I've got an interesting problem; I've got a TV and 3 monitors. I would like to mirror my middle monitor to my TV via an HDMI switcher, because Steam Big Picture just doesn't work well with multi-monitor setups (shuffles monitor order and I can't plug in 4 concurrent monitors with my graphics card).
I have HDMI splitters which I use to output my game consoles to my TV, my monitor and my capture card, no problems. My video card/monitor both support HDMI and plugging HDMI in direct to the monitor is no problem. But once I introduce the splitter and plug the TV and monitor into it, things get weird. Suddenly the monitor won't work unless the TV is turned on (not acceptable; the TV is usually off during normal PC use).
The monitor also suddenly underscans (black borders at all sides) when the TV is plugged in, and turning on Overscan on my monitor doesn't entirely fix it. If it matters the TV is actually set to "Justscan" AKA no overscan, so I'm not sure why splitting suddenly introduces underscan. It seems like the problem is the PC is acting like it's connected to the TV first and foremost, so if the TV is off, there's no display. However switching which slot which HDMI cable is plugged into doesn't change the situation; the PC seems to always act as if the TV is the "monitor" and only mirror to the monitor if the TV is on.
Is there a way to split this signal to my TV and monitor seamlessly? Willing to purchase new hardware, but I already have HDMI splitters and an HDMI switch and my setup works perfectly for 4 game consoles.
If it matters I'm using Windows 7 64 bit, an ASUS monitor with HDMI, DVI and VGA inputs, a Raedon 6950 which supports 3 monitors and has an HDMI out. Other monitors are on DVI, one via a Displayport to allow 3 monitors. HDCP shouldn't be the problem since these same splitters work with PS3 (which uses HDCP).