Customer Reviews

Cables To Go 28731 3-Play S-Video, Composite Video and TOSLINK Digital Audio High Performance Selector Switch (Black)

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I love it when something works like it's supposed to and this little selector box does just that! I recently installed a Bravia surround sound system that has only one TOSlink (optical cable) port, but I had two pieces of equipment that needed to be plugged into it (a PS3 and HD cable box). I originally looked at the manual TOSlink selectors, but there have been many problems reported with them in both short term and long term performance. The reviews for this selector box were impressive, so I bought it based on that. I've got the cable box and PS3 hooked into it and it outputs to my Bravia surround. Sound quality is unaffected by the addition of the selector box, the sound is just as good as when I had the PS3 cabled directly to the surround. The box even looks nice! The credit card-style remote control switches the selector instantly and has very good range. As has been mentioned in other reviews the selector box can also be easily controlled manually by pushing the buttons on the front of it. Overall I'm very happy with this and feel it is an excellent value for an electronic selector that can be remote controlled.

One thing worth noting, per the instructions the box does not convert signals from analog to digital. In other words, you can't run component cables to the input and expect to output sound across an optical cable. The inputs and output have to match. My setup is all optical, so this wasn't an issue; I just mention this in case someone is looking at this device for that application.

I would give this five stars except for the poor IR receiver that quite often doesn't recognize commands sent to it by remote (included remote or harmony 880) when the remote isn't directly in front of the unit.

I am planning on getting an IR blaster type remote replicator to fix this, but it is annoying that I need another piece of equipment to take care of the shortcomings of this one.

This model has few reviews but is cheaper than the 40324 and that one has tons of rave reviews. The audio ins/outs are exactly the same on both. It's just the video ins/outs that differ. I just needed the audio switching so went for this less costly model and am thrilled with its reliability, quality and digital optical 5.1 surround sound output.

I have a Panasonic SA-HT900 DVD changer home theater (HTIB) and love its audio features, but wanted to upgrade to an upconverting DVD HTIB. Well they don't make the new upconverting home theaters with all the sound features this one has, so I opted to keep it as a receiver and buy a separate Oppo DV981-HD upconverting DVD player and get this selector to switch the one optical digital audio input I have on the receiver between my cable and new upconverting DVD player, and it's flawless.

Setup was a breeze. The remote is so convenient and the size of a credit card. I incorporated into my learning remote too.

Don't let any photos of this unit's back with the strange looking audio plugs scare you. It definitely uses standard digital optical toslink cable and handles 5.1 surround. Those are just the toslink plug protectors sitting in the audio plugs. I pulled them out and am using standard optical cable.

If you don't need to switch component video, save some money and get this model instead of the 40324.

I read so many bad reviews about the passive digital audio switches out there, and most have to be switched manually. This switch is so worth the cost and electricity. It's solid and convenient.

Update 8/6/10:
This switch is still going strong. Now I have all three digital audio inputs in use- HD cable box, dvd player and HTPC all in lovely surround sound! Just wish it was smaller or had a cabled infrared sensor so I could tuck the box away in back. I recently switched my 3 HDMI video inputs into this tiny playing card box sized switch that automatically switches too! Now that switch is cool (and cheap to boot)!

My home system had two digital optical outputs (sound) from the HDTV and Blu-Ray player, but my amp had only 1 optical input, so I needed a switch. Since I was going to use it just to switch sound sources, I bought this unit because I didn't need the more expensive one with composite video connectors.

This switch is only about 9 inches wide by 1 3/4 inches tall by 4 inches deep, and doesn't take up much space on my rack. (I've mounted it vertically on its end.) TOS cables snap in with a positive click. Sound is excellent with no distortion or loss that I can notice; it's the same as when I had the direct connect from my TV to the amp. Green LEDs show power on and which 1 of 3 sources you are using. The power source is 12 volt from a supplied plug in transformer.

The mini remote (smaller than a credit card, similar to the ones that come with video cameras) could get lost easily. For my usage, it's not really necessary -- I just push the button on the front panel of the selector to change the source when I'm changing a disc in or out of my player.

If you're considering one of the cheap mechanical optical switches to manage your sound, forget it and just spend the extra $25 or so for this no-hassle, well-made box.

I'm using this to connect my PS3, XB360, and desktop computer to my surround receiver. I only needed the ability to switch between optical inputs, and this delivered exactly what I needed.

The switch costs merely twice as much as low-quality mechanical switches which tend to wear out after just a month or two of use, and the fully-electronic switching with remote control function makes it perfect for this. While having a separate remote will add to the complexity of a setup, the device works with the Logitech Harmony series of universal remotes, and I plan on integrating the device once I order a Harmony. I've had zero trouble with the default remote so far, though.

Switching between inputs is pretty quick, around one second for the audio inputs to switch over, and I believe most of this is overhead on the digital signal. I've only used the optical connection, though, so I can't vouch for the switching speed of the analog inputs.

