HDMI Splitter woes

[DirkSwizzler]

Hey guys. I mentioned a while back that I was having trouble running my OSSC in 5x scale through my hdmi switch and splitter combo.

I tried some things but need help.

I used the switch to connect a few HDMI consoles alongside the OSSC. And the splitter to send 1 signal to my pc monitor and another to my tv. My TV only supports the older standard set of 480i/p,720p, 1080i/p. While my PC monitor seems to support anything 480p and up. The plan was to default the OSSC output to 480p for my NESRGB. So it would show up on both. Then hit larger scaling modes when I was just going to use the PC monitor by itself.

Everything except 5x worked fine in that setup. And if I bypassed the switch and splitter then 5x worked on my pc monitor.

So. I set out to replace them with something that would cover all my needs.
I got a recommendation to try this splitter. But I wanted to future proof a bit to run all the newer consoles through the same switch and splitter. So I could literally just power on, grab a controller, and play. So I shied away from devices supporting less than 18gbps 4k.

So, instead of following known advice, I tried a new path. I tried this switch and splitter. 5x worked! Happiness was mine. I liked the combo so much that I bought a second splitter to mount behind my tv and use a separate hdmi input for "game mode". It was much easier to switch inputs than to change into game mode on the single input.

Life was happy. I was in 480p most of the time to keep compatibility with the TV. Then, sadness struck. I went to play my genesis and my tv was rejecting the mode. Crap. I bypassed both the splitters, but kept the switch. And everything worked again. But now I had no splitting at all! I'm not going to manually swap cables like some kind of animal. So I did more testing, and this is where things get weird.

The run of hdmi cable going from my AV shelf of my gaming book case is 6 feet and seemingly high quality. I also use these 1.5 foot hdmi patch cables for simply connecting devices in close proximity.

If I use a patch cable to connect the switch to the splitter while on the AV shelf, then the 6 foot run directly to my TV. The genesis case doesn't work. If I use the 6 foot cable to connect the ossc to the "game mode" splitter sitting behind my TV, then the patch cable to the tv. It works fine!

Same cables, same splitter, and even swapped out the patch cables and splitter with identicals I already had. I also swapped out the linked 6 foot cable with a generic 6 foot cable I had laying around. The only change that mattered was where the distance comes in. And 6 feet doesn't seem all that long for an HDMI cable.

So, I try other 4k splitters figuring there must be some quirk with the first one. I tried this one and this one. No go putting either one on the AV shelf. And putting either one next to the TV achieved weird garbage screen for modes that the first 4k splitter was having trouble with.

Ok, maybe the switch or the OSSC is doing something weird. I bypass the switch, no effect. Then I try adding hdmi repeater at random points in the chain hoping it will fix something. Nope. I can't remember if it ever got stranger results than directly connecting the OSSC to the TV. But it definitely didn't fix any cases.

So, lastly I try following the recommendation I originally got and grab a splitter limited to 1080p and everything magically works all the time while it's sitting on my AV shelf. As long as I don't also run my "game mode" splitter behind the TV as well. If I do run that splitter, supported modes land somewhere between the 1080p splitter directly plugged in, and the OSSC running directly into the "game mode" splitter.

At this point I'm scratching my head how to actually diagnose what I can do about the problem. It would seem that there's some fundamental part of the equation where a 1.5 foot cable is fine but a 6 foot cable is not. And that baffles me because 6 feet seems like one of the standard lengths.

Does anyone have useful advice? I've fallen out of spec and I can't get up (to spec).

At this point I feel like I need to investigate into repeater alternatives that can perform some kind of magical lagless signal cleanup that the first repeater I got isn't already doing.

I'm willing to drop the "game mode" splitter. But I really *really* want to maintain 4k switching and splitting at my gaming AV shelf.

[Syntax]

Have you tested all the HDMI cables you are using have 20 wires?
There are so many out there that only run a few and tie grounds which can cause all types of issues.

[ZellSF]

Uh, have you tried another 6 feet HDMI cable? I've had too many issues with bad HDMI cables to count.

Also if anyone's going to recommend HDMI splitters and switchers they probably need to know if you need HDR (requires a higher HDCP version).

[gray117]

There are hdmi repeaters/extenders/amps (choose your term) but I would be surprised if this was the issue at around ... what? 10ft total? ... but then again I guess a couple of devices/connections could perhaps be cause, and equate to degredation similar to a really long cable with only a single connection?

And/or the last part in the chain is just putting out a slightly weak signal...

... purely guesswork but if it works with shorter cables, and you've tried a couple of others... only other different device left to try ?

[Xer Xian]

Have you considered a 4x2 switch? The choice is not as abundant but it would simplify your video chain and reduce the chance of something going wrong.

[DirkSwizzler]

Have you tested all the HDMI cables you are using have 20 wires?
There are so many out there that only run a few and tie grounds which can cause all types of issues.

Uh, have you tried another 6 feet HDMI cable? I've had too many issues with bad HDMI cables to count.

Also if anyone's going to recommend HDMI splitters and switchers they probably need to know if you need HDR (requires a higher HDCP version).

I did try swapping out the Kabel direct 6 footer with a generic in case it had a fluke issue. But haven’t tried full replacement under the assumption that a significant number of cables are shady.

How would I go about testing for 20 wires without cutting them open? Do I need to do 20 pins of continuity testing?

How would I avoid underwired cables in the future? Assuming bad ones don’t advertise that fact. And little to no good cables specifically call out that they avoid this shady practice.

[DirkSwizzler]

Have you considered a 4x2 switch? The choice is not as abundant but it would simplify your video chain and reduce the chance of something going wrong.

I did consider it but didn’t find one I liked enough.

[Elrinth]

I didn't actually try connecting my OSSC directly to my UHDtv.
But I'm having problem with 5X @ 1080, the other 5X modes work. Maybe my splitter is interfering with the 1080-mode?!
But my capture card (Datapath) can display all modes correctly thru the same splitter... hmmm.
I am using this switch: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3D-5-Port-4K-H ... 2749.l2649

and this splitter: https://www.ebay.com/itm/VORKE-HD12-HDM ... 2749.l2649