4 HDMI Devices -> One HDTV, Keyboard & Mouse = The Ultimate Living Room
The living room truly is where families live today, not like before when it was only used to entertain guests or watch the occasional television show. Nowadays, the living room serves as a sanctuary of sorts; part media room, home office and gaming center. Due to the number of devices connected to each other, it can be somewhat difficult to enjoy all of them in a clean and simple fashion. IOGEAR’s revolutionary HDMI Control Center aims to alleviate some of the confusions.
Introducing the HDMI Control Center to the home market allows consumers to utilize the living room television as a centralized connection point; leveraging both HDMI and USB-powered devices to gain instant access, enjoyment and the freedom of complete user control.
Setting the device up is fairly straightforward. On the back of the HDMI Control Center is a gray area for console where you connect the HDMI cable from your television or monitor to the unit along with the USB-powered wireless keyboard with built-in trackball,. Simply connect the rest of your devices via HDMI and USB for quick and simple setup.
How does it work?
Use the HDMI Control Center to connect and control the following, and enjoy all of them at full 1080p HD resolution.
- Home Computers
- Media server
- Blu-Ray / DVD players
- Gaming consoles (Xbox, Playstation 3)
- HD Set-top Boxes
- Digital Video Recorders
A quick tap on the hot-keys on the wireless keyboard will allow you to quickly switch to your desired devices and IOGEAR’s Display Emulation Technology means it will remember the screen resolution and parameters for each specific device, so you don’t need to adjust your TV each time.

Utilize the USB ports to connect a USB hub or other USB peripheral devices such as external drives or digital cameras. Because you are only sharing a screen session, you can run different applications on your computer and your media server while recording to your DVR all at the same time. The HDMI Control Center comes as a complete kit, ready to install out-of-the-box with everything you’ll need. Clean lines and brushed aluminum on the front fascia will match any home décor and an included headphone jack should be all you need for a little more privacy.
Nice article. I always have loved electronics!
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Comment by CareerSpace — July 21, 2009 @ 12:01 pm
So, it’s the equivalent to a KVM switch for multiple PC’s. Cool idea, except I can’t for the life of me figure out what I would use a keyboard and mouse on but my HTPC. Maybe on a game console, but I haven’t needed one yet. So that leaves the HDMI switch which I already have.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not really bashing this. I just don’t understand the need.
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Bill Reply:
August 31st, 2009 at 3:56 pm
A very fair question to ask. The value of this product would really depend on the users set up requirement and the need for the solution itself. If you are in the market for something to bring your (home office) PC life into your A/V life and have them all situated in your living room then this is the solution for you. More and more HDMI devices moving forward in the future are giving consumers the ability to have keyboard accessibility. As we see in the past 2-3 years, more and more PC and CE devices are evolving and in many instances, merging. A good example would be the camcorder and the digital camera, their features and functions are becoming very similar and the lines are blurring. Today we also can see the next generation TV incorporating internet ready application built-in. With that being said, we are offering our convergence product in the HDMI Control Center to help bridge the gap between PC and TV that give you access to your computer/media server, internet, files as a primary focus and the extra HDMI connectors are added value so you can consolidate all your HDMI devices and have access to them in the comfort of your living room.
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Comment by Bystander — August 29, 2009 @ 10:37 am