Splitting DVI and HDMI signals. Veterans please check my setup

[anubis13]

I currently use a DVI to HDMI cable and a DVI to HDMI dongle to get video to my monitor. If I want to switch from my PC monitor to my television I have to unplug the cable and swap.

This stinks so I want to get an automatic setup. This is what I came up with.
a DVI to HDMI splitter from the pc to the monitor (using a dongle) then from the splitter to the 3 port HDMI switcher
The DVR will also be hooked up to the switcher.
I'm hoping this will give me the PC signal on my monitor AND tv at the same time and then I can switch to the DVR anytime I want without disconnecting wires.

Anyone have experience with this see any flaws? Will this work? I don't care if the audio from the PC isn't routed.

[edDV]

I've never heard of an HDMI passive splitter, only an active distribution amp. HDCP probably won't pass since authentication is singls point to point.

[redwudz]

I use this powered HDMI splitter from Monoprice to send a HDMI signal to my LCD monitor and my projector at the same time. It has a 5 port HDMI switcher in front of it. Works very well:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10113&cs_id=1011301&p_id=...seq=1&format=2

It was a lot cheaper than that when I bought it, though.

[anubis13]

the splitter claim. "Delivers a single, high-quality signal to two displays ideal for presentations, retail displays and training applications"

http://www.amazon.com/Manhattan-DVI-D-Dual-Female-Splitter/dp/B002LBT9SK

if it doesn't I'll be returning it and getting the Monoprice.

[anubis13]

Does my geforce 9800gt 1gig put out HDCP? I thought it was just for DVR/DVD/sattelite.

nevermind I found it. Not sure how to delete this post.

[anubis13]

Just in case anyone wants to know the results for future reference

Got all the components and it works the way I wanted. the splitter is a little skittish. plugging and unplugging of cables a few times was needed to get it going. The splitter also throws weird interference (wrong colored pixels and artifacts) if both outputs aren't selected and enabled. This made it impossible to use with a switch but I bypassed it by plugging all my other components into the switch and selecting outputs via the tv instead. It "tricks the splitter into thinking both branches are active.

All in all I would recommend the switcher but I would not get the splitter. I wish I would of known about redwud's Monoprice splitter first.

[anubis13]

The splitter interference is proving to be too much to work around. I can't turn off my monitor without the other signal becoming corrupted.

Redwudz does the monoprice splitter act funny or throw interference if its hooked up and you shut off the projector or vice versa?

[redwudz]

No interference from the powered splitter. I have a five input remote HDMI switch with two PCs, two DVD changers, my WDTV Live as inputs. The output of it goes to the splitter, then one HDMI to my LCD monitor (15ft) and the second to my projector (45ft). It doesn't seem to matter if either display device is off or on. My LCD monitor gets stuck in HDMI mode once in a while, but changing the channel on the switcher makes the monitor go back to VGA mode. The splitter does have a reset switch on it and I have had to use that if I unplug one of the cables by accident.

I don't use audio over the HDMI as my projector doesn't have it and the LCDs speakers suck. I have a separate coaxial audio switcher to a surround sound amp.

[anubis13]

"My LCD monitor gets stuck in HDMI mode once in a while"

What exactly do you mean by that?

When I shut off the TV my monitor goes "out of range" I then have to turn the tv back on, drop the resolution all the way down, enable the changes and crank it back up. Is that the monitor "getting stuck in HDMI mode"

[redwudz]

I have to manually switch my LCD monitor to HDMI. But it won't allow me to switch back to VGA if it still has a HDMI signal. If I use the switcher to change to a different HDMI input, such as one of my DVD changers that's not on at the time, the monitors defaults back to VGA as the HDMI signal is gone. I haven't had any problems with the signal breaking up, but sometimes the projector takes about 30 seconds to detect the HDMI signal.

HDMI is different from most other digital video connections in that there is a bunch of data sent with the signal that the devices can read. That can cause connection problems at times.