Here is the scenario:

I am looking to add put a 19" HD LCD in my kitchen and I want it to mirror what is on the TV in the living room. From my research, I know I can get a powered HDMI splitter which should handle it no problem.

We have DirecTV so the source I will be splitting from is our HD DVR receiver in the living room. The issue is that the TV in the living room is 1080i and the tv I am looking at for the kitchen is 720p. The DirecTV receiver automatically detects the best resolution of the TV and sets itself to operate at that level.

So here is the question. If i split the signal from the DirecTV receiver, will it automatically set itself to 720p, thus decreasing the resolution on the tv in the living room? If so, can I force it to 1080i and still have the tv in the kitchen operate?

11/27/2011 5:23:14 PM

the splitter will prevent the directv box from detecting anything. you will need to set the box to whatever the highest common resolution is. I would suggest using the component out for the kitchen tv and hdmi for the living room. on my directv dvr, both are output to simultaneously

11/27/2011 5:30:08 PM

Component out is also an option I considered for the kitchen, and would definitely be the cheaper route considering the length of cable I need to run. HDMI would just be cleaner and easier to snake through the wall

11/27/2011 5:34:23 PM

^not really. You can run a bundled set of component RCA cables just as easily (though I would do HDMI).

Get your HDMI cables from bluejeanscable.com. You can go up over 100ft run without an amp with their cables.

11/27/2011 7:11:10 PM

if the run is 100ft+ hdmi or component you're probably cheaper off just buying an additional box.

11/27/2011 8:18:07 PM

another directv box generally comes with a 2 year service commitment as well as an additional $5 fee each month

11/27/2011 8:21:17 PM

sorry i thought they only charged you the monthly fees if you were leasing the box from them.

11/27/2011 8:26:24 PM

well yeah, but even when you buy a box at best buy or something, it's still a leased unit. a non-subsidized unit costs ~300+ generally

11/27/2011 9:08:19 PM

whatever you decide I would run CAT5e or CAT6 in the walls. You can run almost *any* signal over that stuff with a powered converter or a passive balun. Then when you upgrade in the future you're not re-running cable, just swapping out what's being pushed over the same cables.

Also, what happens when you feed the 720p tv a 1080i signal? Does it just cut off/crash or will it display it? Before we moved buildings I had 3 TV's and a projector running over HDMI. The one that was 720p instead of 1080p just down converted the signal and went on it's merry way.

11/27/2011 10:06:52 PM

Wish you had dish network, I am trying to get rid of an extra dual room receiver I have cheaply. Very cheaply.

11/28/2011 9:03:24 AM