It's been noted before but this device does NOT do format converting, only straight pass-through links... optical to optical, RCA to RCA, so if you're looking for a device to convert optical to analog signal, you'll need a different device.

The input can be switched via either the remote control or physically pressing the buttons on the front of the unit, which is a minor feature but a thoughtful one all the same. The buttons themselves are illuminated to show the active input source instead of using a separate indicator LED; this is nice since the buttons are smoke colored and help to diffuse and dim the light, so it doesn't attract your eyes away from your display. I also applaud the manufacturer's choice of green LED instead of blue or white, since those colors tend to be very intense and draw attention. These features mean you can set it right with the rest of your theater equipment without worry.

I would give this product a 4.75-star rating if possible, since the optical ports did not have a built-in dust cover as most modern devices have, though the switch does come with removable caps for the ports. Since the cables will be plugged in almost all the time, this isn't a big issue. Also, I found the ports to be slightly loose with all three different brand of cable I use, but so far I haven't had any issues with the plugs pulling out while I'm working on the setup. Finally, the device manufacturer is rather boldly printed on the front, which is the only part of the design I truly dislike - it detracts from the subtlety of the rest of my theater equipment. I would also advise the buyer to double-check the dimensions since the product is somewhat larger than it appears, but not unreasonably so.

Since these faults are such minor drawbacks, though, I still would give the product five stars, and would recommend this first to any friend or family looking for a good audio switch. I bought the device for $35 and would consider even the regular $70 price tag well worth it.

I use this with my 32" LCD HDTV to switch between my 2nd cable box (hooked up to my DVD-RW/VCR, a second VCR and my DVD Player.

This switch box is amazing! And the remote control feature is great!
I use my Phillips 8-device learning remote to operate it. I just pointed my original remote at the Phillips universal learning remote and programmed it in 2 minutes flat.

It is really great to just kick back and use the remote control to switch between my composite devices.

Great audio and video with no drop out or artifacts either.

I highly recommend this for anyone.

We were looking for an S-video switch with a remote control. The reason was that most of the movies we enjoy are older ones - Technicolor or Black and White. Our new HDTV did not do nearly as well with B&W films when we used the HDMI connection - the images lacked the excellent contrast of S-video. Tehnicolor, too, looks better in S-video; the HDMI tends to get confused when it sees checkered or plaid patterns. Similarly, home movies taken with VHS cam corders looked better in S-Video. But our HDTV did not have enough S-Video ports for our DVD players and recorder and to hook up a camera (it naturally emphasizes HDMI ports).

Having read through the Amazon.com reviews of several S-video switches, this one seemed to be the best match. And were were not disappointed. There is no distortion of the video through the switch, as you would expect a good switch to do. It switches very quickly and cleanly. The remote is simple, easy to use, small, and easily works from 30 feet away without having to be too accurate about where it is pointed.

To interface this switch, we purchased 3, 6, and 12 foot lengths of S-video cable because of our equipment arrangement and let me add that the best all around cable we found was Amazon.com's 6 foot S-video/composite Video & Stereo Audio Cable. The 3 foot Belkin PureAV AV22101-03 3-Foot S-Video and Audio Cable Kit is a very good quality cable but its stiffness combined with the short length makes it pretty tricky to install - it is easy for the S-video connector to get backed out of one device or the other when you push your player or recorder back into the cabinet or shelf after connecting the cable to the rear of each unit; although once you have both ends firmly in place it is an excellent cable. And our units sit on one under the other on shelves! The Cables To Go - 02310 - 12ft Value S-Video / RCA Audio Combination Cable is a decent quality cable if you need the 12 foot length, but it is not the quality of the other two. As I said, the best bet if 6 feet is enough is the S-video/composite Video & Stereo Audio Cable. It has the quality of the 3 foot cable but enough length that installing the cable to your player or recorder and then replacing it in your Entertainment Center won't be nearly as difficult.

understand that it does not convert S video to composite or visa versa. Metal unit that looks and feels like a quality unit.
Works well between a PC, video Projector, DVD/vcr player and a sound board.

video does lose a little bit of quality routing it through this Selector

This is a must have when your tv doesn't have enough a/v connectors. Even though the manual was missing, it took less than 5 minutes to conncet the Direct TV, vcr & television. The little remote is very handy, we just attached a piece of velcro to it & keep it with the tv remote. This tiny little expander takes up little room, you can place it on top of your other items or on the side of the television. I LOVE IT!!!

This item actually worked and solved my need to switch my apple TV optical output and my Mac Mini Apple computer to the optical input on my amplifier. The remote control worked well to remotely do the switching of the two items from my couch 8 feet away.
My only criticism is this switcher does not have HDMI inputs, just RCA and S video plus the Optical, of course.....and as an Engineer I know it takes a lot more to switch HDMI. I had to buy a separate HDMI unit to switch the video into the amplifier.
Oh, why you ask did the optical digital audio even come into play? The reason is better audio quality with my Direct TV DVR system. No more audio drop outs into the Onkyo amplifier/receiver. This switcher is worth the money.