HDMI switchers: Too cheap to be any good?!

[apokalypse]

I've been ,looking around for a reasonably priced HDMI switcher, and getting more confused by the moment. There seem to be huge discrepancies in prices between various makes, from, "seems to cheap to be true", to, "are you f@%£ing serious?!".

For the average home enthusiast, is there really any need to spend hundreds of pounds just to switch between 3/4 HDMI sources?

I have the following equipment (but plan to buy more HDMI stuff soon):

Panasonic TH42PZ70 TV (two HDMI ports)
Panasonic BD20 Blu-Ray player
Pioneer DV-600 DVD player
Sony Playstation 3 console
XBox 360 console

Here's a piece of kit that I stumbled upon on eBay a short while ago:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=330205711690

It all sounds great, and is apparently "approved by the HDMI ATC lab" whoever they may be, but the price seems to be in the, seems too cheap to be true range.

Does anyone have any idea if the above switcher is any good, or do I really need to spend inordinate amounts of cash for a fancy looking case that contains the same insides as a cheap switcher?

[Badger0-0]

£35 does seem cheap doesn't it?
But the seller has excellent feedback, so I'd risk it personally.
I reckon that would be fine

[Bytey]

You might want to check out this thread:
How will i know if a hdmi switcher will work?

[Badger0-0]

Definitely worth looking at the returns policy.
When you look at the feedback, someone else has bought one and returned it, no problem, as it wasn't compatible.

I'd mail the seller, tell him your concerns and see what he says.
As I said, his feedback is extremely good, so I doubt he'll stitch you up.

Does seem a bit of a gamble though, as it seems the HDCP compatabilty can sometimes be a bit dodgy.

Depends if you want to try it or just lump your dough on a more expensive one, I guess

[davepuma]

Taken from another post on this switch

Originally Posted by nigelbb

It seems a bit hit & miss with this cheap Vivo model. Obviously it works for some but others get duff ones. In particular don't do as I did & buy off the Ebay trader nex_gensales. I bought the 3-port version but it did not work with my Sky HD box but worked OK with HTPC & DVD player. I asked for a refund & was asked to return the switch insured which I did. I had the same non-functioning HDMI switch returned in just a padded envelope so the remote was damaged. I eventually had to get a refund from PayPal but was still ten pounds out of pocket because I didn't get a refund on the return shipping. I also still have the duff switch that doesn't work with Sky HD.

[Badger0-0]

Probably best avoided then

[apokalypse]

Damn! So I have to spend some real money! Thanks for the info anyway.

[louisg]

i have bought one of those. the first didnt work with my panasonic px70 and hd dvd ep 30 and sky hd.

they replaced it with another which came this morning and again it doesnt seem to work.

i thought hdmi switchers were simply plug in and play.

Louis

[MarkTaylor]

Originally Posted by louisg

i thought hdmi switchers were simply plug in and play.Louis

Good ones are.

In fairness you can still come up against specific equipment that causes problems by not sticking to the standard but you will get less problems with the better known, more expensive, brands you see recommended by the professional installers and others on this forum.

[Joe Fernand]

Hello apokalypse

HDMI Switch gear is not all created equal.

Once a Switch Manufacturer selects its Chip vendor for Receiver/Transmitter chips it then has to decide which Chip set to use in a design and then has to create the controller device for the Rx/Tx chips - the amount of time, care and energy spent in programming the device will dictate how well it copes with the vagaries off all manner of Source and Display gear.

You don't need to spend 'hundreds' on a suitable Design but you may not get away with the lowest cost gear on the market.

Have a look at the Octava Inc. range - see http://www.octavainc.com

Joe

[harry m]

hi i have just got the octava 4x1 hdmi switcher + toslink from the media factory and it works perfectly,great pirce of kit.

[vraiceater]

Hi
I have posted my "experience" with the exact 5 port switch in a previous post. I also have a PZ70 and have Sky HD, TViX media player and Tosh HD DVD. The 5 port switch does not work!, So I bought an Oppo HDMI switch (£67 incl post) really nice piece of kit with auto switching (senses when source is on), really pleased with it. I received the replacement for the "faulty" cheap 5 port switch today - even though I asked for a refund - still no good. So save your pennies for a bit longer and buy a decent unit, they are cheap for a good reason.

Regards
Vraiceater

[Beancounter]

I have been looking at HDMI switches today. I have a PS3, Toshiba HD-DVD player and BT Vision but only 2 HDMI sockets on my TV. I don't want to spend a fortune on a switch and was wondering if simply unplugging the HDMI cable and changing it with the other sources cable would harm the socket and the cable if done say once or twice a week.

Otherwise, can anyone recommend a good but cheap switcher for me please?

[Badger0-0]

I'd say it'd be ok temporarily, but wouldn't recommend it long term.
HDMI connections strike me as fairly puny.

[beetle]

I have a question that I hope you may be able to help with on this subject.I have toshiba HD-DVD player,SKY Hd box and I will shortly buy an HD games console like PS3 shortly.I will display these sources either on my Panasonic Plasma or Panasonic PJ(though not at the same time as my pj screen when its down is positioned in front of my plasma) My plasma has 1 HDMI input and my PJ has two HDMI inputs so I "think?" I need a 3 input/2 output switch for all sources with one output to PJ and the other to plasma....am I right so far? I would hope to get something with auto switching or a remote so that I can then feed the codes into my pronto.Is this the kind of thing the Octava crossover box does and if so can you pm me with cost? Ideally I don't want to spend a fortune on getting this done.Can you help ?

Originally Posted by Joe Fernand

Hello apokalypse

HDMI Switch gear is not all created equal.

Once a Switch Manufacturer selects its Chip vendor for Receiver/Transmitter chips it then has to decide which Chip set to use in a design and then has to create the controller device for the Rx/Tx chips - the amount of time, care and energy spent in programming the device will dictate how well it copes with the vagaries off all manner of Source and Display gear.

You don't need to spend 'hundreds' on a suitable Design but you may not get away with the lowest cost gear on the market.

Have a look at the Octava Inc. range - see http://www.octavainc.com

Joe