HDMI splitter for new home cinema setup

Closed Thread
  1. #1

    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Posts
    217

    HDMI splitter for new home cinema setup

    Hi,

    I have a home cinema setup in which I use my PC as the main source. Up until now, I was using an old AV receiver that didn't support HDMI, and so I used the optical Toslink connector to connect the PC to the receiver for audio, and then an HDMI cable from the graphics card to the projector.

    My old AV receiver now died, and I replaced it with a new one that I've (at the moment) connected up the same way. I realise though that this is sub-par because Toslink is old and doesn't support the newer audio standards (EAC, TrueHD, etc), so any unsupported signal will end up getting downmixed to 2.0. However, the physical layout of the computer, receiver, projector makes it very cumbersome to draw an HDMI cable from the PC to the AV, and then from the AV to the projector (I probably need a 20m cable that will essentially double back past the PC and to the projector).

    Would it work to buy some kind of HDMI splitter that clones the signal so I can send it to both the projector and the amp? What kind of issues might I run into? (Sync? DRM stuff? HDMI handshake between AV/PC or Proj/PC?). At the moment, the setup is quite convenient in that I run the monitor off one gfx port and the projector off the other: as soon as I turn on the projector the display auto-switches from one to the other. Would be nice to retain this functionality.

    And last but not least, anywhere in HK to order such a device online?

    Thanks!


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    /home/timonoj
    Posts
    1,432

    Pufff. That looks messy from so many points.
    The splitters I've seen usually works in reverse. 3 inputs, 1 output. Then a switch button to choose which input you display.
    The cables don't get that long easily, you'll find that after 5m, noise becomes an issue. For 1080p@60Hz that might be bearable, but if you want more resolution/refresh, you'll probably have issues. My VR headset was a constant PITA due to the cable noise. It got a bit better over DisplayPort (I believe it to be a bit better resisting noise). But still, these distances are rather to take into consideration when placing cables this long. There are HDMI to Ethernet converters, which then send the signal compressed over a normal ethernet cable, much more capable of resisting longer distances, but there might be quality degradation because of the codec applied. These things ain't cheap, either.

    Your best bet might have to be either moving the PC near the TV or placing another cheap PC or Android stick connected to the TV...and then get the movie files over the network from the other machine.


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Posts
    1,194

    Why not get a HDMI extender box, typically you are looking for something with 2 x Cat 6 cables. You also have to power the end that goes with the projector.