So from what your saying - would the following work. Component cable from each tv to media closet. Some sort of switch in the future ( you mention matrix switch) in the basement that would take multiple cable box inputs , DVD input and/or media pc input and send to multiple outputs. All this can be switched to feed any input to any output?
Can I watch different DVD's on different tc's with that setup?
can i control the DVD via the IR remote?
thanks guys
PS - got half my wiring done today - tomorrow will be another long one!!
If you have only one DVD player, then you could watch the same DVD on different TVs, but obviously would not be able to watch different DVDs at the same time. But if you had either several DVD players, or a way to watch ripped DVDs on several devices (ie two computers hooked up to the switch, or several networked media players, etc) or one of each, etc, then you could watch more than 1 DVD at a time.
As far as controlling the DVD player, matrix switch, etc there are several ways of doing it. You could control most of the equipment with IR if you had a IR repeater system. They are not very expensive or hard to hook up. However, many of us use some sort of automation control software. Some are realitively inexpensive while others are more expensive. So it just depends on your needs. Using automation software usually means that you can get two way control from devices (so you know if the DVD player is on or playing, etc), as well as more flexability in how you interface with the devices. So rather than just an IR remote control, you might have a touch screen, or an mobile phone/iTouch, etc, etc, etc.
