HDCP is there to protect video feeds from illegal copying, and you need to make sure the HDMI switcher you’re buying supports this standard. Otherwise, most devices you connect to it won’t broadcast anything to your TV. For the record, we have reached out to Nintendo, though the company usually stays pretty quiet, or simply shuts down speculation– even if it turns out to be true. It's likely that Nintendo wants to keep the focus on its Switch OLED model, which has only just launched, and we don't expect a 4K iteration to launch imminently.

Splitters, and many switches, will be labeled in their name with the number of inputs and outputs, respectively, separated by an "x". So a "1x3" splitter will have one input sent to three outputs. Connecting a gaming console to your TV is one of the main reasons people buy an HDMI Switch. However, while there should be no issues with the original PS4, the older XBOX, and most other gaming consoles – the PS4 PRO, PS5 and XBOX Series X do raise some concerns. The main reason for buying an HDMI switcher is that you no longer have enough ports on your TV. Therefore, it would be annoying to run into the same problem two months after you buy the switcher… But most importantly, I want tweakable settings. On PC, there’s a piece of software called ReShade that does what the mClassic does: adds post-processing effects to games. The thing is, though, with ReShade, you can choose from a huge list of effects, tweak their settings to an extremely fine degree, and get access through a convenient on-screen display to a ton of different performance metrics. It’s basically an easy way to make any game you’re playing look great, and it’s sort of the third-party, community-led version of NVIDIA Freestyle.

Main difference between an HDMI splitter and an HDMI switch

The gold standard for the mClassic would be an onscreen interface you can use to see performance metrics and tweak what effects the mClassic applies and how it applies them. A silver medal would go to the mClassic if you could simply connect it to a PC via USB and change its settings in a piece of software. Either way, having control over your image is what I’m after, and even if the mClassic doesn’t get more effects, just the ability to tweak the ones it already comes with would be a massive win.

An HDMI Splitter is meant to connect ONE DEVICE to two or more TVs (or other screens / video projectors). There are, however, a few products that can serve as BOTH an HDMI Switcher and Splitter, meaning their HDMI ports can serve as either Input or Output. But to keep things simple, it’s usually best to buy a product that fits your specific need. In this article – we’re looking at HDMI Switchers (and one that does both). Like many things in life, an HDMI splitter is one of those items you never knew you needed until you get one, then you wonder how you ever lived without one. With many professional and personal applications, an HDMI splitter allows you to send one content source to multiple displays. This can be useful if you, say, run a sports bar—or if you simply want to use multiple screens for some multiplayer gaming. Manual Switching: You switch between the HDMI input ports by pressing a button on the switcher itself.There's also the possibility of a firmware update opening up some hidden capabilities, as we saw with Nintendo releasing Bluetooth headphones support– four whole years after the console first launched. But how will you switch between these three devices? There are three options, depending on the HDMI switcher you buy: Make sure that your HDMI switcher is compatible if you are routing the output of the switcher through a home theater receiver that provides decoding for advanced audio formats, such as Dolby TrueHD, Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS:X. If that’s not possible, it’s a matter of trial and error. In my personal testing, the Belfen 4K HDMI Switcher worked flawlessly with both the PS4 Pro and the PS5, and I’m assuming the two top ones will manage it as well – but you won’t know for sure until you try, unfortunately. However, the upgrade to visual quality with the mClassic engaged isn’t night and day, either. That isn’t to say it’s not a meaningful, worthwhile upgrade, though. For Animal Crossing, even some relatively light anti-aliasing and upscaling significantly cleans up the image and cuts down on jaggies. Considering the game is generally fairly minimalist aesthetically with lots of clean edges and bright colors, the increase to color vibrancy makes the whole world pop, while sharpening effectively brings out some extra detail from textures.