My living room TV and basement office setup are pretty complicated as far as HDMI is concerned.
I have multiple devices plugged into my TV, including an Xbox One X (I still use the rapidly aging console for casual multiplayer games occasionally), an Apple TV 4K, a Google TV Streamer, a Switch 2, a USB-C dock for the ROG Xbox Ally X, and in some cases, a few other things. Since my mid-range Hisense U8H TV only has one open HDMI 2.1 port that's capable of a 4K/120Hz refresh rate, I use a high-quality HDR/120Hz/4K HDMI switch to keep all of my devices connected and more easily plug in whatever I want.
My office setup is similar, with a Mac mini (I'm using it as a Plex server), a PlaySation 5, and an Xbox Series X all running through an HDMI switch, while my M3 Max MacBook Pro utilizes the monitor's display port so I can get 120Hz on both screens (the M3 Max MacBook Pro only connects to a 4K monitor at 120Hz over Display Port), and my gaming PC is hooked directly to the monitor's main HDMI port.
I already covered why it's important to plug devices into the right HDMI port on your TV, and now, I'm diving into why you need to pay attention to what HDMI cable you're using, especially when you throw game consoles and HDMI switches into the mix.
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