31 Jan 2026 3 min read

Modern Slingbox Alternative Build! (Stream HDMI Anywhere)

Looking for a modern Slingbox alternative? In this post, I share details about my HDMI encoder build, a system to stream HDMI anywhere in my home and over VPN. While also preserve HDR and surround sound. This post covers the hardware and some of the mistakes and lessons learned.

One day I had what I thought was a simple idea:

“I’ll just use an HDMI encoder so I can stream whatever’s playing on the living room TV anywhere in the house.”

I was wrong. Very wrong.
This turned out to be neither easy nor cheap.

My wife would say this entire setup is pointless.
My ADHD brain, however, loves the idea of being able to watch (or just listen to) whatever’s on the living room TV from anywhere in the house — bedroom, kitchen, other rooms or even remotely over VPN.

I also wanted a lower-latency option, so I added HDMI-over-Ethernet for dedicated screens in a few rooms.

Where it went sideways

The first thing I learned:

“Just grab a cheap HDMI splitter”

…is terrible advice.

My HDMI encoder only supports 1080p and stereo audio, so a basic splitter would have forced everything down to that level. Goodbye HDR. Goodbye 4K and Goodbye Surround Sound.

That led me down the rabbit hole of Expensive HDMI switches, audio formats, and downmixing.

“Why an AVR? Aren’t there cheaper boxes?”

Yes… and no.

I tried at least six different HDMI audio extractors / downmixers. Most of them:

Didn’t support all audio formats
Choked on Dolby variants
Had weird handshake issues
Or just flat-out lied about what they supported

I eventually landed on a refurb AVR, which solved multiple problems at once:

Proper audio downmixing from anything
No format compatibility issues
Let me reuse some old Yamaha speakers a friend gifted me awhile back
Cost way less than the ~$2,000 “pro” HDMI downmixes people insisted were the only real solution

Unexpected wins

A few things I didn’t expect to love as much as I do:

Denon’s network API is actually great
Being able to lock the front panel is priceless when you have a toddler who believes all buttons exist to be pressed, turned etc (Home Assistant made locking the panel easy)

Final thoughts

Is this setup overkill? yeah probably

Do I regret it? My wallet maybe lol

I can:

Stream live HDMI content anywhere in the house
Watch remotely over VPN
Listen via Bluetooth headphones
Or use near-zero-latency HDMI-over-Ethernet displays

Hardware overview

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Video:

65" Sony XBR-65X900F
HDFury Diva HDMI Splitter
Uray HDMI Encoder for Streaming video over TCP / UDP.
OREI 4K 1x4 HDMI Extender Splitter Over CAT6/7 Ethernet Cable (HD14-EX165-K)
Xbox, Chromecast, Desktop (W11) HDMI via OREI HDMI Over Ethernet Extender

Audio:

Denon AVR-S760H
LC1i Active 2-Channel Line Output Converter
MUX Labs HDMI Audio Embedder
Avantree Oasis Plus 2 Bluetooth 5.3 Transmitter (audio to air pods)
Freebie Yamaha speakers, sub and a Nobsound G2 Subwoofer Power 300W Mono Amp to make an old passive sub work.

Other:

Sofabaton X1S remote / hub to control everything without CEC.
Power strips, various cords, other smart home stuff that hangs out in my AV cabinet.