Like many things in life, an HDMI splitter is one of those items you never knew you needed until you get one, then you wonder how you ever lived without one. With many professional and personal applications, an HDMI splitter allows you to send one content source to multiple displays. This can be useful if you, say, run a sports bar—or if you simply want to use multiple screens for some multiplayer gaming.

There are, however, a few products that can serve as BOTH an HDMI Switcher and Splitter, meaning their HDMI ports can serve as either Input or Output. But to keep things simple, it’s usually best to buy a product that fits your specific need. In this article – we’re looking at HDMI Switchers (and one that does both). Connecting a gaming console to your TV is one of the main reasons people buy an HDMI Switch. However, while there should be no issues with the original PS4, the older XBOX, and most other gaming consoles – the PS4 PRO, PS5 and XBOX Series X do raise some concerns. Meanwhile, unlike the mislabeled devices mentioned above, there are devices that combine a switch and a splitter in the same box. A "4x2" switch is also a splitter, with four inputs and two outputs. It can send any of four sources to two TVs. Splitters, and many switches, will be labeled in their name with the number of inputs and outputs, respectively, separated by an "x". So a "1x3" splitter will have one input sent to three outputs. When you search to buy the best HDMI switcher, you’ll see devices called “HDMI Switch”, devices called “HDMI Splitter”, and those that mix it up and say they’re a Switcher AND a Splitter.The gold standard for the mClassic would be an onscreen interface you can use to see performance metrics and tweak what effects the mClassic applies and how it applies them. A silver medal would go to the mClassic if you could simply connect it to a PC via USB and change its settings in a piece of software. Either way, having control over your image is what I’m after, and even if the mClassic doesn’t get more effects, just the ability to tweak the ones it already comes with would be a massive win. First, you need to make sure your HDMI Switcher supports 4K and HDR (as do the PS4 Pro, PS5 and XBOX Series X).

There are a number of factors that you want to think about, the first being splitter or switch. If you’re going from one source to multiple displays, you want a splitter. If you are connecting multiple content sources to one display, you need a switch. Once you have that nailed down, you’ll want to consider the following. Inputs and outputs Getting the perfect HDMI switcher for your needs is not just a question of quality or even price – it also depends on which features you want and what exactly you’re planning to connect to your TV – now and in the future. So a switcher lets you switch between different HDMI signals, while a splitter lets you split one HDMI signal out to several screens. In the majority of situations, a switch will make your life a little easier, and a splitter can allow certain gear setups that wouldn't be possible otherwise. Handy little devices, no?Some HDMI switchers come without a separate power supply – instead, they get their power from the HDMI devices you connect (which are usually connected to either the wall outlet or your TV’s USB port). So the first step is to look at the number of HDMI devices you want to connect to your TV now. But then, I would recommend you add at least one (or even two) free HDMI ports, to future-proof your switcher. However, as dataminer @SciresM points out, the Realtek chip could be there to support improved audio transfer, or to support the introduction of an Ethernet port – new to the Switch OLED – rather than necessarily 4K upscaling. Make sure that your HDMI switcher is compatible if you are routing the output of the switcher through a home theater receiver that provides decoding for advanced audio formats, such as Dolby TrueHD, Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS:X. But how will you switch between these three devices? There are three options, depending on the HDMI switcher you buy:

HDCP is there to protect video feeds from illegal copying, and you need to make sure the HDMI switcher you’re buying supports this standard. Otherwise, most devices you connect to it won’t broadcast anything to your TV. The main reason for buying an HDMI switcher is that you no longer have enough ports on your TV. Therefore, it would be annoying to run into the same problem two months after you buy the switcher… An HDMI Splitter is meant to connect ONE DEVICE to two or more TVs (or other screens / video projectors).HDMI splitters that send two, three, four, or more signals from a single HDMI source are available, but for consumers, two is usually enough. Splitters with more outputs are primarily for business and commercial use, where one source needs to be sent to multiple TVs or projectors. However, the upgrade to visual quality with the mClassic engaged isn’t night and day, either. That isn’t to say it’s not a meaningful, worthwhile upgrade, though. For Animal Crossing, even some relatively light anti-aliasing and upscaling significantly cleans up the image and cuts down on jaggies. Considering the game is generally fairly minimalist aesthetically with lots of clean edges and bright colors, the increase to color vibrancy makes the whole world pop, while sharpening effectively brings out some extra detail from textures. Manual Switching with a Remote: You still have to switch between the connected input ports manually, but at least you don’t have to get up from the sofa, as you have an IR remote that controls the switcher. It's also possible that Nintendo is simply using some 4K-ready hardware in its console chain ahead of a 4K model. It's likely cheaper to buy 4K-ready chips en masse, and Nintendo may have made the business decision to invest in certain chipsets and cables preemptively, even if they're not being used to their full potential just yet.