HD Anywhere 4×4 Matrix review

The main drawback to a system like this is that it relies on Ethernet cables to send an HDBaseT signal throughout the house. If you use Wi-Fi or homeplugs, have yet to network your house or have a wired network that runs through a switch, you’ll need to completely re-wire your house specifically for the system. Houses networked using a patch panel are good to go, although you’ll need to run four Ethernet cables from the main unit to the patch cabinet before the system is up and running.

On the plus side, it fully supports 1080 video in both 2D and 3D formats, and is also 4K future-proof so you won’t need to upgrade when 4K content finally arrives. We tested the system with a range of different content on several set-top boxes and Blu-ray players, and were hard pushed to spot the difference in video quality between the connected TVs. We even connected our HDMI capture card to check for any variation, but the signal it transmits is effectively lossless.

The other downside is that to control individual equipment away from your primary TV, you need a compatible remote control. The most cost-effective way to do this would be to buy a universal remote for each TV and program it with the necessary controls, because otherwise you’d need up to four remotes in each room of the house. If you’ve connected a PlayStation 3 or Xbox, be aware that the controllers use Bluetooth and proprietary 2.4GHz wireless respectively, and won’t work with the bundled IR blasters.

You need to be serious about home entertainment to spend £1,500 on this system, particularly if installing it means networking your house as well, because that won’t be cheap either. However, if you have a top-end home cinema system in your front room and don’t like the idea of buying a Blu-ray player, Freeview HD box and Satellite receiver for the other rooms in your house, this might just be worth the cost and effort.