Managing 12+ HDMI Devices for Use on a Single TV

kubev · Jul 6, 2018

Darknight said:
No, they have different discrete IR commands. Think about it, a receiver would never work well if it constantly changed the volume on the TV too. Framemeister must be doing something weird if it's taking in IR commands it shouldn't.

I'll consider a receiver in that case. I still wish the next HDMI port/cable standard would build in a means of expanding a single HDMI port to accept multiple devices via expansion cables or something that you could daisy chain together or something (as in, it'd increment one input number per device down the chain and add the appropriate number of inputs to the TV UI). I hate how much TV UI's have advanced, but you're still stuck using different devices that're completely detached from those improved UI's for switching devices.

Enzom21 · Jul 6, 2018

Slayven said:
In my day this was the source switcher

I didn't know you could switch sources on a phonograph.

elektrixx · Jul 6, 2018

Here's my old chart for getting 11 devices on two displays at once. Lines going right through means it skips that device. The "Main Switch" had six inputs and two outputs while the "Legacy Switch" had five inputs and one output. "Converter" and "Roxio GameCap" were used to convert analog signals to digital before getting to the Legacy Switch.

There were actually 13 devices and 3 displays (4 if you count the Oculus Rift) but I won't count the PC and laptop as they bypassed the switch.

I don't have it like this anymore as the main Switch caps out at 4K30hz and I'm not sure how it handles HDR, so my PC, the now PS4 Pro and the now Xbox One X go directly to what is now a 4K TV. The PS3, Wii and Wii U are packed up while the NES and SNES were retired when I got the NES and SNES Classics. I also now have a GCVideoX on the GameCube, so I no longer have any analogue sources in play.

Darknight · Jul 6, 2018

kubev said:
I'll consider a receiver in that case. I still wish the next HDMI port/cable standard would build in a means of expanding a single HDMI port to accept multiple devices via expansion cables or something that you could daisy chain together or something (as in, it'd increment one input number per device down the chain and add the appropriate number of inputs to the TV UI). I hate how much TV UI's have advanced, but you're still stuck using different devices that're completely detached from those improved UI's for switching devices.

I think just your inexperience with setting this up is part of the reason this seems so problematic. Maybe I'm out of the loop but what does a TV UI have to do with any of this for multiple devices? Maybe it's because I've moved on to using a Harmony integrated setup, but I never deal with the TV UI anymore. I don't ever switch inputs on the TV. My TV is just a display device that is fixed and never changed in any aspect. It just turns on and off and that's it's only interactive function.

I did have one thought though; does the Framemeister support CEC? If so, maybe that's your problem and not IR.

kubev · Jul 6, 2018

Darknight said:
I think just your inexperience with setting this up is part of the reason this seems so problematic. Maybe I'm out of the loop but what does a TV UI have to do with any of this for multiple devices? Maybe it's because I've moved on to using a Harmony integrated setup, but I never deal with the TV UI anymore. I don't ever switch inputs on the TV. My TV is just a display device that is fixed and never changed in any aspect. It just turns on and off and that's it's only interactive function.

I did have one thought though; does the Framemeister support CEC? If so, maybe that's your problem and not IR.

What I'm referring to is the fact that TVs keep getting "smarter" each year, but you can't rely on the TV UI, regardless of how good it gets, because the hardware doesn't allow you to interface with enough devices. If I want to conveniently access all of my devices, then I need a minimum of at least one other device specifically for doing so, which means that the TV UI plays absolutely no part in me interfacing with them. It's weird that there's absolutely no path for someone who wants a lot of devices to interface with even a high-end TV due to the hardware limitations of TVs, because somehow the idea of needing more than four HDMI ports is just an alien concept. How is it that HDMI switches and AV receivers are so commonplace, but no one's pushed for them to better integrate with smart TVs so you don't continually need to use a less-intuitive means of interfacing with more devices? This is especially irritating when you consider the fact that my TV doesn't even have HDMI ports on it, instead relying on a separate box that has the HDMI ports on it so the TV is better for wall-mounting. Why not just offer another box with more ports?!

Also, no, I don't believe that the Framemeister supports CEC.

In either case, thanks for your advice on the matter. It's just frustrating that there's no single solution to all of this.

