AboutBobbert Expertise Questions regarding HTPC integration to home theaters, and general purchasing advice regarding home theater and audio systems, including headphones. Please no car audio or over the top PA systems.
Experience General enthusiast, ~10 years as an audio hobbyist
Education/Credentials Engineering major, various DIY experiences, personal hobby
Question i'm getting a home theater system soon and im going to need about 5 hmdi cables for all my components so i was wondering instead of buying 5 hdmi cables can't i just buy one and switch it to the source that im currently using? or are the 5 hdmi cables necessary?
Answer With the switch scenario, you would need not only the cables required to connect the devices to the switch, but the cable to connect to the switch to your output device (Be it a TV or receiver), bringing you to a total of 6 cables (for five devices, and one for the switch output).
In a scenario with five sources, I would honestly consider a receiver, to handle input selection and so on, although if your TV has a sufficient number of inputs, this could work as well.
