Customer Reviews

JVC JXS111 HD Compatible Component Video Switcher

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great product and I couldn't live without it!

I recently purchased a High Definition TV and went on a "cable kick" where I was determined to purchase the highest quality cables for everything so that I could get the full benefit of my TV. Imagine my annoyance when I found that my HD-TV only had TWO COMPONENT inputs (and one HDMI/Digital input) on the back of the TV! Of course it then had another FIVE inputs, but they were all the lower quality COMPOSITE or S-VIDEO connections. I mean, what was the point of buying the TV if all I could hook up (with a high quality connection) was my cable box and my DVD player???

Thank goodness for this item. It allows you to plug in up to THREE different COMPONENT sources and output them to a single COMPONENT output port. (You switch between them by clicking the button that corresponds to the port you want to use at that moment). For example, you can have an X-Box connected to Port 1, a Playstation 2 connected to Port 2, and a Gamecube connected to Port 3. This would allow you to dedicate only a single COMPONENT port on your TV to your gaming systems, while freeing any others (if there even ARE any) for something else like a Cable Box or a DVD player.

Note: you'll see FIVE buttons on this item, but only THREE of them allow COMPONENT connections -the other ones (Port 4 and Port 5) only allow the lower quality S-Video or COMPOSITE connections. Port 4 is located on the back of the box (next to Ports 1 to 3), while Port 5 is actually located on the front of the box -which is pretty convenient if you want to plug in something temporarily (like another game system or a camera!) A high quality VCR (with S-VIDEO) would be a good bet to use for Port 4...

Please note that ALL 5 Ports allow input of S-Video and COMPOSITE video, it is just that the first 3 ports ALSO allow COMPONENT source inputs.

In addition, there are actually 2 ouput ports. The first (#1) is a COMPONENT output port (3 plugs) and Analog Audio (2 plugs), while the second output port (#2) has S-VIDEO (1 plug), COMPOSITE VIDEO (1 plug), and ANALOG AUDIO (2 plugs). This means that this product would be perfect for someone even if they didn't have ANY COMPONENT sources at all! They could still use S-VIDEO or COMPOSITE connections for everything.

One other great feature. This item does not require ANY power at all. It is a simple switcher. You push one button and the other buttons pop out. It is solely mechanical, not electrical.

Finally, please note that this unit does not support anything other than Analog Audio. It is a VIDEO switcher. If you are looking for the same thing for high quality audio, you can purchase a simple Digital Audio switcher (at about 1/3 of the cost of this unit) to do the same thing. However, at the time of this purchase I was NOT able to purchase this audio switcher from Amazon. I had to find it elsewhere on the net from a specialty store.

All in all a great product! I wouldn't consider anything else if you want the highest quality video for everything.

This JVC component switcher does everything easily and well. It does not require a seperate power source and it is very easy to set up. It allows you to hook up several component electronics to your HDTV with little signal loss, meaning that pictures will look just as good on your HDTV. Most HDTV's come equipped with only a few component hook-ups, so this unit simplifies your a/v connections without having to switch out your other units everytime you want to use another system(i.e., XBOX, Gamecube, Directv). Most of us digital tv owners have several units to hook up and this unit is very welcome in any Digital A/V setup!

I ordered this one already knowing about it. I bought it at our local stereo store and am now ordering one for my dad who loves his toys too. I have a Gamecube, XBOX, PS2 and Direct TV with HD that all have the capability of using component cables. This little unit makes life a bit easier. Just plug in your cables from your systems and plug them into the JVC unit and then plug one more component cable into your TV. Wah la, you got 4 systems hooking up to one input on the back of your tv. No more swapping cables, just sit back and relax and enjoy!

Reviewer "atomicwasteland" gives a detailed and accurate description of the input selections of this high-quality HDTV-compatible system selector/switcher. Given how many devices we gadget freaks own these days, this is a must-have device.

I just wanted to mention that if you want to save money and don't need all that S-video stuff -- I myself already have a separate A/V home-theater system that accommodates multiple S-video inputs -- you can get the Mad Catz HDTV System Selector with 4 component video inputs for less than $30. Best Buy and Mad Catz's online store carry it.

