What Is an HDMI Matrix and When Would You Use One?

What Is an HDMI Matrix and When Would You Use One?

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Contents

Key Learnings

  • An HDMI matrix connects multiple HDMI sources to multiple displays, allowing independent selection for each screen.
  • It differs from an HDMI splitter, which sends one source to multiple displays simultaneously.
  • Common applications include multi-room homes, sports bars, corporate offices, and schools, offering flexibility and ease of use.
  • Key features include resolution support, EDID management, and audio de-embedding, ensuring compatibility and performance.
  • When installing, consider future-proofing, proper cabling, and user-friendly controls for an effective system.

Lets Go, Matrix’s

If you have one TV and one source, HDMI is easy. Connect the cable, select the input and away you go.

But what happens when you have four TVs, Sky, Apple TV, a media player and a gaming console, and you want to decide which source appears on which screen?

That’s when an HDMI matrix starts to make a lot of sense.

An HDMI matrix is essentially the traffic controller of a larger video or content system. It allows multiple HDMI sources to be connected to multiple displays, with each display able to independently select which source it wants to watch.

They’re incredibly useful in larger homes, sports bars, offices, boardrooms, schools, churches and commercial AV systems. However, choosing and installing one properly requires a little more thought than simply counting HDMI sockets.

So, let’s explain what an HDMI matrix actually does, how it differs from an HDMI splitter, and when we’d recommend using one.

So What Exactly Is An HDMI Matrix?

An HDMI matrix takes multiple HDMI inputs and routes them independently to multiple HDMI outputs. You’ll commonly see configurations such as:

  • 4×4
  • 6×6
  • 8×8
  • 16×16

So as an example, an 8×8 HDMI matrix accepts up to eight HDMI sources (inputs) and distributes them to up to eight displays, TV’s or projectors (outputs) around your premises or home.

What Is an HDMI Matrix and When Would You Use One?

The important word here is independently. This is key.

  • TV 1 could be watching Sky.
  • TV 2 could be showing an Apple TV.
  • TV 3 could be watching the same Sky decoder as TV 1.
  • TV 4 could be displaying a media player.

A few seconds later, any of those displays can switch to another source without physically moving cables.

That’s the real power of a matrix, flexibility of content (no not the movie…).

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HDMI Matrix vs HDMI Splitter

These two products are often confused, but they do very different jobs in a system.

An HDMI splitter takes ONE SOURCE and sends it to multiple displays.

For example: Sky → HDMI Splitter → TV 1 + TV 2 + TV 3

All three TVs generally receive the same source, whereas an HDMI matrix combines switching and distribution.

RoomSkyApple TVMedia PlayerPC
Lounge TV✓✓✓✓
Bedroom TV✓✓✓✓
Outdoor TV✓✓✓✓
Media Room✓✓✓✓

For each display abive, you can select whichever source it needs in any combination through out the setup.

That’s why it’s called a matrix. You’re creating multiple possible routes between inputs and outputs.

The Big Question, Where Would You Actually Use One?

1. Multi-Room Homes

This is one of the most common applications. Imagine a house with TVs in the:

  • Lounge
  • Media room
  • Master bedroom
  • Kitchen
  • Outdoor entertaining area

Instead of putting a separate collection of source equipment behind every television, you can centralise the equipment in an AV rack.

Sky boxes, media players and other sources live in one location. The matrix then distributes those sources around the home.

The result is cleaner rooms, fewer visible boxes and much easier equipment management.

2. Sports Bars and Hospitality

This is where HDMI matrices really earn their keep. Imagine eight televisions showing different sporting events.

  • One screen has rugby.
  • Another has Formula 1.
  • Two screens have football.
  • The big display has the main event.

Rather than having separate source equipment attached to every television, an HDMI matrix allows staff to route the available sources wherever they’re needed.

When the big game starts, several displays can quickly be switched to the same source.

Simple right.

