Just a pipe dream, or can I find something? (1 Viewer)

[Xander H]

Hey all, I'm looking to upgrade my receiver (actually my parents are grabbing their first HDTV so I'm giving them my receiver since theirs has no HDMI, and it gives me the excuse to grab a new toy) but I've got a sort of thought for something I'd like to do and I'm not sure if there are any receivers out there that can manage (maybe there are tons, I'm not very knowledgable so that's why I ask here).

I need HDMI inputs for my sattelite box, my PS3, and my computer and it needs to have 7.1 surround. Now with a single HDMI output that would complete my theater, but right over in the next room is my bedroom with another HDTV. Right now I'm running composite from the second output in the back of my satellite dish to that display and it's not good, but my current receiver only has one HDMI output. I've also got an exercise room with a TV (older, not HD) mounted right across the hall.

So what I'm wondering is, are there any receivers out there that will take all the inputs from my three data sources and will blast them on my theater, but then be switched over to the bedroom and have all the 7.1 turned off and the video/sound all coming from my bedroom TV via an HDMI cable, and then when I want to go ride the exercise bike, send the video and sound through some composite cables over to there?

I've seen receivers that do 2 zones, but a) I don't have any extra speakers for the bedroom and b) I'd like three (or more) TVs to run off of it, and while playing around with all the features and options on mine I can't find a way at all for it to do anything close to that, so is this just a pipe dream or can I find something out there that might work?

Either way, thanks for reading and any other ideas that you guys might have are more than welcome!

 

[Stephen Tu]

You might be able to do it with your current receiver (unless I am misreading your post and by "receiver" you meant "satellite receiver" and you don't actually have any AV receiver w/ HDMI), with some extra wiring. Monoprice has HDMI splitters, 1 input -> 2 output.

You'd have to connect via both HDMI & composite/analog stereo for all your sources that you want to utilize for the third TV. You'd send the analog VCR out to the third TV.

 

[Xander H]

Wow, that would be really nice. Do the splitters allow both of the outputs to display at the same time or is like the old A/B switch thing? And how is quality affected if at all?

Also I guess that means they don't really make the sort of audio/video hub that I'm looking for. I was sure there would be a market for them somewhere, especially people who can't afford the 4 boxes per house from satellite but has those TVs, or has more than 4 and would like to input into one receiver and then output wires to whatever TVs they can't cover with their sat boxes.

Thanks a ton for the suggestion though, and just to try and milk as much expertise as I can out of this little thread, where are some cheap places to pick those up? Thanks again.

 

[Stephen Tu]

monoprice.com it's a web store. AV matrix switchers for whole house distribution do exist, it's just that they are expensive, and overkill for what you are proposing, since in your case all you really need is an HDMI splitter for the one other room.

 

[Dave Moritz]

But if you are going to buy a new receiver anyway there are some models out there that do have dual HDMI outputs. I honestly do not know if they both function at the same time or not. And to get that second HDMI out you will have to get a higher end receiver as the lower end models do not have that fexability. But at the same time you can alway get a reciever with one HDMI out and use a monoprice switcher to save some cash. I honestly have not known anyone that has used one and I have not ether so I can not say how well they work.