HDMI splitter help needed

I think your problem is the 15 foot 28AWG after the signal has already had to run 30 feet. Change the 15 footer to a 22AWG and see if that helps.

If you only use one display at a time, you could use a powered switch instead of a splitter. Splitters can have issues. Some of the powered switches from Monoprice come with a remote.

Hi,

I use a powered 5x1 Monopice HDMI switcher with remote control for my projector and it works great. I thought about getting a TV for just regular tv watching and considered a Monoprice 4x2 switcher with remote control. Maybe that would work for you as then everything would be controlled by remote and it is powered. It's this one:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

upgrade the 2nd cable to 22awg, like the man said, and maybe checkout the 4x2 hdmi switcher (edit-like the other man said.!) from monoprice.com. its maybe $20 more than switcher u're looking at. it'll give u some future-proofing as far as adding more gear to system later on.

I had an HDMI splitter with signal going to my HD72 projector and Olevia 37". The HDMI handshaking problems with the splitter, the Onkyo 605, and both displays in the mix drove me (and the wife) crazy. With either the splitter or the 605 out of the loop it worked perfectly.

I gave up and got myself a manual non-electronic switcher modded by someone here on AVS forum. No more HDMI handshaking. Just have to press the button to switch between displays - and not use both displays at once. No problem for me as I only use one at a time.

If you only need one line active at a time you want a switch not a splitter. Splitters cause problems.

I have the similar projector/TV setup with DVI instead of HDMI. I am in the process of upgrading my projector and AVR. I think using the power HDMI switch is definitely better than HDMI splitter. I have a 50 ft DVI run and have a similar problem and a power DVI switch definitely solve the problem for me.

As already mentioned above, this is what you need:

4X2 True Matrix HDMI 1.3a Powered Switch w/ Remote Controller (Rev. 2.0)

You can PM Itsdon here on AVSforum. Apparently you could easily mod the mechanical switcher that monoprice had to be a splitter instead. He was modding them and selling on ebay. You can see the switcher version here:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

But last I heard he said he was almost out of them, because monoprice had changed the internal wiring on the box. Maybe he figured out how to make them work. I'd send him a message and ask.

I had one of those 1x2 HDMI cables but that wouldn't work at all. I picked up the powered one for $60 on ebay.
The powered one worked mostly, but I got sick of HDMI handshake problems with the 605 in the mix. We were constantly power cycling stuff to make the HDMI sync work. The PS3 drove me the most batty, because it loses video signal when switching from game/BD to dashboard.


I kept the powered one around for calibrating both the LCD and the projector at once...that's about it. It's sitting in a drawer downstairs. I'm sure there are good ones. I just got tired of HDMI handshaking problems. The mechanical one has been absolutely 100% trouble free which is what I wanted.

No you are not missing anything, you just have a lot of connections and devices in your description. You are correct, if you are going to input only one line and then output to more than one, you will need a splitter. I have not read a lot of good results with the passive splitters.

Your AVR is doing something to your signal, it would be interesting to scope it to see what is going on. I do still think that 28AWG is too thin for anything over 6 feet in length. At 720p or 1080i it may be fine for most applications but a few are going to run into a bug.

Hi mjg100,

I have a very similar setup as you. However, I have been holding off these 2 Monoprice splitters since they are not 1.3 HDMI, only 1.2a version.

I just recently redid all my cables (I was lucky enough to get one of the $499 HD70 deals at BB).

I purchased the Belkin (PureAV) 3 to 1 HDMI switch (got it for $50 shipped on ebay, brand new). But you can find good deals if you search hard enough:

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...duct_Id=281816 (it does come with a decent, gold plated 6 ft cable, but I did not know that at the time)

Then I purchased two HDMI cables (one for my Cable Box and one for my DVD player):

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

Finally, I am running the signal to the projector with this cable:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

No problems whatsoever and the picture is perfect!

Just FYI. I also tested the entire setup on my other TV (Samsung LNT-4665) using my brothers BPD-1400 BluRay, my HD-HC7 camcorder and the identical cable box and it also works flawlessly. No signal loss at all. I set the camcorder to outup xvCCC (or whatever the letters are) and the TV to accept the same and it also worked great (just to make sure everything was HDMI 1.3 compliant).