Darknight · Jul 7, 2018

kubev said:
What I'm referring to is the fact that TVs keep getting "smarter" each year, but you can't rely on the TV UI, regardless of how good it gets, because the hardware doesn't allow you to interface with enough devices. If I want to conveniently access all of my devices, then I need a minimum of at least one other device specifically for doing so, which means that the TV UI plays absolutely no part in me interfacing with them. It's weird that there's absolutely no path for someone who wants a lot of devices to interface with even a high-end TV due to the hardware limitations of TVs, because somehow the idea of needing more than four HDMI ports is just an alien concept. How is it that HDMI switches and AV receivers are so commonplace, but no one's pushed for them to better integrate with smart TVs so you don't continually need to use a less-intuitive means of interfacing with more devices? This is especially irritating when you consider the fact that my TV doesn't even have HDMI ports on it, instead relying on a separate box that has the HDMI ports on it so the TV is better for wall-mounting. Why not just offer another box with more ports?!

Also, no, I don't believe that the Framemeister supports CEC.

In either case, thanks for your advice on the matter. It's just frustrating that there's no single solution to all of this.

Maybe it's because you haven't set something up better, but you really don't need the TV UI at all. Many people who use receivers use the receiver interface as the main central control point and not the TV, especially since receivers have on screen displays. I just don't see the point in trying to go through the TV UI when you can bypass it all together. Using something like a Logitech Harmony remote means you never have to use the interface because the Harmony handles all that for you. Going with a Harmony Hub combined with an Echo or Google Home means you don't even have to push buttons anymore. There are better ways of doing things rather than trying to force everything through the TV UI. Maybe I just don't understand how you envision the necessity of wanting to use the TV UI though. Have you ever used a Logitech Harmony remote before? Maybe that's the disconnect.

tokkun · Jul 7, 2018

kubev said:
What I'm referring to is the fact that TVs keep getting "smarter" each year, but you can't rely on the TV UI, regardless of how good it gets, because the hardware doesn't allow you to interface with enough devices. If I want to conveniently access all of my devices, then I need a minimum of at least one other device specifically for doing so, which means that the TV UI plays absolutely no part in me interfacing with them. It's weird that there's absolutely no path for someone who wants a lot of devices to interface with even a high-end TV due to the hardware limitations of TVs, because somehow the idea of needing more than four HDMI ports is just an alien concept. How is it that HDMI switches and AV receivers are so commonplace, but no one's pushed for them to better integrate with smart TVs so you don't continually need to use a less-intuitive means of interfacing with more devices? This is especially irritating when you consider the fact that my TV doesn't even have HDMI ports on it, instead relying on a separate box that has the HDMI ports on it so the TV is better for wall-mounting. Why not just offer another box with more ports?!

It's lack of demand. There are not many people out there who need that many ports, so it is not worthwhile for them to design, test, and sell another model of each TV just to target that tiny audience. Plus, I would guess that most of the people who need 12+ HDMI ports are not that concerned with minimalism and probably already own an AVR for other reasons.

kubev · Jul 7, 2018

Darknight said:
Maybe it's because you haven't set something up better, but you really don't need the TV UI at all. Many people who use receivers use the receiver interface as the main central control point and not the TV, especially since receivers have on screen displays. I just don't see the point in trying to go through the TV UI when you can bypass it all together. Using something like a Logitech Harmony remote means you never have to use the interface because the Harmony handles all that for you. Going with a Harmony Hub combined with an Echo or Google Home means you don't even have to push buttons anymore. There are better ways of doing things rather than trying to force everything through the TV UI. Maybe I just don't understand how you envision the necessity of wanting to use the TV UI though. Have you ever used a Logitech Harmony remote before? Maybe that's the disconnect.

I may check out the Harmony Hub, as I believe that it'd integrate with the Fire TV Cube. And my point about the TV UI is that it just seems odd to me that it's there, but you're expected to almost completely ignore and bypass it if you want any sort of flexibility to use more than just a few devices.

Managing 12+ HDMI Devices for Use on a Single TV

kubev

Enzom21

elektrixx

Darknight

"I'd buy that for a dollar!"

kubev

Darknight

"I'd buy that for a dollar!"

tokkun

kubev