This is a good component switcher when you have multiple devices (i.e. Game console, DVD, TV) that you want to hook up to one component video input. I have an x-box, Home theatre and digital cable hooked up to this and it works great. I just hit the button correlating to the proper device input and it instantly works. I also have Hi-Definition through my cable and I can see no difference. The only draw back is that you have to go to the switcher and hit the button but if that doesn't bother you than this is the one for you.

This is a nice product. I have a HDTV with two component and one DVI input. There's an XBox connected to one component input, and a progressive DVD player to the other. The issue was my Scientific Atlanta 8300HD DVR cable box, which needs a component slot. It has an HDMI which could be used to go to the DVI, but there have been issues with some TVs and I am not sure if it will work. It should, but who knows? Until I get the cable I won't know and this machine is next to nothing if it doesn't.

It's a pretty good device actually. Granted, it's pretty standard and doesn't up-convert S-video to component signals, but it's great for component video devices. I plugged in my DVD player and my cable box to it and passes everything from 480i to 1080i, including progressive signals with no difference in picture quality. You just plug everything into the box and the box into your TV, and you're set. Best of all, no power required! You can put it anywhere, even if it's not near an outlet, provided your cables are long enough.

But...buyer beware...this box comes with NO cables of ANY kind. No component cables, not even basic composite cables! You will need to get those separately in order to hook it up to your TV. You'd think for this price they would have added something, but they didn't...

In conclusion, if you need a simple component video switcher with stereo audio capabilities only, don't be put off by the low price...it performs like state-of-the-art switchers without the extra stuff. If only they packaged some cables with it, this thing would sell out in no time.

I would give this 4.5 stars, but not 5. This device is so simple that it does what it is supposed to do, to create a multiple switching device for component video, s-video and composite (RCA). Can not take HDMI input, but I haven't seen any other consumer device that can yet. There are no colors, picture or quality lost using this device. No power cord to plug this into, so it is a plug and play. Cheaper then Pelican product that is similar.

Why it isn't a five stars:
The price is high for an electronic device that is power-less, since there is no power cord used to power the circuitry. My old s-video switcher has automatic detection, where this is just a manual selection. Three component inputs are not a lot, but will pass for most people.

I have a projector with only 1 input, so I had to buy a switch box.
I have a dvd player, hi-def cable box, and playstation 2 all hooked into this. With one compontent output to the projector, and one stereo output to my reciever.
Works like a charm, simple push of a button. Very happy with it.
Note - I have all 3 compontent inputs filled now, so I wouldn't be able to buy another, unless I upgrade from this box.

First of all, it amazes me that there are not more options out there for component video switchers. Very glad JVC is filling a niche that clearly needs more options.

I got this 8 months ago to handle 3 component video sources (DVD, HDTV, X-Box), and my amp only has 2 sources.

And it worked great for about half a year. Then, very gradually, I noticed that my picture was getting worse. A thin horizontal band of very faint red would move from the bottom of the screen to the top. At first I thought it was maybe a bad DVD or just specific shows, but it was persistent and over the course of a month got worse. The band thickened, and it was very noticeable on any shots with a lot of black on screen. Worried that it was a problem with my plasma tv, I decided to unhook all the video cables and check the components separately. It soon became clear that the problem was the JVC box; anything run straight from the component to the TV, or through the amp, worked perfectly clean. But, when that same paused DVD was run through the JVC, the red band returned.

Now working on getting it returned, hopefully covered by the manufacturer's warranty.

On another note, it would be nice if it had a remote control.

I'm hoping that more brands get into this market, I'm shocked at all the S-video switchers out there, but real lack of component video switchers.

I have a 53" Panasonic HD set which I bought 3 years ago and lost one of the component inputs... So rather than repair it I decided a switcher would be much more useful, especially at these price points. I found the standard definition channels to slightly degrade with the switcher in place. Edges were no longer sharp and somewhat fuzzy. In 1080i mode I was actually seeing a signal compatability issue. I have a Motorola DVR provided by Comcast supporting 1080i to my PT-53TW53G set. I would get purple and yellow lines whenever we went into 1080i mode. I am betting since my Panasonic set was made in 2003 that there now might exist some compatability issues with the most recent 1080i products and the JX-S111 did not account for this... This is just my un-expert opinion but I can tell you my experience wasn't the greatest... I packing this up to send back now.