3. Commercial Offices and Boardrooms

HDMI matrices are also extremely useful in corporate AV environments.

A business may need to distribute:

  • Presentation computers
  • Video conferencing systems
  • Digital signage
  • Laptop inputs
  • Media players

…to several displays or projectors around the space.

A matrix allows those sources to be routed without constantly unplugging cables or moving equipment between rooms.

4. Schools, Churches and Community Facilities

The same idea applies to larger facilities.

A central AV system can distribute presentations, cameras, computers or media players to different areas of a building.

When properly designed, users don’t even need to understand what’s happening behind the scenes.

They simply choose what they want to display.

And that’s exactly how good AV should work.

What Is an HDMI Matrix and When Would You Use One?

What Happens When the TVs Are Far Away?

This is where HDMI matrices and HDMI extenders often work together.

Standard HDMI cables aren’t ideal for very long distances, particularly as resolutions and bandwidth increase. If your AV rack is 30, 50 or even 100 metres from a display, running a conventional HDMI cable may not be practical. Actually it will probably either fail or look like 480p on a 4K Tv, in other words it will look a bit shabby.

Instead, we use technologies such as HDBaseT.

Some professional HDMI matrices have HDBaseT outputs built directly into the chassis. You then run Cat6 or Cat6a cable from the matrix to a receiver located behind each television.

A typical system might look like: Sky / Apple TV / Media Player → HDMI Matrix → Cat6 → HDBaseT Receiver → TV

This creates an extremely neat installation and ensure your signal is complete and displaying correctly when it reaches your eyes.

What Is an HDMI Matrix and When Would You Use One?

Resolution Isn’t the Whole Story

Here’s where HDMI matrix specifications can become misleading.

You might see: “Supports 4K.”

Great. But which 4K? Is it the real deal or just a hyped up marketers dram slogan?

There is a substantial difference between 4K/30 and 4K/60 HDR. Then there are features such as Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDCP, chroma formats and different colour depths.

Modern gaming adds another level with:

  • 4K/120Hz
  • VRR
  • ALLM
  • Higher HDMI bandwidth requirements

So don’t buy a matrix simply because the box says “4K”.

The entire HDMI signal path needs to support the format you’re trying to distribute. That includes the source, matrix, extender, cable and display.

So if one link in the chain lowers the resolution, then that will flow through.

What Is an HDMI Matrix and When Would You Use One?

EDID: The Three Letters That Can Cause a Lot of Headaches

Now we’ll get slightly more technical (sorry).

EDID stands for Extended Display Identification Data.

When you connect a source to a television, the TV tells the source what it supports. In simple terms they have a chat and agree. So essentially the Apple TV hears from the TV and it says: “Hello Apple TV. I’m a 4K display. I support these resolutions, these audio formats and these HDR modes.“

That’s easy enough with one TV. But what happens when one source is connected through a matrix to several different televisions?

  • Perhaps one TV supports Dolby Vision while another only supports standard HDR.
  • One supports 4K while another is still 1080p.

Now the system has to decide what signal the source should output.

Good HDMI matrices provide EDID management, allowing an installer to control how these negotiations take place between source and display.

This can make the difference between a rock-solid system and one that mysteriously produces black screens or bad content and the wrong times.

What Is an HDMI Matrix and When Would You Use One?

Don’t Forget HDCP

Diving deeper with another term, HDCP is copy protection used by HDMI equipment.

Sky boxes, streaming devices, Blu-ray players and other sources may require a successful HDCP handshake before displaying protected content.

A quality HDMI matrix handles these handshakes correctly across multiple outputs. Cheap HDMI distribution equipment can struggle here.

That’s why HDMI matrix systems are one area where we’d recommend avoiding the cheapest box you can find online.

When eight televisions stop working ten minutes before kickoff, saving a few dollars on the matrix suddenly doesn’t feel quite so clever.

