Laptop streaming to 4 TVs displaying youtube video, netflix, etc on 4 tvs

[steveeyes]

My church tasked me with this task but I'm no wizard when it comes to electronics. Here is what they want me to find out.

They want a laptop hooked hooked up to 4 TVs using surround sound for the audio. I'm told that we probably need a 1x4 HDMI splitter from the laptop to the TVs. The TVs would all display the same video that is being displayed on the laptop. For example on movie night all 4TVs would display the same movie that is streaming to the laptop from Netflix. The sound/audio would be coming out of the Surround Sound speakers only.

They want the 4 TVs and Laptop NOT TO have sound but instead the sound/audio is coming from the surround sound speakers only. Not sure what we have to buy or how to hookup the speakers so the sound only comes out of the speakers and the not the TVs and Laptop. Maybe it is as simple as turning the volume down on the 4tvs and laptop so you only hear the audio/sound from the surround sound speakers. Not sure?

Any thoughts on what equipment I would need to buy and how to hookup a laptop to stream video to 4 TVs with the audio coming from surround sound speakers would be appreciated.

[usually_quiet]

How are the TVs arranged? Are they configured as a video wall to create one giant screen or are they scattered around the room?

[sum_guy]

I'm betting your laptop doesn't have surround sound but does have a headphone jack, hopefully your surround sound receiver can "simulate" surround sound as most modern receivers do, my Yamaha has multiple simulated surround settings. Here's my low budget suggestion. 1X4 HDMI and a headphone to RCA cable. Usually_quiet brings up a good point, if the displays are all over the room... You will need the following:

1X4 HDMI Splitter

3 mm to RCA

https://www.amazon.com/Transmitter-Converter-Streaming-Projector-Conferences/dp/B097H4...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

[steveeyes]

The TVs are not arranged as a video wall or at least we don't plan for that arrangement. We plan on hanging the TVs on the wall. Basically the front wall, the right and left wall and the back wall.

@sum_guy - thanks for the suggestion. Next meeting I'm going to show your idea.

[Cornucopia]

1. If you can get a 1x5 HDMI DA (NOT a passive splitter, but an active distribution amp, with EDID passthrough and/emulation), then you could send 1 signal to each of the 4 TVs and 1 directly to an HDMI-Capable receiver (make sure the HDMI level supported matches or exceeds what you expect to send out, or matches what the TVs support).
If you cannot get a 1x5 or better, and can only get a 1x4, you will need a receiver that has both HDMI In and Out so it can do true passthrough. However, there may be a slight resulting delay in the signal coming out and going to that last TV.

2. Distance is your enemy! Unless you plan on buying Active HDMI cables, or HDMI Extenders (e.g. HDbaseT), it will not be likely for you to go the distance of the room without issues of signal breakup, loss of signal, etc. Unless your room is under 12 feet long or so (remember, you will need more to run it vertically to the TV, etc).

3. If you have a separate receiver, it is inconsequential and quite simple to just turn the sound down on all the TVs and only have sound coming from the receiver's speakers, however you have them laid out.

4. Layout of 4 TVs in box shape on walls, in conjunction with an audio surround system, is going to be VERY confusing, if not uncomfortable, for viewers who are looking at anything other than the "front/main" TV (the TV that coincides with the location of the front speakers. There will be a disconnect between apparent source location of the video vs the audio. Have you got any ideas for a backup layout? Or a remixing of the audio into multiple stereo, or even into mono?

Scott

[steveeyes]

Hey Scott. Great info, even though most of it went over my head. I should have mention that this is going to be a new church. Our old one burnt down. At our previous church we had only on large smart TV and some members complained that we needed more TVs and better sound. Consequently, we thought 4 (one on each wall) would be the way to go with exterior speaks. Maybe 4 stand-alone speakers is the way to go, v.s. a typical surround sound - I don't know. If this is not a simple task, I may end up having to hire someone, but it still doesn't hurt to get suggestions. Hopefully I can do it myself to save some of those precious dollars.

One lesson we learn from, with the previous setup, that wireless was not the way to go. Latency, static, etc. There seem to be all kind of issues. In our old church we switched to cable and everything ran smoothly, so we plan on using cable for our new setup even though the new setup is more complex than the old setup that had only one TV.

