Get a splitter or AVR with dual outputs?

post #1 of 12

11/30/12 at 5:51pm

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Hello,
I got a good deal on a receiver and I picked it up. The plan is to feed the HDMI out from the receiver to a 1 x 2 splitter and feed them to a new projector and an oldish plasma (6 year old, not sure what version of HDMI it supports, probably v1.2). The projector and TV will NOT be on at the same time. The

Now, I am reading tons of problems that people are facing when using a HDMI splitter. Not sure if I am going to run into an issue. Any thoughts if I am headed towards trouble with my setup? My alternative is to spend the $$ and go for a AVR that has 2 HDMI outs rather than use a HDMI splitter with the current AVR. (an AVR with dual HDMI outs will probably cost me $400-$450 more

)

Thank you for your time.

nb

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post #2 of 12

11/30/12 at 6:11pm

5,324 Posts. Joined 6/2001
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You may be in the same boat either way. Is the 6-year-old plasma a 1080p set or a 720p? If it's got a different resolution (or support) than your projector, getting a 2nd HDMI output on the AVR won't help.

the problems you'd run into with the splitter will depend on the behavior of the plasma when it's "off". If it continues to provide it's EDID (identification over HDMI), you'll be limiting the setup to the capabilities of the old plasma. If not, then using them one at a time will work fine - but you may have to power cycle some/all of the components to get the resolution to switch back to 1080p after using the plasma - this will be a try-and-see topic...

So, try the splitter...

Hope that helps,

Jeff

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post #3 of 12

12/1/12 at 9:40am

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Jautor is right on the money. The results of using an hdmi splitter can be very unpredictable. Odds are you'll be able to make it work. Although it may require some 'futzin' around from time to time.

Having at least a basic understanding of EDID and its implications will be helpful as you you are dialing the system in. For the most reliable performance in a set up like this you want to lock your sources to the highest output resolution that both displays can handle. Then do the the same for the output of your AV Receiver.

Leaving resolution settings at 'auto', which is almost always the default, while using an HDMI splitter can make things pretty shaky.

I say give the splitter a try. Did you have a particular splitter in mind? I've had decent results with the key digital stuff

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post #4 of 12

12/1/12 at 5:54pm

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Thank you for your responses.

I am surprised that an AVR with dual outputs would have the same problem. I would have thought that each display thats hooked up to the 2 outputs would be handled independently. Anyway.

My Plasma handles 1080i, but not 3D or anything close. Locking the source and the AVR's settings sounds like a great idea. I will definitely try that. I was thinking about jautor's comment regarding what my Plasma will respond with when it is "off". If it helps to take the plasma completely offline (as in pull the power plug out of the socket), might it help if I used a 2 x 2 HDMI switcher, rather than a splitter? When I want to watch the projector, I could turn off the TV (not pull the plug, that would be a pain) and switch the connection to the projector, thereby, completely disconnecting the TV from setup.

Thoughts?

That apart, the brand of switcher- that was going to be my next question. I am guessing the monoprice/amazon variety aren't particularly good? Worth a try? KeyDigital seems a bit pricey, uniformly sells at around $200 at a few places online? Any other options?

Thanks for your time.

nb

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post #5 of 12

12/1/12 at 6:26pm

5,324 Posts. Joined 6/2001
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Quote:

Originally Posted by noobee

Thank you for your responses.
I am surprised that an AVR with dual outputs would have the same problem. I would have thought that each display thats hooked up to the 2 outputs would be handled independently. Anyway.

It's not the AVR's problem or fault... The source has to produce a "compatible" video output that will work with all attached devices, and as you can imagine, the source can only produce one output at at time. All HDMI displays report their capabilities (resolution, audio codecs, etc.) - when a source (BD player, set-top, whatever) sees multiple display capabilities, it selects (hopefully) the best output format that will work for all attached displays...

Quote:

My Plasma handles 1080i, but not 3D or anything close.

If it's not a 1080p-capable display, you'll want to come up with another answer, at least for Blu-ray on a nice new 1080p projector...

Quote:

If it helps to take the plasma completely offline (as in pull the power plug out of the socket), might it help if I used a 2 x 2 HDMI switcher, rather than a splitter? When I want to watch the projector, I could turn off the TV (not pull the plug, that would be a pain) and switch the connection to the projector, thereby, completely disconnecting the TV from setup.
Thoughts?

Won't help. All switchers / splitters will report the EDID (display capabilities) upstream, unless the device has "EDID management' features - which won't help in your case anyway.

Quote:

That apart, the brand of switcher- that was going to be my next question. I am guessing the monoprice/amazon variety aren't particularly good? Worth a try? KeyDigital seems a bit pricey, uniformly sells at around $200 at a few places online? Any other options?

Probably won't matter. The better switchers / splitters may have EDID management features, but those won't really help you here.

My suggestion would be to look at component video as an option for your 1080i plasma. If your sources all have component video output, you could dual-run cables, with HDMI to your projector and component to your plasma. Most sources have simultaneous component/HDMI output so everything would be live all the time... It's easy to pick up a pre-2012 BD player with component outputs as well. New streaming devices (Roku, AppleTV) are a problem, though...

Jeff

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post #6 of 12

12/2/12 at 4:32am

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Thanks for the reply and the education in the intricacies of HDMI.

Hmm, this was unexpected. I guess I will try with a cheap Splitter, just for the heck of it.

Component for Plasma is probably not a bad idea because most of the time, the Plasma is used by the kids to play Wii, which has only component out anyway or by the parents to watch some non-HD content and sometimes HD content. So, I think we will be ok watching the Plasma on Component.

That said, I didn't quite understand the dual-running cable part of your response. Since the AVR has a Component Video out, shouldn't I be able to feed the HDMI out from all sources to the AVR and be able to watch the content via the Component out? Or am I totally off track?

Thanks,

nb

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post #7 of 12

12/2/12 at 8:38am

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Quote:

Originally Posted by noobee

Component for Plasma is probably not a bad idea because most of the time, the Plasma is used by the kids to play Wii, which has only component out anyway or by the parents to watch some non-HD content and sometimes HD content. So, I think we will be ok watching the Plasma on Component.

It's not really even a compromise, as you probably won't see any difference in picture quality. Component is 1080i/720p HD (three RCA cables + 2 audio) - you mentioned the Wii, which is *composite*, the 480i SD-only (single yellow RCA).

Quote:

That said, I didn't quite understand the dual-running cable part of your response. Since the AVR has a Component Video out, shouldn't I be able to feed the HDMI out from all sources to the AVR and be able to watch the content via the Component out? Or am I totally off track?

Unfortunately no, you can't do it that way. Industry rules forbid the conversion from HDMI to an analog output at the AVR. So you have to run component video from the sources to the AVR, and component from the AVR to your plasma. Leave all the HDMI cables in place - you're just going to run this in parallel, and they'll both be on all the time.

Jeff

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post #8 of 12

12/3/12 at 5:45pm

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Actually, it is Component. It has 3+2 cables. Maybe a newer Wii?

I realized that I have it backwards- I will want to connect my Component input to the AVR and watch in HDMI. I assume that should work.

I am waiting for the Splitter. Ordered the cheap J-Tech from Amazon. Lets see how that goes.

Will try to post back.

Thanks,

nb

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post #9 of 12

12/3/12 at 6:37pm

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Quote:

Originally Posted by noobee

Actually, it is Component. It has 3+2 cables. Maybe a newer Wii?

Been a long time since I looked at one - I thought it was composite-only. But I see now that while it's not "HD", there apparently was always an optional component video cable (480i I assume). How 'bout that... Much easier to integrate, then!