What Is an HDMI Matrix and When Would You Use One?

What About Audio?

Audio needs a lot of consideration too, otherwise you will have great images and a terrible sound.

Some HDMI matrices provide audio de-embedding, which allows audio to be extracted separately from the HDMI signal. That can be extremely useful. Especially if you might want the picture sent to a television while the audio goes to:

  • An AV Receiver for distribution to speakers in one space
  • Stereo Amplifier for distribution to a pair of speakers and maybe a subwoofer in one space
  • Distributed Audio System to allow for the sound to be sent to various zones
  • Commercial Audio Mixer connected to a 100V/70V Amplifier which is connected to in-ceiling or on-wall speakers in various zones
  • Powered Speakers mounted on the walls to provide sound in a zone

More advanced matrices may offer optical, coaxial or analogue audio outputs alongside HDMI. This allows flexibility with what you do with the sound and what it is distributed to.

This comes back to planning the complete system first for the space, rather than treating video and audio separately.

What Is an HDMI Matrix and When Would You Use One?

How Do You Control an HDMI Matrix?

Smaller systems with easy access may simply use:

  • Front-panel controls
  • Infrared remote controls

More advanced matrices can offer:

  • Web interfaces
  • RS-232
  • IP control
  • Control-system integration
  • Automation

This becomes particularly important in larger installations. Nobody wants to walk into the equipment room in the back of the place every time they want to change the television from Sky to Apple TV. For a commercial system, we may create simple controls where the user effectively chooses two options via a tablet on a wall: Display → Source

That’s all they need to know. Behind the scenes, the matrix does the complicated bit managing the video and sound content.

Our Recommendations When Installing an HDMI Matrix

1. Buy Bigger Than You Need

If you currently have four sources and four displays, we’d seriously consider whether a 6×6 or 8×8 system makes more sense than a 4×4.

AV systems grow. You may add another television, media player, camera or source later.

A little spare capacity now can save replacing the entire matrix later.

2. Plan Your Cabling Properly

For a new build or renovation, run quality Cat6 or Cat6a cable to every display location.

Better still, consider running spare data cables and suitable conduit. Cable is relatively inexpensive while the walls are open.

Adding it later isn’t.

3. Think About Your Highest Required Resolution

Don’t just design around today’s source equipment.

If gaming or high-frame-rate video is important, bandwidth requirements can be significantly higher than ordinary television viewing.

Work out what the system genuinely needs before choosing the hardware.

4. Keep the Equipment Centralised

One of the biggest advantages of a matrix system is centralisation. A properly designed AV rack makes servicing, upgrades and troubleshooting considerably easier.

It also keeps source equipment out of living spaces.

5. Use Quality Extenders

If you’re distributing HDMI over Cat cable, the extender system is just as important as the matrix.

A $5,000 matrix connected through unreliable extenders is still an unreliable system

6. Consider How People Will Actually Use It

For a new build or renovation, run quality Cat6 or Cat6a cable to every display location.

Better still, consider running spare data cables and suitable conduit. Cable is relatively inexpensive while the walls are open.

Adding it later isn’t.

What We Think?

An HDMI matrix isn’t something every AV system needs. If you have one television and a couple of local sources, keep things simple.

But once you start adding multiple displays, shared sources, long cable runs or centralised equipment, a matrix can completely change how the system is designed.

  • For residential installations, it can remove boxes and cables from around televisions while allowing expensive sources to be shared throughout the house.
  • For commercial environments, it provides flexibility. Screens can display different content throughout the day and then instantly switch when requirements change.

The trick is designing the system properly from the beginning.

At Rapallo, we look at the number of sources, number of displays, cable distances, required resolutions, audio requirements and, importantly, how people actually want to operate the system. Then we choose the matrix and distribution technology to suit.

Because the best HDMI matrix system isn’t the one with the most impressive specification sheet, it’s the one nobody has to think about when they press Watch Now.