3 TV setup in man cave

[scbruet]

I’m setting up a TV wall in my bonus room and looking for some advice on the best approach. I’m going with 3 TVs, a 70” in the middle, and a 50” on each side. I’m not going to go 4k.
What I need to connect
3 Direct TV boxes
Apple TV
PS3
I would like to be able to switch any of these between the 3 TVs so I would need a type of matrix switch that can handle at least 5 inputs and send out 3.
I also am prewired for surround sound so I would like whatever input is on the middle tv to be on the surround. How would I do that with a receiver and a hdmi matrix?
Also curious about a universal remote or possible ipad app that would control this?

This will be used mainly for sports viewing multiple games at once.
I might have lofty expectations but seeing what everybody thought. Thanks!

[---k---]

Wow. I got no clue, but am looking to see how you do it.

[JonMarsh]

Check out a Pro AV place like Full Compass- they're most likely to have the kind of switching unit you're looking for. I get some Pro gear from them, like my Brainstorm DCD8; they have always worked pretty well. Another one to check is Markertek; similar kind of outfit, and where I bought my Mutec MC3+.

[Chris D]

Hey, Scubret. It's actually pretty straightforward. You need an HDMI matrix switch with enough inputs and outputs. Unfortunately, I know of 4x4's and maybe a 6x2, but the only thing I know that would accommodate 5/3 would be an 8x8 or larger, which gets pricey.

You're going to hook up all sources to the matrix inputs, and the three displays to the matrix outputs. The only exception is, you're going to insert your surround receiver on the HDMI line between the matrix and middle TV. So connect one HDMI cable from the matrix output to your receiver HDMI input, and another HDMI cable from your receiver HDMI output to the TV HDMI input.

For control, you're going to want a control system that connects to ALL components, to control each one. I personally prefer and use (and even sell and program) URC, as they are the industry leaders for control and make bulletproof solutions. If you are only wanting the single room control, you can use their inexpensive Complete Control line, with a single remote, and one or more base stations that connects to the components. Then a macro will easily control things the way you want it, switching between video displays, changing sources, changing TV channels, powering things on and off, changing sources on the receiver (if needed), adjusting volume, etc. You can even add lighting control and more stuff if you want.

[Chris D]

Another option for your switching is to use HD over ethernet, like HDBaseT. Advantages of that is that you can buy individual transmitters and receivers for each component, so instead of wasted inputs on a matrix like 8x8 that you don't need, you get exactly what you buy--for you, buy 5 transmitters, and 3 receivers. Another advantage is that you can send the video long-distance, all over your house via ethernet cable, so the components don't have to be in the same room. And it's scale-able, meaning that if you want to add additional sources or displays in the future, you can just buy another receiver or transmitter. (like if you decide you want to also send video to a TV in the kitchen) One company called Just Add Power (JAP) is a popular solution for this.

However, so far I've found that buying these individual components add up to more than what an equivalent matrix would be, so I don't think you save money. For example, I think I found that for me, instead of buying a 4x4 matrix and 4 HDMI-over-ethernet extenders to distribute around my house, it would have been maybe 50% more expensive for me to buy 4 JAP receivers and 4 transmitters.