Using HDMI splitter to connect gaming PC to both monitor and TV?

[SteveGrabowski]

Has anyone here used an HDMI splitter to connect their PC to both a 1080p monitor and 1080p TV? I'd obviously want something low latency. I would need to run a 30 foot HDMI cable between the splitter and the TV since I have my computer desk on the other side of the room and would prefer to run the cable out of sight along the walls (it would be behind furniture the entire way).

Has anyone here done something similar? I don't want to use streaming. That would defeat the whole purpose of connecting my gaming PC to the TV if it's going to look like compressed youtube video or run at 30 fps. I could do better than that just playing PS4 games on it then.

Any recommendations on splitters? And would I need to amplify the signal since after it's split one of the runs would be the 30 foot HDMI cable connected to my TV?

I really don't want do it like a multi monitor setup for a variety of reasons. But for third person games using a controller I would greatly prefer playing on my TV, while for first person games using mouse & keyboard I want to play at my desk on my monitor.

 

[sdifox]

Why not just switch display from your pc? Good hdmi cable to tv and just switch to whichever display you want? There is no avoiding latency increase on splitters. And you probably want an amplified one due to length.

Also need to consider controller range.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Why not just switch display from your pc? Good hdmi cable to tv and just switch to whichever display you want? There is no avoiding latency increase on splitters. And you probably want an amplified one due to length.

Also need to consider controller range.

Controller range isn't a problem. There isn't much separation between the computer and the couch. Not even much between the computer and TV, but it would take about 30 feet of cable to go around the wall on the floor where it could be hidden behind furniture.

I don't want to do multi-monitor because:

1. My GTX 970 only has one HDMI out which would leave me connecting it to my monitor via DVI since my monitor doesn't have a Display Port input. DVI looks like crap compared to HDMI on my monitor.

2. Not every game supports borderless fullscreen mode (especially games a few years old) and some seem to run worse in it. I don't want to keep having to go into the control panel to switch which is the primary monitor for games not supporting borderless fullscreen.

3. I don't want the added gpu usage from running a dual monitor setup when I'm only using that other screen for gaming. This really isn't a dual monitor setup I'm looking for, I'm looking to do mirroring.

I was wondering if anyone has experience with a similar setup and had any recommendations on a splitting or switching box.

 

[sdifox]

Maybe this?

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=15866

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Why not just switch display from your pc? Good hdmi cable to tv and just switch to whichever display you want? There is no avoiding latency increase on splitters. And you probably want an amplified one due to length.

Also need to consider controller range.

I finally got around to setting this up today and I did the multi-monitor route you suggested. Thanks for the idea. I ended up using a 25 foot HDMI cable and it works great without any kind of amplification needed. Now I just gotta figure out how to send the audio to the TV when I want to game on it.

 

[sdifox]

I finally got around to setting this up today and I did the multi-monitor route you suggested. Thanks for the idea. I ended up using a 25 foot HDMI cable and it works great without any kind of amplification needed. Now I just gotta figure out how to send the audio to the TV when I want to game on it.

your video card doesn't pass audio through hdmi?

 

[SteveGrabowski]

your video card doesn't pass audio through hdmi?

It does. I found out I had to switch the default playback device between "Speakers" and "TV" to change which sound system it plays on.

 

[sdifox]

It does. I found out I had to switch the default playback device between "Speakers" and "TV" to change which sound system it plays on.

Great. I used to drive my ht with a pc thus I am familiar with the dual setup.