. Maybe that TV is in a different room, or maybe in the same room you have a TV to watch during the day and a projector to watch at night. A splitter will duplicate a signal and send it out through multiple HDMI cables. Some splitters are also switches, with multiple "ins" and multiple "outs." We'll talk about those in the next section.

If you want two displays going at the same time, keep in mind the maximum resolution for all is whatever the lowest resolution display is. So if you have a 4K source, a 4K TV and a 1080p TV, the 4K source will only send 1080p. The splitter won't convert the signal to 1080p just for that TV.

So I really don't know how it will work but there are some really cheap options out there that might be worth trying for little investment. This one below is only $12 and it actually says only 1 output is used at a time. There's a button to push to switch between which output you want.

Edit
Can't get the Amazon link to show up right but it is called Dotstone HDMI Switch. There's a cheaper one by the same company that is like $9 but don't know if it is only 1 output at a time (probably is).
 
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A

Ahnan E. Muss

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Nov 13, 2003
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What are your video sources going to be? Cable? Satellite? Streaming? Blu-ray? Blu-ray ultra? Are any of them actually going to be true 4K?
 
C

catlanta33

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Aug 27, 2013
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Never used a splitter for 4k. Your signal is only as good as device handling it so nothing 4k will pass through 1080.

I would get a decent 4k AVR and run each independently. Could use a second input on the TV to run dual screen through 1080 splitter too; if you decide you like to party.
 
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joeyrupption

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BeaveUKGT said:
What are your video sources going to be? Cable? Satellite? Streaming? Blu-ray? Blu-ray ultra? Are any of them actually going to be true 4K?
Click to expand...
- The only 4k source occasional streaming content from Netflix or Amazon. I don’t have a Blu-Ray player or anything. I just didn’t want to downgrade it if I didn’t need to. The more I think about it, the more it doesn’t seem like a big deal - it’s just the principle of getting the best out of everything, if possible.

- I think if there’s a physical button on a simple “either/or” switch, it might work if it keeps the AVR from knowing it’s connected to a 1080p device. I’ll try that first.

- For the AVR, I went ahead and bought the Wirecutter’s budget pick, Denon AVR S540BT. “A solid choice for setting up a basic 5.1 system.”

- Besides the tech, the biggest challenge is going to be “hiding” the screen in the living room. I’m working a sliding / tri-fold panel solution.
 
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