Who said that the number of devices you can have connected is limited to the number of ports on your television?  Everyone wants the ease of having their satellite, DVD player, cable, Blue-Ray Player, Tivo, surround sound, Xbox, Wii, PS3, Slingbox, computer and antenna (just for back up reasons) all hooked up.  SIGH.  But what if you wanted to display one device on multiple televisions, how do you know whether to use a switch or a splitter?

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Switches

A switch is needed when an individual wants to use one television, but has multiple devices to plug into the television.  A switch would be used for devices like the cable box, surround sound system, DVD or Blue-Ray players, and video games to all be plugged into one television without switching out the plugs when one device is needed.  A switch is used to  manage multiple input signals traveling to one output signal.  This makes switching between over devices easier without unplugging them when they are not in use.

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Splitters

A splitter is required to connect one device to display the same image on multiple televisions.  An example would be if you wanted to hookup a satellite box and watch it in multiple rooms.  A splitter could also be used when setting up a home theater room.  Instead of buying two DVD or Blue-Ray players you can easily just purchase one and add a splitter to connect a television and the projector, which will save you money on not purchasing the second player.