HDMI Splitter - 3/4 Inputs to Sound Bar to Projector

2191 Views 7 Replies 2 Participants Last post by Otto Pylot, Oct 21, 2019

gthirst

Discussion Starter · Oct 19, 2019

Hey all, building a budget friendly set up after picking up a bunch of really great deals. Having some compatibility issues right now.

PS4, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U, Extra Cable for Gaming Laptop when needed are going to a splitter.

From the splitter, it goes to an LG SL9YG (with the SPK8-S rear kit), which is then plugged in to a Epson Home Cinema 2150 Projector.

If I plug right into any of the consoles, everything works perfectly and I get Atmos from the soundbar when applicable.

The first splitter I ordered and tried is this (I can't post links yet, sorry): HDMI Switch 4x2 [email protected], avedio links 4 in 2 Out HDMI Switcher Splitter with Optical/Coaxial/3.5mm/R/L Audio Out, 4-Port HDMI Audio Extractor Support ARC,HDMI 2.0, HDCP 1.4 (with IR Remote)

My projector says looking for signal and does not show anything when using the splitter. The splitter seems to be auto switching fine as I see the red light switch to a different input upon powering on. The soundbar seems to be receiving some signal, because it will change from HDMI to optical randomly, which is nonsensical.

Cables I'm using: AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable, 3 Feet, 2-Pack and AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable, 25 Feet, 1-Pack

I'm going to return the splitter and try another. I'd prefer to have a splitter with 4 or more inputs, but I could work with 3 as well. I would also like to future proof with HDR/4k/arc/etc so I'm not rebuying stuff when I upgrade later.

Thanks!

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Otto Pylot

· #2 · Oct 20, 2019

It's best to have all of your devices on the same HDMI version, which is HDMI 2.0, to avoid any issues with compatible formats. HDMI is backwards compatible but only to the in-common formats. An HDMI 1.4 sink receiving a signal from an HDMI 2.0 source can only utilize the HDMI 1.4 formats.

The best, and most reliable connection is a single connection, source to sink without any switches, adapters, wall outlets, etc in-between. You can use a switch in some cases but it's going to be trial and error. 4k HDR can be very unforgiving with its connectivity so you need to keep that in mind.

Cable distance can also be an issue. You're best off to use Premium High Speed HDMI cables for your connections. They are not a 100% guarantee that they will work but at least you know they have been certified by HDMI.org to meet all of the HDMI 2.0 hardware specifications. The cable is just a data pipe. It's the HDMI chipset version in the source and sink that ultimately decide what you can reliably do.

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gthirst

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 20, 2019

Otto Pylot said:
It's best to have all of your devices on the same HDMI version, which is HDMI 2.0, to avoid any issues with compatible formats. HDMI is backwards compatible but only to the in-common formats. An HDMI 1.4 sink receiving a signal from an HDMI 2.0 source can only utilize the HDMI 1.4 formats.

The best, and most reliable connection is a single connection, source to sink without any switches, adapters, wall outlets, etc in-between. You can use a switch in some cases but it's going to be trial and error. 4k HDR can be very unforgiving with its connectivity so you need to keep that in mind.

Cable distance can also be an issue. You're best off to use Premium High Speed HDMI cables for your connections. They are not a 100% guarantee that they will work but at least you know they have been certified by HDMI.org to meet all of the HDMI 2.0 hardware specifications. The cable is just a data pipe. It's the HDMI chipset version in the source and sink that ultimately decide what you can reliably do.

Thanks for the advice! I tried to use all the same ratings and brands for HDMI cables while also being cost effective. I ordered 3 different switches to test, so hopefully I find one that works just right. Trying an AmazonBasics (cheapest), StarTech and ROOFUL. Hopefully one of them does the trick!

If anyone is using a switch with a fairly convoluted or similar set up I would love some recommendations.

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Otto Pylot

· #4 · Oct 20, 2019

gthirst said:
Thanks for the advice! I tried to use all the same ratings and brands for HDMI cables while also being cost effective. I ordered 3 different switches to test, so hopefully I find one that works just right. Trying an AmazonBasics (cheapest), StarTech and ROOFUL. Hopefully one of them does the trick!

If anyone is using a switch with a fairly convoluted or similar set up I would love some recommendations.

