HDTV Forum

I'd like to run two displays from a single Brighthouse DVR set top box. The bigger display is in the family room with the STB, and I'm adding a smaller display to the adjacent kitchen. So it's OK if they display the same channel if they're ever both on at the same time.

I've seen HDMI splitters (1-to-2) that cost around $250+. All I'm trying to do is avoid paying $10/month for a new STB in the kitchen. I found this HDMI splitter cable.



Would this be a possible solution? Any gotchas I should look out for?
Or do I just wait until later this Summer when I can buy my own STB? What do you think these will cost?

Thanks,
Pat

Hi--

The others will have to address the"...IF..."

but, TECK as well as some other companies do have

HDMI splitters for $65 or thereabouts......these are

proposed for "added inputs' on earlier HDTVs which

only had one. eli whitney

These cheap splitters came up before

Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXsi--- 4 HDMI inputs!

The poster never came back to tell us if it would work...

Be very careful. With HDMI there's a big difference between using a 2 (or more) to 1 splitter for multiple INPUTS and using a 1 to 2 (or more) unit for multiple OUTPUTS. For one thing, simple splitters don't work (unless you are extremely lucky and all the planets are aligned just right) because you really need to use a Repeater which constantly polls the outputs for any changes. Otherwise you run the risk of what I like to term "Poltergeist Screen."

The process of turning a 2 to 1 splitter around to use it as a 1 to 2 splitter is not a reliable solution. This comes from personal experience, not hearsay. I'm currently beta testing a 1 to 6 Repeater from Radiient Technologies which does provide up to six HDMI outputs reliably without incident. Radiient technologies is run by Jano Banks, one of the patent holders for HDMI so I would expect it to work. Of course, these switches, when they come to market, will not be cheap. I imagine they will run a couple of hundred dollars - but they do so much more.

The bottom line - if you need multiple HDMI inputs there are lots of switches, even cheap ones, that work well. But if you are looking for multiple HDMI outputs then you need a more sophisticated piece of equipment - and the reliable ones are now just coming to the market as HDMI becomes more and more part of the HT environment.

I have to add an agreement to the last post. I bought the splitter for my cousin who has one HD-DVD player and two AV receivers for two home theater systems. The splitter worked fine on the first setup. When we added the connection to the second, the first was still okay, the second nada. No video, no audio. We did not pursue power up sequences etc., with an HD-XA1 it was just too tedious as it will reset everytime it losses active connection (think protocol interruption).

I'd still like to try a video on one side, audio on the other split, but that I suspect will only work if we turn off the video connection on the audio side by assigning no video load to the HDMI connector in the receiver. And that is a WAG (wild a.. guess) if that will work.

Steve,

Your experience is far more common than most people realize and something that I have had to deal with personally. I even owned that original Toshiba HD-DVD HD-XA1 myself and the fact that it would stop whenever it detected a loss of HDMI handshaking (like when you switched momentarily to a different input on your receiver to check out a ball score or something else) was extremely infuriating.

As I mentioned before, combining multiple HDMI inputs to feed a single display is fairly straightforward (but not always painless) but the other way around - dealing with multiple HDMI outputs - is far more complex. The problem is that these issues don't surface until people go beyond a simple 1 HDMI wire connection. The more HDMI components you add to the mix the more you must play by the HDMI rules in order for everything to connect and stay connected. Constant polling of the signals by the HDMI connection device (not really just a simple switch) is essential. If you try to use switches in applications that they are not intended for, you are asking for trouble.

I've had many conversations with Jano Banks (Mr. HDMI - or at least half of the team) on this very issue and that's one reason he chose me to beta test the Radiient Repeat-6 unit that, so far, seems to solve this issue. I wish I had a dollar for every time someone told me that HDMI works just fine and what am I concerned about? Invariably, these people are connecting one HDMI source to one HDMI display (or, perhaps, using a multiple input switch to feed a couple of HDMI sources to a single HDMI input on the display.) They don't have a problem because they don't have a more complex set-up (or they don't own a Toshiba HD-XA1)

Seriously, the HD-XA2 has greatly improved the "stop" problem as well as speeding up the boot-up sequence. It's still no speed demon but its a lot better than my first HD-DVD player was (at a lower price).

HDMI is still in the formative stage at this point and some people have to realize that it's not fully analogous (no pun intended) to connections involving non-HDMI devices.

But things are getting better here on the bleeding edge.

P.S. Here's a quick "hint" if you don't get signal output at a second HDMI output after switching to it. I've often found that if you turn the HDMI "switch" off (by physically removing power to it) this sometimes will allow the signal to get through. The reason for this (as Jano explained to me) is that when you remove power from the HDMI box and then turn it back on you force a reset and a repolling of the inputs and outputs (something that a repeater rather than a switch would be doing all the time.) This seemed to work for me about 80-90% of the time. Certainly not a way to conduct HT business, but sometimes a band-aid if other options aren't available.

The need for a high-end way to split an HDMI 1.3 signal is not just important for sending a signal to multiple displays. It is also going to be a must for people who want to use an outboard video processor and/or an outboard audio processor instead of an A/V receiver.

Robert,

Thanks for the feedback on these splitters! I suspected as much but they just keep making things smaller and without hands on experience I could not say for sure that it was not active.

wallaua wrote:The need for a high-end way to split an HDMI 1.3 signal is not just important for sending a signal to multiple displays. It is also going to be a must for people who want to use an outboard video processor and/or an outboard audio processor instead of an A/V receiver.

Yes, I agree with you on this depending on the way you implement your outboard processors. In my particular case (I use an outboard DVDO VP50) I feed all the audio-based HDMI (my Blu-ray and HD-DVD players) into my pre-pro first and then the HDMI output from that into the VP50 via a single HDMI cable (because my unit sends the HDMI video through unaltered). The HDMI is then "split" from the VP50 output to my two displays. However, others may prefer to connect their components in a different sequence and your comments are right on the mark.

Richard wrote:Robert,

Thanks for the feedback on these splitters! I suspected as much but they just keep making things smaller and without hands on experience I could not say for sure that it was not active.

You're welcome. Yes, a lot of these HDMI distribution devices have gotten quite small and, in the process, some of them bend the HDMI rules to suit their needs. One sign of potential problems I've found are the HDMI devices that use the power from the HDMI line itself instead of providing their own power supply (to keep things compact I susppose). They even advertise, "No separate power supply required!" Unfortunately (or fortunately) the HDMI spec clears states that a compliant device should not draw any power from the HDMI line because this could compromise the signal. (Rodolfo could probably quote the exact reference). I was given a very compact 2-1 HDMI device from ACCELL at CEDIA 2006 (about the size of a matchbook) which did this exact thing (no external power supply required). The factory reps insisted that it would work just fine in a 1-2 configuration (turning it around to feed two displays from one source) and, naturally it didn't. After extensive testing I have to conclude that non-compliance to the HDMI spec had to be a factor.

Incidentally, the ACCELL HDMI switch in 2-1 mode worked quite well and its compact nature might make it perfect for certain installations - but I shy away from devices that don't play by the HDMI rules. To me the HDMI 1.3a spec which requires device certification is a giant step in the right direction. For me, all new purchases will involve 1.3a (and beyond) capability.

Take care.