Electronics

[madzonie]

So we have a TV that has 2 HDMI cable ports.  Unfortunately last summer a lightning strike fried one of the ports.  We plan to buy a new TV one of these days, but in the meantime I'm trying to do a "patch."

Does anyone know if I buy something called an HDMI cable splitter, can that turn the one working HDMI port into 2?  I've seen these things on Amazon.  It looks like you plug the splitter into the existing/working HDMI port, and then the splitter provides 2 or 3 ports, depending on the model.  

Am I even close to making sense, and making something like that work?

Our goal is to be able to use the HDMI ports for both our cable input and something like a DVD player or an Amazon FireTV Stick.

Any help/guidance would be appreciated!

[Ms Tink]

I don't know anything about the splitter but I needed something to run more than one device from. In our bedroom, we had a tv with only one HDMI port so I went to Amazon and bought an HDMI Auto Switch that allows you to just plug it into your TV HDMI port and the HDMI box has ports for you to add addition DVR's, Roku,  etc to your tv. I got a cheap one with a remote for around $10 and it works great.

[Kachina624]

@Ms Tink.  Your gadget sounds exactly like what the OP needs.

[Ms Tink]

Thanks, @Kachina624. It sure was a life saver to me. Been using it for over 10 years.

[DJP]

@Ms Tink  Do you know the name of the splitter? I need one, too.

[madzonie]

Thanks Boaz...I think this is what I need!  I guess I was calling it by the wrong name.  From what you describe, it sure sounds like it would work for our purposes.  I'll go check out Amazon  -  thanks again!

[VaBelle35]

I've used a coax cable splitter back in the day and it worked fine for my crazy setup, so I see no reason why an HDMI splitter wouldn't work.

It's a lot cost item to try and you might even be able to return it if it doesn't work.

[hckynut]

@madzonie

The splitter shown by the other contributor looks like a good buy, and exactly what you need for your purposes. Audio splitters have been around for decades, as have video splitters.

They are very useful for most expansion purposes, such as yours. Those that want to use them to split video signals for a long distance, say a room in a far part of a house, might want to make sure that the power input reaches the output with the same strength.

Most nowadays can be used with a remote control. Years ago I used A-B splitters that had to be manually moved, similar to a wall light switch, but bigger. This was long before DVI and HDMI hit the consumer market. Much easier to split audio and video or audio/video combined in 1 cable, in this era than it was "back in my days" when getting into electronics.

hckynut(john)

[Ms Tink]

@DJP just run a search for HDMI Auto Switch where ever you may buy online. I got mine from Amazon. I got a cheap one and it does just fine, and there are many to chose from - 3 ports 4 ports etc.

[glb613]

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@madzonie wrote:

So we have a TV that has 2 HDMI cable ports.  Unfortunately last summer a lightning strike fried one of the ports.  We plan to buy a new TV one of these days, but in the meantime I'm trying to do a "patch."

Does anyone know if I buy something called an HDMI cable splitter, can that turn the one working HDMI port into 2?  I've seen these things on Amazon.  It looks like you plug the splitter into the existing/working HDMI port, and then the splitter provides 2 or 3 ports, depending on the model.  

Am I even close to making sense, and making something like that work?

Our goal is to be able to use the HDMI ports for both our cable input and something like a DVD player or an Amazon FireTV Stick.

Any help/guidance would be appreciated!

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What you want is a HDMI hub or switch.  I have one I bought many years ago when the TV I owned at the time only had 1 HDMI port.  You use a remote to switch which port you want to play through the TV.  You'll plug the hub into the HDMI port still working on your TV then plug your devices into the hub/switch.  If you want to watch one of the devices plugged into it, use the remote to change which port is playing through your TV.