I don't have a television. have an ASUS HDMI 24" monitor, with a single HDMI port and no USB ports. My laptop is plugged into the single HDMI port. Can I use an HDMI splitter, to hook my Roku Express up to my monitor, so that I have both internet, and streaming capabilities? Can I plug the USB cord into my USB hub, which is connect to my laptop?
Plug the Roku into the monitors HDMI port. Plug the power cord from the Roku into the wall outlet. If you want to watch Roku unplug your laptop. If you want to use your laptop unplug the Roku. You will also need speakers.
Just to clarify things for you a little bit.
1. The HDMI is required to provide video and audio capabilities of the Roku device (Express).
2. The USB is required for power capability of the Roku device.
3. Once the Roku device is powered up, the network card/chip inside the Roku device will receive power and will recognize your wireless network and internet connection capability broadcast from your router.
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With the above understanding, you can simply plug your HDMI cable from the Roku Express into your 24" monitor, and plug your USB into your USB power hub (or preferably, use the included power adapter and plug this into wall power) and you should be able to connect to your network and stream away. You do not need to include the laptop in any way.
If you are sharing this 24" monitor with your laptop (because you need a bigger screen), then you should look into a HDMI "switch", rather than a splitter. The monitor can only be used for either the Roku Express, or your laptop, but not both "at the same time".
Feel free to post back if you have any more questions.
You probably know this, but some people hook a Roku to a monitor and then wonder where the sound is, because most monitors have no speakers. Or, if the monitor has speakers, then they ask how to control the volume, because most monitors have no facility to be driven by a remote control.
@AvsGunnar wrote:If you are sharing this 24" monitor with your laptop (because you need a bigger screen), then you should look into a HDMI "switch", rather than a splitter. The monitor can only be used for either the Roku Express, or your laptop, but not both "at the same time".
This is the way you need to go if you want to share the monitor with your laptop, and you only have a single HDMI port. It's not good to constantly be swapping the connection in the HDMI port.
However, there's one more thing to consider. Most PC monitors do NOT have built in speakers. The HDMI connection from the Roku provides both audio and video over the single cable. Depending on your Roku player, there's likely no audio output on your Roku to feed into an alternate audio device.
You have three choices to resolve audio if your monitor doesn't offer it:
My personal choice is to use a dedicated screen for the Roku, and not share it with your laptop. Using a TV resolves all the potential audio problems, and you're not constantly changing the HDMI cable between devices. And just to provide further ideas, Best Buy current has a 32" TCL Roku TV for $170, and the Roku is built into it. Or for $190 a Vizio 32" 1080p TV. Most of the TVs I use for computer monitors are Vizio, so I have no problem recommending one. Best Buy even has 40" 1080p TVs for under $200.
You do not want to use an HDMI splitter. That is for sending the output of an HDMI device to several display units.
You want an HDMI switch. That allows you to connect several different HDMI sources to a single display unit, and switch back and forth between them.
Edited to add:
Some devices can be found that can be set to work in either mode: splitter or switch.