HDMI/AV Switch Box or Alternative Method

[Cory Marlow]

Any advise would be great. Thank you in advance for taking the time to help me out. I have done some research, but feel more comfortable getting advise about my own setup then a generalized set up.

My Set-Up:

• Epson Home cinema 2000 projector - mounted on wall
  • 1 HDMI cord running from projector (installed along the wall) to the front of the room
  • AV/RCA Input, Auxiliary Input, VGA Input, 2 HDMI Inputs, 1 Service Input, 1 USB Input, and 1 RS-232C Input.
• 1 Sound bar with 1 Auxiliary Input, and 2 Optical Audio Inputs
• 1 Xbox One
• 1 PS4
• 1 Wii (Not the Wii U)

Question 1: The Wii only has AV output cords and no options for a HDMI output. I bought a HDMI to Composite converter and a Triple Phono Plug Coupler so I could convert my HDMI (from projector) to the AV cords (to wii). This resulted in no picture or sound being displayed. So, how can I make my converter from AV to HDMI work without running AV cords from the projector all the way to the wii?

Question 2: Since I only have 1 HDMI cord running from the projector, and would like to avoid running another one, is there any way I could buy an HDMI switch box and be able to switch between the three consoles? If so, can you please recommend one because the one I bought displayed the image twice as small as it should have been and I could not fix the issue. (I have a 100in screen).

Question 3: If I connect my projector and sound bar with the auxiliary cord (can't use optical because projector does not have that option) will the sound quality change when compared to connecting the sound bar with optical cord directly to the gaming systems?

Thank you again.

 

[Latent]

1. That converter converts an hdmi source device to output to a composite TV/projector so you have it the wrong way around. You may be able to get a similar device that does the opposite direction and converts a composite source device into a hdmi output to send to the projector. You need somthing to do HDMI switching though because you have only one HDMI to your projector. does your sound bar have any HDMI inputs or just an output?
2. There are lots of HDMI switches available and a 4 in 1 out one should work fine but make sure it supports the HDMI level of the devices you have. HDMI 1.4 or 2.0 level ones should be fine I think. But ideally you would use your sound switching device which is your sound bar to do this switching for you. But how many HDMI inputs does it have? You can place the 4-1 hdmi switcher in front of the sound bar if it has too few HDMI inputs.
3. you may get a phantom 5.1 effect from your sound bar with 5.1 sources when connected via optical but via aux you are just 2 channel. Sound quality wise you probably won't notice the difference because sound bars are just not good enough sound quality to begin with.

The ideal solution is to get a HDMI switching AVR. You can pick one up second hand very cheap as long as you make sure it supports HDMI 1.4 and was built in the last 6 years or so. Many units have built in HDMI video up-conversion so that composite and component video inputs will output over the one HDMI output port but be aware this feature is only on newer or higher end models. You then need 2, 3 or 5 speakers plus a subwoofer ideally. Ideally full sized bookshelves would be best but even smaller satellite speaker systems will give much better sound than a sound bar. If you have no budget for speakers then you can start by finding a second hand set from an ok brand and then upgrade when you have the money. If you had some real money to spend then I'm sure there are many recommendations others can make here if you ask.

 

[Cory Marlow]

1. Good to know I was doing it the wrong way. The sound bar does not have any HDMI inputs - only the optical and aux connections. I will be hooking up the PS4 and Xbox One with the optical ports to the sound bar, and I think I will just buy an Aux cord to run from the projector to the sound bar for the Wii system.

2. The HDMI switch I bought on amazon here should have done the job right? Instead - it was shrinking the picture size of the image instead of keeping it the same. Is this the wrong one?

3. I guess I don't mind the phantom effect because it has to be better than the projector speakers itself. So what about this:

a) Connect the AV cord from the wii to the projector as I have it now OR find a proper switch (still not sure what kind I need that would do the opposite of what I am doing). Then connect the aux cord from projector to sound bar so the Wii sound will play on the sound bar. Does this sound good?

Lastly, I have a nice Sony Receiver (retail $500) that I got at the pawn shop I work at. I am just waiting on a nice set of speakers to come in - mostly Bose Speakers. Then, when I get the speakers I will be able to make my life much easier and all the connections will be set up nicely.

Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it!