Being cost effective is always a good idea. But if you want to dance with the latest technology you're going to have to pay the band. Good luck.

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gthirst

Discussion Starter · #5 · Oct 20, 2019

Otto Pylot said:
Being cost effective is always a good idea. But if you want to dance with the latest technology you're going to have to pay the band. Good luck.

No doubt. When gaming hits 4k/60 at a reasonable pricepoint I'll be jumping in for a new 4k display or projector, a receiver, the works. For right now though, I'm trying to make as booming a set up as can be with price mistakes

Got the SL9YG for $300, the rears speakers for $100, the projector for $500, and a 110" electric screen for $100. About $1000 invested! The soundbar's MSRP is higher than that

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Otto Pylot

· #6 · Oct 20, 2019

gthirst said:
No doubt. When gaming hits 4k/60 at a reasonable pricepoint I'll be jumping in for a new 4k display or projector, a receiver, the works. For right now though, I'm trying to make as booming a set up as can be with price mistakes

Got the SL9YG for $300, the rears speakers for $100, the projector for $500, and a 110" electric screen for $100. About $1000 invested! The soundbar's MSRP is higher than that

Again, good luck.

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gthirst

Discussion Starter · #7 · Oct 21, 2019

I finally found one that works and also what the problem most like was with at least one of them.

I tried 3 different ones today. An AmazonBasics one, which didn't work, then the StarTech.
The StarTech switch worked flawlessly from the get go.

I then tried the Rooful. This looked like it was about to work as I heard sound for about half a second before it would go back to nothing. I realized the SL9YG was partially the culprit. I believe whatever it was doing with ARC or CEC was automatically switching its own input before the other switches could establish a link. The Rooful ALMOST made it. The StarTech on the other hand is almost instantaneous and working with several devices. It cost a bit more ($50), but I'll put it through the ringer.

I made sure it wasn't my cables as well, as I tried different cables and different spots in the link. I also tried different devices. I did notice 2 flickers from the StarTech, so I'll have to monitor those. It is obsessed with auto switching, so if another devices 'wakes', then it jumps over immediately. I think the flickers were from the Nintendo Switch or Ps4 checking for updates or doing a half wake. Hopefully it isn't too distracting.

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Otto Pylot

· #8 · Oct 21, 2019

gthirst said:
I finally found one that works and also what the problem most like was with at least one of them.

I tried 3 different ones today. An AmazonBasics one, which didn't work, then the StarTech.
The StarTech switch worked flawlessly from the get go.

I then tried the Rooful. This looked like it was about to work as I heard sound for about half a second before it would go back to nothing. I realized the SL9YG was partially the culprit. I believe whatever it was doing with ARC or CEC was automatically switching its own input before the other switches could establish a link. The Rooful ALMOST made it. The StarTech on the other hand is almost instantaneous and working with several devices. It cost a bit more ($50), but I'll put it through the ringer.

I made sure it wasn't my cables as well, as I tried different cables and different spots in the link. I also tried different devices. I did notice 2 flickers from the StarTech, so I'll have to monitor those. It is obsessed with auto switching, so if another devices 'wakes', then it jumps over immediately. I think the flickers were from the Nintendo Switch or Ps4 checking for updates or doing a half wake. Hopefully it isn't too distracting.

Keep in mind that if you are relying on ARC/CEC, specifically CEC, then you may still have issues. More so if you have different versions of the HDMI chipsets in your source and sink devices (not the cables). CEC is not standardized in the sense that all device mfrs have to implement the CEC options the same way. The end result is an incompatibility where CEC is flaky or just doesn't work correctly at all. If your devices have ARC/CEC on the same chipset (a lot still do) you may experience issues with ARC when in fact CEC is the culprit. Unfortunately, there aren't any firmware updates that can correct the incompatibility. That's one of the reasons why it's always best to make sure that your HDMI connected devices are on the same version of HDMI. The cable is not usually the problem unless you are using a very old cable or one that is damaged. Most all current High Speed HDMI cables, certified or not, should work just fine for ARC/CEC up to about 25' so the problems encountered are usually at the source/sink end. The cable is just a data pipe carrying whatever the source sends to the sink.

Switches can vary considerably in how they handle the signal and a lot of systems just don't like switching the data path mostly because of handshaking having to be repeated, and if you toss in CEC issues, it can become problematic.

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