We also realized that distance may be an issue. One of the other church members sent me this link, thinking it will solve the distance issue. https://amzn.to/3snVLRW

It looks like you can use Cat 6 or 7 wiring along with HDMI cable. I'm told HDMI over 15 feet (unless you buy that $300 HDMI cable - forget what it is called) can cause issues. If we buy this kit, the combination with extender boxes along with cat 6/7 cable may solve the distance problem

Let's say we purchased the splitter setup with the extenders at https://amzn.to/3snVLRW, and it works. I'm still lost on sound/audio. What equipment to buy and best way to hook it up. Do I buy a receiver/amp and hook it up to the laptop and plug the speakers into the amp/receiver?

Again, we are re-building, but it shouldn't be too hard to vision the setup. 4 TVs. One on each wall, plus sound coming from exterior speakers. The laptop will be the hub that streams the same video on the laptop to the 4 TVs, with each TV displaying the same video that is on the laptop.

If you think the setup at https://amzn.to/3snVLRW will handle the video part of our setup, I'd appreciate more thoughts on the audio/speaker/sound setup. As poor as I am with the video side of the house, the audio part confuses me even more.

Thanks guys for your help.

p.s. Some things we will use the setup for (1) movie night - Netflix (2) dance night with playlists from YouTube (3) activity updates displaying Facebook page (4) YouTube video religious services, and I'm sure much more once we get the basics down.

[Cornucopia]

Couple of thoughts:

1. It is good that you found a device that does both the splitting (DA) and extending (some variant of HDBaseT). I am not sure how much I can recommend it though. It certainly falls into the "consumer" side of device categorization. For something that is more mission-critical, like I would expect your operation to be, it usually makes more sense to get a commercial grade device. YMMV, but Buyer beware. Consumer devices (especially HDBaseT extenders) often cannot guarantee a 24/7 seamless always-working feature. Note that many/most commercial grade offerings are 3x to 5x to 10x more expensive than consumer ones.

2. I expect the layout to be something like this:
Laptop --(HDMI)-->HDMI Splitter--(HDMI Feed#1)-->HDMI Extender's Transmitter--(Cat6 Ethernet)-->HDMI Extender's Receiver--(HDMI)-->TV#1
Same setup for TV feeds 2,3,4
Laptop --(HDMI)-->HDMI Splitter's HDMI passthrough (#5?)--(HDMI)-->AV Audio surround receiver/amp--(Audio speaker cable)-->Left Speaker
Same setup with Right, Center, Sub, and 2 surround speakers

If you go with that OREI, then the chain looks more like this:
Laptop --(HDMI)-->HDMI Splitter & Extender's Transmitter--(Cat6 Ethernet Feed#1)-->HDMI Extender's Receiver--(HDMI)-->TV#1

If you don't get a dedicated passthrough, nor get more than 4 outputs, Feed #4 looks like this:
Laptop --(HDMI)-->HDMI Splitter--(HDMI Feed#1)-->AV Audio Receiver/Amp--(HDMI)-->HDMI Extender's Transmitter--(Cat6 Ethernet)-->HDMI Extender's Receiver--(HDMI)-->TV#1
with the audio like previously mentioned.

3. With most AV Audio receivers, one can often adjust the output to be stereo, or to be multiple mono.

4. You could graduate to adding an AV switcher between the laptop and the Splitter, to grow into having different kinds of inputs that you can jump back & forth with, possibly in realtime.

5. I have to warn you - while it is no big deal to be showing Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, Blurays, etc to a group of your friends in your home, when it comes to commercial public group viewing, they expect and require you to get a special commercial license, WHICH IS NOT CHEAP. And this includes non-profits like Universities (like me) and Churches (like you). If you don't advertize, and it is a small group, it might fall under the radar, but it is risky, and you and your organization could get into hot water, with fines in the $10k-to-$500k range, depending. Please check to make sure you are covered.

6. If the source is only at first from the laptop, audio is pretty straightforward. A single AV Audio Receiver/Amp that supports HDMI (hopefully with passthrough) along with accompanying speaker set, should do fine in a room or small venue. If it is larger, then you need heftier amplification (and speakers that can handle it).
When it gets tied into house sound mixer, with mics and instrumentation, etc, that's when audio starts getting quite complicated.


Scott

[steveeyes]

Scott....wow, wow, wow. Thanks a million. Of course when I go to do the actual hookup is when I'll know if i followed your instructions perfectly or not. Hopefully the church will be rebuilt by the end of Mar - early Apr. Once the walls are up I want to be ready to go. Heck, even before the walls are up I'm hoping the church gives me the money to purchase so I can test it out. If down the road I run into a snag I hope I can come back and ask for clarification. Hey at next cookout, movie night, I'll be sure to send you an invitation. We have some great cooks in our flock