

I'm sure many of you have both an Xbox and a PlayStation and have to swap HDMI cables to play a game on the other. The prime reason to get an HDMI switch is if your TV, AV receiver or soundbar has too few inputs for the number of sources you have.įor instance, your TV has two HDMI inputs and you have a cable box, a Roku, and an Xbox. HDMI switches: When you don't have enough inputs
Hdmi and audio splitter how to#
Hdmi and audio splitter series#
Best TV for PS5 and Xbox Series X, Series S in 2021: LG OLED, Samsung QLED, Sony, TCL and Vizio.The best gaming TV: Low input lag and high picture quality.HDMI 2.1: What you need to know for gaming, 8K TVs and more in 2021.While there are many situations that require a splitter, they're not as common for the average consumer. HDMI splitter takes one source and sends it to multiple TVsįor most of you reading, you'll probably want a switch.HDMI switch takes multiple sources (Xbox, Roku, cable box, etc.) and sends one cable to your TV or other device.Read more: 7 tips for a better home theater: Mount your TV, hide wires and more Main difference between an HDMI splitter and an HDMI switch As you've probably figured out already, a splitter takes one signal and splits it across multiple HDMI cables. We'll get into more detail, but the short version is that an HDMI switch takes multiple sources and lets you choose (switch) between them, sending one cable to your TV.

The words "switch" and "splitter" are often used interchangeably, but the devices themselves actually serve opposite purposes. In both cases you'll need either an HDMI switch or an HDMI splitter. But what if you buy another sweet piece of gear and find that your TV doesn't have enough slots anymore? And some people have the opposite issue: one source device they want to appear on multiple TVs. Most people own TVs that have enough HDMI inputs to handle all of their connected devices. HDMI connections are found on every modern TV and pretty much everything you connect to a TV: from PlayStations to streaming devices, AV receivers to cable boxes and soundbars. If that sounds handy, you may need a HDMI switch or HDMI splitter, but which one? It can open up space to plug in your new gaming console, run the same signal to multiple TVs and help minimize the number of times you swap HDMI cables. Here's an inexpensive trick to keep all your gear relevant and useful.
