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Hey guys. Im looking for a solution to be able to share content (video) from my spare Win server via ethernet to some TVs around the office. I know you can get ethernet to hdmi extender ( Transmitter and Receiver), but I would assume that one video output on the server would connect to only one receiver at the TV. Questions:

  1. How would I stream multiple sources to different TVs from the same server?
  2. How would I stream same source (lets say video), on multiple TVs around office.

Digital signage software is not an option here.

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The HDMI over ethernet (HDBaseT) uses a ethernet cable run direct between the transceiver and receiver. We use it for our conference rooms and it works great.
For multiple tvs, they do have ones that has a single HDMI in to multiple out.
Here is an example of one

we used to use HDMI over wireless, but we had lots of issues with reliability.

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For many devices to a single TV, You can look at a KVM that you can run to a TV. It will allow you to switch between the inputs. You could also be able to control the active input. You could also look at a KVM over IP device to stream over the network.
There are HDMI switchers that can do this as well. It would allow you to choose an output of many inputs.

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How much you spending?
ATEN have everything you could need - at a price.
Low budget means you are approaching the task with multiple solutions & yes, these are mainly 1 out to 1 in. All of the low budget options come with some errors & need work-arounds, especially in HDMI.

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But even with the 1:1 solutions, you could just add a basic HDMI splitter to split the signal at the source. More cables, but does the job if budgets are tight and a proper video distribution system isn’t within the price range.

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HDMI over ethernet using one to many device meets your request.
But there may be other options - what content do you need to display?

Why is digital signage software not an option?

I have previously used cheap digital signage type devices on each TV that could load a web page/feed. Then on the server you can create a web page with the required content including videos etc.

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I might add there is a HDMI over IP option. You have to set the channel for the transmitter and receiver and they will talk to each other. You can set multiple receivers to one channel for many TV’s to show the same thing.

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Had one of these for an older TV that only had one HDMI back when everything I needed to use lived and died on HDMI connections…can confirm, a TV KVM (HDMI port replicator is another search term to use) helps. Even had a remote controller for the unit I had!

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Hey, That parts is pretty clear. However im still struggling to understand the streaming side.

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I used the solution below for HDMI video at a church. It let me use one transmitter to send over IP and then install as many receivers as I wanted to pickup the signal.

J-Tech Digital HDMI Extender Over Single Cat5e/6/7 HDMI Over Ethernet 1080p with IR Extension - Up to 400ft [TX + RX]

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Right, but how do you stream the content?

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Streaming is a obscure term. In the case of that device. It has a transceiver that sends the converted HDMI signal and a receiver that changes the signal back to HDMI, you would have one on both ends (Output from server and to the input of the TV). It is basically extending an HDMI Cable over a CAT 6 cable or IP network depending on what you use.
I guess, when you say streaming, what exactly do you mean?

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We have a HDMI splitter, and each one goes into a Black Box device that goes to network, which at the other end goes back from network to HDMI. I will warn you I am always having issues with it. It is very touchy. If it gets too warm outside, it goes down. If it’s too cold, goes down. Someone looks at it funny, goes down. I have never had good luck with it, so I’d not go with this brand ever again just because of all the issues.

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You literally need video, in this case HDMI, out from the video “streaming” source. Just like a monitor. If you want multiple different “streams” you’ll need either multiple outs from the video source, or multiple video sources/servers.

There are pure IP streaming over ethernet devices available, but that is going to increase cost.

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Well, how do you stream content from the server? As I understand, the splitter only ‘shows’ whatever is displayed on the source monitor. If the server desktop window is off (remote user disconnected), it shows only blank screen on the video output.

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Most of those devices mentioned are basically a HDMI Extender\Splitter. If the server is off, then nothing will be shown like a monitor.
If you wish to see/connect to a server and see status when the server is off, you will need to look into Out of Band Management (IPAM). Different brands of servers have different names for it. FOr example, Dell has iDrac, HP has iLo and so on. Some Computers have vPro that can do it, but it is much harder to set up IMO.

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No, im looking to stream content.

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What kind of content are you looking to stream? Is it a dashboard or site the server it hosting?

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Videos. Preferably youtube.

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Let’s back up for a moment and make sure we use the various terminology correctly. “Streaming” means to transfer video over a TCP/IP network, Server to Client. As examples: A) You might imagine “Streaming” from YouTube’s Internet servers directly to your laptop/tablet/phone; B) You might similarly stream from something like a Plex server on your home/office private network to those same laptop/tablet/phone devices. In these models, there is no hardware/HDMI output involved. It is all digital over the network.

“Video Distribution” is an entirely different technology, and is the sort of thing that you may see in a restaurant/bar where several TVs are displaying the same content, and perhaps another set of TVs have a different “Channel.” In this scenarios, usually, the connections are from direct video outputs from one or more sources, such as a multi-output Satellite receiver or possible a server of some sort with multiple HDMI outputs. There are solutions to run HDMI over Ethernet cable, but this is a bit misleading, as those are not typically Ethernet networks but rather just transmitting over the same type of cable.

It sounds like you are trying to accomplish some combination of the above. Is that correct? If so, you probably have two separate problems to solve. Problem 1) How to output multiple video feeds independently. This could be done using multiple PCs with HDMI output, or perhaps one PC with multiple HDMI outputs and some form of Video multiplexing software. Problem 2) How to distribute the various video outputs from your sources? You could use something like HDMI-Ethernet extenders for TVs, or you could choose a Streaming solution (Plex is an example) to go direct to devices on-demand.

To summarize, I think unless we know the exact scenario you are trying to support, it is difficult for anyone here to offer a complete answer.

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