Ultra High Performance HDMI Switcher, 3to1 Switch
by Portta
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Our Price: $8.18 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $8.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Ultra High Performance HDMI Switcher, 3to1 Switch
Customer Review: Having uncommanded switching problems...any ideas?
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this switcher because A) my HDTV is mounted over the fireplace and I have one single HDMI run inside the wall between it and my entertainment center which holds all the peripherals and B) because of the overall good ratings this switch has received (though I did note the negative reviews as well). Setup out of the box was fast and easy as advertised and other reviews confirmed. My setup is as follows:
Cox Cable Home DVR Box - which we use the most, so I set it up on input #1.
Roku for Netflix - second most use so I set it up on input #2.
Blu-Ray player - least used so I will set that up on input #3 when I get an extra HDMI cable.
As most people figured out the switcher has an input for power yet doesn't come with a power adapter. It wasn't hard to figure out that it simply draws its power from your devices, like many USB devices do. I plugged in the handy remote sensor and placed this setup on top of the cable box for easy access while I try it out. At first it seemed to work great. I turned on my cable DVR box and it fed through to my HDTV with no apparent loss of quality (doing this in a bright room on NBC HD, so not the best test but still). At first I was able to switch back & forth between the DVR and the Roku easily. Satisfied that it worked, we "switched" back to the DVR so we could just watch TV and relax for the rest of the evening. But then the problems started.
We began to experience a series of uncommanded switches to the Roku. Having no idea why it was doing that, I decided to unplug the Roku so the switch would think it was off and therefore default back to #1 the DVR (Roku does not have an on/off switch). But as soon as I unplugged the Roku, the switch went dead completely. Perhaps the DVR alone does not provide enough power for the switch to work? I plugged the Roku back in, and the switch came back to life as well, but the it kept switching back to the Roku. I went to my Netflix account online to ensure nothing there was sending signals to my Roku; nothing. Exhausting all other possibilities, I had to completely unplug and remove the switch, plugging my lone in-wall HDMI straight back into the DVR where I started the day. Dead in the water.
I've read reviews of many happy customers who enjoy this product, and I wish I could be one of them right now. If there was a way to disengage the "smart" feature of this, I would in a heartbeat. It would not be any inconvenience to manually switch between devices on my own either with the button or the little remote. If I cannot get this working, my next move will be to find a "dumb" version of this type of switch.
So again, my leading theory is that the DVR does not provide enough power to the switch to operate, and that it kept defaulting back to the Roku believing that is what I wanted. Perhaps finding its own power adapter would resolve that issue?
I'm open to any ideas. In the mean time for anyone considering this purchase, I suggest taking a look at what devices you plan to use it for and consider that. For those who have this switch and it works great, I am envious! Until/unless this is figured out, this is a bust and I must rate as 1-star.
Thanks...
Customer Review: XBOX 360 users, This is the one you need!
Summary: 5 Stars
Hey Xbox 360 users! (And everyone else...)
Have you run out of HDMI inputs on your TV?
THEN GET YOURSELF ONE OF THESE!
This is the switch you need!
It even works automatically!
Turn on the Xbox? Bam! It switches to the Xbox.
Turn off the Xbox? Bam! It switches back to what it was before.
(Of course, it will work with up to three HDMI inputs from any source. An automatic Xbox switcher is just the way I'm using it.)
Basically, this switch automatically switches itself to whatever HDMI input has power.
If a new input powers up, it automatically switches to that source.
If the source it is currently using goes off, it automatically switches back to the last input that had power.
It doesn't need any source of power other than that provided by the HDMI cables.
It does have a place where you could hook up a 5V power source but I've never had any use for it whatsoever.
(You'd have to get your own power adapter anyway as it doesn't come with one.)
There is absolutely no signal degradation that I can see.
Looks just like you have a straight cable into the TV.
And the HDMI sockets are nice and tight, too.
They don't feel cheap or anything.
It comes with a sweet little remote control that lets you switch remotely between inputs whenever you need to.
The switch has its own little wired remote sensor that you can hide wherever you need it.
In that way the switch can be back behind all your equipment out of sight.
The remote came with a battery installed and kept fresh by a little plastic strip - just pull it out and your good to go.
No need to even open the battery compartment!
Finally, if you were to lose the remote, the switch does have a button on it to manually change inputs.
There is also a red light that indicates which source it is currently set to.
Again, other than in the remote, this thing uses no batteries at all!
It came in a plain white box with a little instruction pamphlet.
No fancy packaging or anything.
I was truly surprised at just how well this little thing works.
I mean, this little booger only cost me thirteen bucks!
It works so well that I'm surprised it doesn't cost at least twice that. Really.
---Oh, and if you're needing some more HDMI cables? Get these - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003L1ZYYM
I bought a few of these from Amazon when I bought the switch.
These 6.5 ft (2.0 m) cables are extremely high quality and they're only ten bucks!
They're even 3D compatible.
Don't need 3D compatibility?
Well, I say at that price you might as well get the most advanced cables now in case you need it in the future.
I know that at Wal___t right now cables as good as these would easily cost forty dollars. Each.---
Customer Review: Does the job for me, best price could find too!
Summary: 5 Stars
So, I read many reviews on similar units and took my chances on this one....
Heres my current setup and reason for purchasing this product - I have/use the following in my Home Entertainment environment at this time;
1. Toshiba 52" TV (3-HDMIs inputs, 1 went bad 15mo's post purchase - now down to 2inputs avail)
2. A self built custom HTPC 3yrs ago, HDMI output
3. XBox 360 Elite, HDMI output
4. PS3 primarily for BluRay but not bad for games too =), HDMI ouput
5. Wii, no-HDMI
My attempt at following objectives;
1.) planning for 2nd HDMI input to fail on Toshiba TV, making only 1 available
2.) stop changing the TV to 3 different inputs each time manually and
3.) split/extend the PS3 BluRay HDMI to another TV in a different room....
