I have an unusual situation – I need to split the HDMI output of my DirecTV HR20 DVR and send one output directly to my HDTV and the other output to my receiver. The receiver will then output to another HDMI connector on my same HDTV:

On might ask, “Why would you do such a thing??” Well, the wife doesn’t like turning on the receiver to watch TV, even though I have a nice Harmony remote so everything works with a touch of a button. She is also very fond of the DirecTV remote, and since the DirectTV remote can control TV volume and power, that’s all she needs. OTOH, I like to have surround sound, so I want the sound to go though my receiver. A good compromise is to have both options, so I need the splitter. Does anyone have a recommendation for a HDMI splitter that will work in this application?

Why not just use optical/coax for audio to the receiver from the DVR? All the audio coming from the DVR can be sent via S/PDIF.

larry

Why not just use optical/coax for audio to the receiver from the DVR? All the audio coming from the DVR can be sent via S/PDIF.

larry

I could use optical audio out to my receiver and use the HDMI connection for video, but I see a couple of issues with that: 1) Possible lip sync issues 2) the need to turn my TV speakers on/off depending if I use my receiver or not.

When I send HDMI though my receiver, the receiver only outputs video to my TV, so I get no sound out of my TV speakers even though they are "on". Since my TV speakers can't be turned on/off via discrete remote codes, this is a great solution.

I've sent some e-mail to a couple of HDMI splitter vendors, and they assure me their products will work correctly for this application. I was hoping to find someone who is actually doing this so I can effectively "copy" a working solution. Thanks.

I could use optical audio out to my receiver and use the HDMI connection for video, but I see a couple of issues with that: 1) Possible lip sync issues 2) the need to turn my TV speakers on/off depending if I use my receiver or not.
1) I would think the lip sync issue would be the same either way. The HDMI digital audio is the same as the optical digital audio.

2) I assume you can't use the "Mute" option on your TV because it puts a caption on the screen when it's muted.

The my suggestion is exactly what I do. My audio/video processor doesn't like the switching of resolutions coming from the TivoHD. So I run HDMI from the TivoHD to another HDMI input on my TV and coax to my pre/pro. If I want to use the "full HT" audio from the TivoHD I mute the TV and use the HT pre/pro, amps, speakers.

larry

1) I would think the lip sync issue would be the same either way. The HDMI digital audio is the same as the optical digital audio.

2) I assume you can't use the "Mute" option on your TV because it puts a caption on the screen when it's muted.

Yes, the "Mute" caption stays on my screen and does not clear. The HDMI splitter solution seems like the best option since my receiver will not output any audio to my TV speakers.

That's a drag. TV must not be classified as a "monitor" also. I'd use it as an excuse to get a new display. :)

larry