Hey Mjg100, I'm in the same situation as you, wanting to send the signal to one of two displays. I purchased the 4X2 Matrix switcher from Monoprice. Unfortunately it did not work for me. I just tried it this past weekend 12-16-07.
The signal was great on the TV but the projector was having an issue. It would only show in red and yellow.
It did pass the signal as 1080 though. I tried every configuration I could to get this to work but to no avail.

I spoke with Sean at Monoprice about it yesterday and he believes it's a handshake issue with the projector. It is going to be returned.

I applaud Monoprice for offering these products and they are certainly trying very hard to make these work.
It just looks like the whole handshake issue requires some serious magic to make it work reliably.

I'll be watching this thread and looking for an answer. Good luck!

That's what it sounds like to me.

I'd try the powered 1x2 splitter myself first. Then again, if you have room for it, the 4x2 is only a few more $. You could just run 805 out -> to one of the 4x2 ports and you'd have the other ports if you needed them for some reason.

I'd stick with the 1x2, honestly, unless you think you'll need the extra ports some day. The simpler the better when it comes to HDMI since it's such a PITA.

I wish they made a mechanical one like my modded one. I'd wholeheartedly recommend that. The powered ones seem to be hit and miss. At least with monoprice they've got good customer service if you have to return it.

You made the right choice going with the switch, although it is possible it may not work as it apparently didn't for Marlin above. The problem with splitters is all the connected devices are trying to handshake and are passing EDID info back and forth at the same time. If you want to stick with a splitter, you could just unplug the display you're not using at the time before you power anything on (as you already discovered). Please let us know how the switch works out for you, as I'm interested in one myself.

This is proof that the passive splitter is definitely a problem. I would go with the powered 2-output splitter, since it should just be an "install and never think about it again" item. I use one made by Connectgear for the same basic setup you have, and it works quite well for me. Having one less switch to think about was a big advantage. The 4x2 switch would not help you at all, since you will want all device switching to happen before your Onkyo (to let it use HDMI audio), not after. In addition to changing to the powered HDMI splitter, I also highly recommend that you replace your 15-foot cable with a higher-gauge one, as others have said. For what it's worth, I have tried a mechanical HDMI switch in the "1-in, 2-out" direction to switch between displays and it caused problems similar to what you have with the passive splitter. I also use Monoprice cables and a switch, and they all work well.

I used the monoprice 2x1 and went in and reversed the diodes (there are two small diodes inside), to turn it into a 1x2. Once this was done I had no problems. total cost $18. If you don't have the patience or inclination to do this, the firefold splitter is the cheapest option I've seen reported to work 100%. 1x2 splitter at firefold. Do a search.

Franke46

mjg-

What I meant by that comment is that you do not need a switch after your receiver. The 4x2 switch would sit permanently on, probably, Input 1 (from the receiver's HDMI output), with Output 1 and Output 2 both permanently set to Input 1, if I understand how you want your system to work. OK, yes, that switch could be used to accomplish what you need, but it would be a waste of space and complexity to do it.

The thicker cable recommendation is simply to minimize the chances of any other issues in the future as you possibly get more HDMI devices.

I had a problem with the 4x2 Matrix switcher from Monoprice. I used it to connect all my HDMI devices and then sent the signal out to my projector Infocus 4805 and plasma tv. It worked great for the plasma and on the projector I got an image but it was tinted completely red. I hooked up the switcher to two plasma tvs and it worked great. The projector has a m1 adapter to hdmi so that might be why I am having a problem, not sure. I pulled the 4x2 switcher and installed the octavia hdmi switcher that I have and both the projector and the plasma work fine. I want a splitter so I don't have to unplug the hdmi everytime to send it to different outputs. Also I want to let others know that I have a 50ft HDMI going to the plasma and no problems with the 4x2 Matrix Monoprice or the Octavia. I bought the thickest gauge available. I am curious to know if the powered splitter from Monoprice works, FYI Octavia makes one as well but it is 180.00.