# Help! Connect TWO Home Theater Systems in Parallel



## hrestrada (Apr 15, 2012)

Hi everyone!

This is my first post in here. I have in my living room one Home Theater System working great. Is in this area where I have my PS3, Direct TV and Blu Ray. Next to my living room it's my deck. In this deck I've installed a Projector with a Projector Screen. I want to have a surround sound in the deck too. The thing is that I want to set up in the deck a Home Theater System but that I want to have the video and audio source from the living room. It is possible??? I've come up with the idea of connect the HDMI output from the living room Home Theater to a HDMI amplifier (1 hdmi in to 2 hdmi out), one of this goes to my TV (in my living room) and the other one to the deck Home Theater HDMI in... So in this case if I play something in the living room it will play and sound also in my deck (if I turn everything On of course)...

I guess I could hook up an amplifier to every source (PS3, Direct TV etc) but I also want to be able to listen the same music in the living and deck if I’m throwing a party…

Anyone knows if I can do this? Or I will burn everything??? I hope I explain myself well enough

Thank you for your help!!:T


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## hrestrada (Apr 15, 2012)

Help out please!!! :hissyfit:


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

If you want to be able to use any source from one room in both rooms, what you need is an HDMI matrix switcher. They're not inexpensive though. You could also do multiple 1->2 HDMI expanders, 1 for each source and then run cabling to 2 different AVR's - one in the LR, one in the office.

Now, if you want just MUSIC in LR, office, and deck, just use a different output like SPDIF or even analog L+R. 

If you want sound in 3 different places, you're going to need 3 different receivers (or amp/preamp) to accomplish that - Assuming you want full flexibility to have all 3 the same or all 3 different. 

Really need to know a little more about how much flexibiltiy and what sources in each place - just music or full video/surround. How much control over same or separate?

Bryan


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## hrestrada (Apr 15, 2012)

Hi Bryan & everyone!

Thanks for your reply. I'll try to explain myself better. I have 2 areas Living Room and Deck. All of my Video sources are in the LR (DirecTV HD and PS3) connected to a HTS - Home Theater System (nothing fancy just a Panasonic with 2 HDMI in and 1 HDMI out) and my HTS HDMI output goes to my LED TV. This works great.

The thing is that I bought a Projector and Projector Screen for my Deck area. Now in order to be able to use the projector: option 1) I could just buy another PS3 and Direct TV deco (that’s insane right). Option 2) is to buy, as you said it, 2 1->2 Hdmi expanders and connect one output to the HTS in the LR and the other output to a new HTS on my deck. I think (I'm not expert) that with this option I could easily use my Direct Tv and my PS3 in both areas simultaneously and even play PS3 on my Deck while my wife watch a movie in the LR right??? The only downside with this option is that if I play music on my HTS in one of the HTS it won’t sound in both areas since one HTS it's no connected to the other. I could live with that but it would be great listen the same music in both areas.

So I came up with this idea Option 3) Could I connect my LR HTS HDMI output to a 1->2 HDMI expander and one output to my led TV. So far this would be the same as it is now right???... Now can I connect the other expander HDMI output to the Deck HTS Hdmi input??? If I can do this (remember I'm anything but an expert in this) I would be able to have my deck as a repeater for my LR HTS, so if I play music, ps3 or direct TV in my LR HTS I could watch it a listen it in my deck as well. The downside here is that it won't work separated but I'm willing to sacrificed this to be able to listen the music in both places.

So the question is Can I connect one HTS to a HDMI expander then one output to the TV and the other to another HTS so they will work in parallel?

I hope that I explain what I want to do! Thank you very much for your help :T !!!


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

You’d probably get better answers at the “System Set up and Connection” area of the Forum. This area is for design and construction of dedicated home theater rooms.



hrestrada said:


> So the question is Can I connect one HTS to a HDMI expander then one output to the TV and the other to another HTS so they will work in parallel?


Theoretically it should work, but HDMI can be wonky. You also have another issue to deal with, namely remote-controlling the program sources from the deck (if you want to pause or chapter-back a movie, for instance).

Regards, 
Wayne


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## hrestrada (Apr 15, 2012)

Thanks Wayne I've posted in the right place now!


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