Switches & Repeaters

Monoprice Blackbird 8K Dual Function HDMI Splitter/Switch


I don’t get excited about new products often. But I am excited about Monoprice’s Blackbird 8K Dual Function HDMI Splitter/Switch. Priced at $60 (!!), it gives AV enthusiasts a low-cost solution to allow you to switch between two HDMI inputs and distribute to two HDMI displays. Add some HDMI 2.1 compatibility (with all the goodies), and I think Monoprice has a winner here. Let’s discuss. 

Features

So I have gushed enough about this thing, but for good reason. The Monoprice’s Blackbird 8K Dual Function HDMI Splitter/Switch has A LOT going on under the hood. First off, it delivers HDMI 2.1 at 40Gbps video bandwidth. That means the Blackbird will support up to 8K60 and 4K120. Gamers will be very interested in that feature. For the AV enthusiast, the Blackbird delivers multichannel compressed/uncompressed audio! 

Who Could Use The Blackbird HDMI Splitter/Switch?

The easier question is, who couldn’t? All joking aside, the Blackbird is aimed solidly at gamers and AV enthusiasts. It has all the next-gen features you could want and a bit more. 

But it could just as easily be aimed at the AV enthusiast who has an older HDMI 2.0 receiver/TV that wants to stream lossless audio from a source back to their receiver. It could breathe a bit of life back into a component. 

Or, for someone who has a newer HDMI 2.1 receiver, but only has a single port. This could add a little bit more functionality to your receiver. Plus at $60, this is a very affordable switch!

Our Take

If it’s not apparent, I am very excited about the Monoprice’s Blackbird 8K Dual Function HDMI Splitter/Switch. At $60, this thing is a no-brainer for someone who needs a next-gen switch/splitter to add to their setup. With a long list of features, it’s going to be easy to add the Blackbird as one of 2023’s must-have devices. 


2 Comments on Monoprice Blackbird 8K Dual Function HDMI Splitter/Switch

  1. Jens

    Can it be connected to a hdmi 1.4 receiver to send lossless Audio formats back to the reciever? And all the new video and hdmi 2.1 standards then go to the lg c9 TV? Or will it detect the old reciever’s max output of 1080p SDR and limit both outputs? Essentially i Want to upgrade my system to 2.1 hdmi support.

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