HDMI Switch vs. HDMI Splitter: What's the Difference?

How-To Geek

By Bemfica de Oliva

Published Oct 14, 2023

HDMI switches and HDMI splitters sometimes look similar, but they serve very different purposes

Corbin Davenport / How-To Geek

HDMI switches are used when you have multiple image sources but only one screen, allowing you to choose which source to display at any given time.
HDMI splitters allow one source to display the same image on multiple screens simultaneously, but do not support displaying different pictures on each screen.
KVM switches can be used as HDMI switches, though HDMI-only models are usually cheaper and more suitable for simply switching between HDMI sources.