Do HDMI splitters work well?

[EagleMoon]

I searched here and on AVS. There seems to be some hit or miss with using inexpensive HDMI splitters. Specifically, is the $50-$75 Monoprice splitter reliable?

I want to add an AppleTV to my system. I like the Dune but for my purposes today and in the next year or so, the Apple TV will be just fine.

I will normally do 98% of my TV/Video watching in my theater and everything works fine for it. I have one other TV in the house that goes mostly unused, partly because my dealer never set up the Zone 2 off my Sony 5400ES receiver, but partly because I don't watch a lot, and not much at all that I wouldn't want to watch in the theater. Still it would be nice to sometimes sit in the bar/lounge where I can have a view rather than in the completely dark theater for the occasional news show or such.

I can do some manual finagling and get Zone 2 playing on that TV but I found out yesterday that the receiver will not swtich an HDMI input to the Zone 2 component output. The Apple TV 2 does not have an obvious component output. (The settings allow you to set the HDMI port to be component but that would require a connector converter and I can't find specs on what that would be.)

Plus, using component baluns, I get a small but annoying bit of interference on the TV so I'm thinking of trying HDMI -- either a direct cable (40 ft) or through HDMI baluns. Either way, I'll have to run new cabling, so probably direct HDMI cable.

I'm interested in trying the Monoprice HDMI splitter on the main output of the receiver, with one of its outputs going to the TV, the other to my projector. I don't foresee ever using both at the same time. And for this tiny fraction of optional use, I don't want to spend much money -- for $100, I could just buy a second Apple TV, though that would not let me move from component to HDMI for the TV.

Has anyone done something similar and had no problems?

[Garp]

I don't foresee ever using both at the same time.

You can't use them at the same time if you wanted to. HDMI authenticates between one source and display at a time.

[wingzz]

I don't foresee ever using both at the same time.

You can't use them at the same time if you wanted to. HDMI authenticates between one source and display at a time.

you can use a matrix switch to get the same source on two or more tv's. I use the monoprice 4x4 HDMI Switch and it works great

[dogdvr]

I don't foresee ever using both at the same time.

You can't use them at the same time if you wanted to. HDMI authenticates between one source and display at a time.

Well thats not 100% correct. Take for instance a Direct TV box it can authorize to 16 tv with hdmi at once.

Some can only connect 1 at a time but most allow for multiple displays

Brent

[EagleMoon]

you can use a matrix switch to get the same source on two or more tv's. I use the monoprice 4x4 HDMI Switch and it works great

And the advantage of the matrix is that I *could* have different sources routed to each. Tough call since the price difference is minimal, but having both TV and theater on at the same time on different sources probably matters only a very few hours and only during 2 or 3 weeks a year when small children visit. If even then. But I think there was a time a couple months ago when little ladies were watching Dora or Thomas on the TV while their mommy was watching something in the theater. Hmmm.... a couple of hours out of two years ....

What worries me the most about either solution is the potential of affecting the sound or video going to the theater just to support this occasional use TV, though I would use it a little more if I made this work. Do you get 1080p and 7.1 sound through the switch without problems?