Question about HDMI Splitter

peachsmoothie

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Jan 30, 2015
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I'm looking into getting one, and have been looking on Amazon (because you can't find them in store) but all of the descriptions of the good ones essentially say that only one device of the two that are plugged in should be on.
My ultimate goal is to connect both my PC monitor and my TV to my PC tower via HDMI, and the splitter is necessary because I only have one HDMI port on the back of my tower.
So my question is, can I have both my TV and monitor on at the same time (which is the purpose of this whole endeavor), and if I can have both on at the same time, what would be the purpose of saying that it is not recommended?
Thanks
 
Does your monitor not have any other inputs? There is also displayport to hdmi, dvi to hdmi, adapters, etc.

If you use a splitter, both the TV and monitor will always show the same thing. If you hook them up using one of the above adapters, then you could display different stuff on each screen.

Now if you need sound to both of them, then DVI or displayport adapters won't do sound usually, so then you need a splitter.

And whats the point of a splitter if you can't plug them both in at once. lol. stupid amazon reviews.
 

peachsmoothie

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Jan 30, 2015
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Both my monitor and TV have DVI ports (or whatever...), but I prefer to use HDMI. If I have to, I suppose I will.
Ultimately my goal here is to stream a movie or show to my TV, and still be able to do my homework on my PC (at the same time, because I need background noise)...
But I guess, if you're saying that an HDMI splitter will send the exact same to both monitor and TV, I'll have to use HMDI to one, and DVI to the other....?
 
DVI is pin interchangable with HDMI, there is no difference in quality. Only difference is HDMI add's sound through the cable.

And yes, a splitter splits the same signal to 2 or more. Different screens, you need to use the different outputs on your GPU so windows can setup multiple desktops.
 

peachsmoothie

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Jan 30, 2015
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What if I were to use a DVI - HDMI converter? Where I plug the HMDI into the DVI thing... I have an abundance of HDMI cords, and would like to put them to use instead of them just laying around.