5-port HDMI switch with Remote Control (5-in 1-out)

by Apogee

Product Details

• Item Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000FHGONA
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 15, 2005

Product Description

The HDX-501 has been critically acclaimed for being among the best values among HDMI interconnect solutions. It is a proven device that has shown to be compatible with a wide variety of devices including those that are HDMI 1.3 certified. Even though the switch itself is not 1.3 certified, numerous sources have reported in independent tests that it will function well with most of the latest high definition features like 120Hz picture and new multi-channel formats like Dobly TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. The built-in equalizer compensates for signal degredation and provides maximum range and signal integrity. The included IR remote allows you to switch the input from the comfort of your viewing position.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars HDMI compliance rating?, November 21, 2007

By 

Simon's Selection (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 5-port HDMI switch with Remote Control (5-in 1-out) (Electronics)

If only all manuf. would post their compliance ratings...sigh.

Well, the HDX-501 is only HDMI 1.2a complaint. (As of ver 2.1 of the product) Just so you know!

It took me a while to find this detail and I'll save others from the madness now with this post.

(The rating is given only because Amazon forms requires it regardless of relevancy. I of course don't own it given what I only just found out. It does get rave reviews at AVS forums )

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Works great MOST of the time, June 8, 2008

By 

casual comic reader (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 5-port HDMI switch with Remote Control (5-in 1-out) (Electronics)

I've been living with this product for about 8 months now and it works great most of the time. In my system I have an Apple TV, Comcast Cable Box and up-converting DVD player. Since my TV has only one HDMI port I routed these devices through the HDMI switcher then to my TV. From my TV I have digital audio out going to my receiver. I use a Logitech Harmony programmable remote to turn on and off all my device and it works great with this box.

Now for the negatives.
1) Occasionally when switching to Cable TV or DVD the unit doesn't recognize the signal change and the light for that port blinks red and green. This is usually remedied by switching to my Apple TV, letting it get recognized, then switching back.
2) In addition... very rarely audio will not work with a certain device/port. This has happened 3 or 4 times since I've owned the device. It takes switching around a few things and turning things on and off again to get this working. Audio seems to have totally stopped working for my dvd player, so I had to route digital audio from my dvd player directly to the receiver (instead of going through the HDMI cable and out from my TV).
3) Finally some devices only seem to work on port 5. My Apple TV only seems to work on port 5 and I've read the same for PS3 units.

Despite this unit being low priced and generally working well I cannot recommend something with this many flaws for a home theater set up. It's frustrating when it fails and even though I know how to work around the failures... my in laws, wife and kids etc... do not have the debugging skills. I'm going to try another hdmi switcher (with the apple tv form factor) and see how that goes.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works great, good value!, January 1, 2008

By 

Brian La Rose "Computer Engineer" (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 5-port HDMI switch with Remote Control (5-in 1-out) (Electronics)

The box works well for what I use it for - switching video. All audio goes to a separate receiver with optical or coax so I can't vouch for audio quality.

The unit is very simple to set up (plug stuff in), is very small, and does the job. The included remote, a universal remote or the litle button on the front can be used to switch inputs. The included HDMI cable seems to be fine as well, I saw no picture degradation.

Attached Devices: Samsung 46" DLP @ 720p, DirecTV HR20-100, DirecTV HR10-200, and Samsung DVD-HD841 upconverting DVD player. I also use a Logitech 688 universal remote which works great with it, and is the only way to fly with multiple devices.