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My Asus VX239H has two HDMI input, but I don't know why 2 instead of one. Isn't one enough? Or, are other use cases having two HDMI ports?

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    This way you can connect 2 sources (e.g. PC's)
    – bummi
    Mar 25, 2019 at 15:36
  • Yeah, but what happen if I connect two sources? The monitor is just one.
    – user840718
    Mar 25, 2019 at 15:37
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    The same reason you have a TV with multiple inputs. So that you can switch between your DVD player, your cable TV box, your Roku or Amazon Streaming device and your Playstation without unplugging another device to do so. You can only watch one thing at a time, but it is always easier to have everything connected to begin with and move between them using built in or remote controls than having to constantly unplug things. Every time you plug in or unplug something you are (very slightly) risking damage to the connector.
    – Mokubai
    Mar 25, 2019 at 16:47

1 Answer 1

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Multiple inputs are to switch between multiple sources. For instance, if you have a Playstation and a PC, both can be plugged into the monitor, and switched with the buttons on the monitor. Otherwise, you would have to have an external HDMI switch.

It's common for monitors to have multiple HDMI inputs, and also common to have multiple types of inputs. DVI, VGA, DisplayPort, and composite video are frequently also found. The monitor buttons let you switch between those inputs also.

On a bigger scale, if you had many devices to input audio and/or visual (cable, antenna, tape deck, CD, DVD, Roku, AppleTV, Chromecast, Playstation, PC, etc), then the usual thing to do is get a receiver. Then the receiver is used to switch between inputs.

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  • Perhaps swap "Composite Video" for "DisplayPort"? We're talking about monitors, not TVs after all.
    – Attie
    Mar 25, 2019 at 15:51
  • Thanks, I added DisplayPort as well. Haven't seen composite on a new display for years, but worth keeping as an example. Mar 25, 2019 at 16:13

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