First, this unit does NOT come with a Power Supply...but works just fine in lieu of that.
Also, it has a bright blue LED active HDMI port indicator light that I've found compliments my Entertainment Center, which is a pleasant secondary effect.
Finally, I wanted something to "inexpensively" combine my HTPC, XBox and BluRay into a single HDMI output.
Hence my search for weeks ending in the purchase of this item.
While in use LESS THAN 1 MONTH so far...Its worked perfectly to date, no complaints - yet!
HTPC is HDMI 1 - on at all times, which keeps the HDMI input active at all times - perfect for my situation
PS3 is HDMI 2 - when powering the PS3 on, this product auto switches to that as its input, displaying BluRay to output
XBox is HDMI 3 - once more, when powered on, auto switches to this as input, displaying Xbox to output
When PS3 and XBox are off, the unit auto switches to the HTPC default perfectly
While certainly not a super user/enthusiast who demands excellence of Audio and Video systems, I cannot see any degradation of picture quality nor hearing its sound vs. direct connections without this unit in the middle.
I also EXTEND HDMI over CAT5e converters to another TV 80ft away....this units auto switching and output has been working very well to date, no problems seeing/hearing any of the 3 (HTPC, PS3/BluRay, XBox) on either ends, the local TV or the one 80ft away.
The only thing I cannot comment on nor guarantee, is that it will remain working in 6, 12 or 18 months...but, for the price of $13.80/ea, I bought 2 and have one on standby in the event the active one in use eventually fails.
Also a side benefit, if the TVs 2nd of 3 HDMIs goes bad, this unit will definitely be required providing a tremendous savings vs. buying a new TV.
Here's hoping it lasts long! =)
Customer Review: Exactly what I needed. No complaints
Summary: 5 Stars
I probably did far too much research on HDMI switches, but what I found was that there is not one switch, $20 or $200, that will work with every system and setup. I found reviews of even the top switches where people complained that they didn't work. I was leaning heavily towards getting the 5x1 switcher from Monoprice. However, that device doesn't autoswitch and there were some complaints of incompatibility and that the LEDs were too bright (a minor quibble in my book since the lights can be covered up). That switch was also out of stock when I needed it. I came across this device on Amazon and decided to take a chance on it based on the positive reviews and awesome price!! I love this thing! Setup is a breeze. Just plug your HDMI input cables into one side and the output cable into the other and you're ready to go. You can also plug in the small infrared receiver cable which allows you to keep the device out of sight which for me was a very important consideration. There's just a small IR receiver next to my Xbox now and the switch is back out of sight.
Functionally, this thing just works. I have an Xbox 360 and a Toshiba HD-DVD player plugged into mine and it switches between them effortlessly. When I turn on the xbox, the device automatically switches to input 1. If I leave the xbox on and turn on the HD-DVD player, it automatically switches to input 2. If I then turn off the dvd player, it switches back to the xbox. I don't even need the small remote that is included, but I went ahead and programmed it into my Harmony One anyway (the Harmony software has the device in their database so setup was a breeze---just select Add Device, Amplifier-->Audio/Video Switch, and select Game Infinity as the manufacturer and type in 3x1HDMI Switch. Done.
Picture quality is excellent. I notice no picture degradation or sparklies whatsoever compared to having my devices connected directly to the TV. I was confused why there is an input for power, but a plug isn't included with the device. What I found was, for me, this device does not need to be powered although my cables are fairly short: my cable to my Panasonic plasma is 12 feet long and the cables coming into my switch are just 3 feet long.
I'd give this more than 5 starts if I could. This thing works awesome and the price can't be beat anywhere. It even looks fairly attractive with a glossy finish and nice subtle LEDs, and the HDMI cables plugged in very, very securely.
Customer Review: Great HDMI signal, poor remote response
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a fairly good product overall. It excels at accepting up to three HDMI devices (in my case, a Roku HD-XR, and a Pioneer DV-420V-K Multi-Format 1080p Upscaling DVD Player) and outputting the signal via a single HDMI cable to my 46" Samsung 750 model LCD. I do not perceive any loss of signal quality when compared to either device connected directly to the TV without this splitter. However, it is shame that the switching mechanism is so clunky.
There is a physical switch button on the device which responds well when you press it and switches between the 3 input channels. However, when using the remote for this purpose (the only purpose of the remote), the response is very poor. I have to get as close as 2 to 3 feet from the IR receiver for the remote to work. Frankly, it is just as easy to get off the cough, walk to the splitter and press the physical switch button in the splitter itself. The remote/receiver combo have a very limited signal range, which makes the remote feature virtually useless.
The intelligent function is a good idea in theory, but it is not practical, as it does not apply to the real world. The premise is that the splitter automatically senses when you shut off a device and switches to another input channel. The problem with this is that if the device that you shut off still draws current, and virtually all modern electronic devices will draw some current when plugged to an outlet even in the off position, the splitter does not sense this shutting off, and will not switch to another input channel. So, in practice, this otherwise good idea is useless. And no, it does not work in my setup, either.
The splitter has a DC/5V input, presumably for connection to an outlet via a power cable which is not included. Since the splitter works without this power cable, I do not know what to make of this. I would look this up in the instructions manual, except taht there was no instructions manual, reference website, or any documentation included with this product. Included in the product box are the splitter, the IR signal extender, and the remote (battery included); but no documentation.
Overall, the device will perform very well at splitting input signals with no appreciable loss of signal, thus negating the need for more than one long HDMI cable to the TV. As long as you have low expectations from the remote or the "Intelligent Function", you may be very pleased with this product.