Customer Reviews

Ultra High Performance HDMI Switcher, 3to1 Switch

5 star:		(654)
4 star:		(152)
3 star:		(71)
2 star:		(44)
1 star:		(152)

 

 

I have to say this the no-name switch outperforms the pros. I needed to connect my ps3 (hdmi) and dish receiver (hdmi) to an hdtv which only had a dvi input (using an hdmi to dvi cable). I tried the sony str-dg720 receiver for hdmi switching, then the monoprice hdmi switcher. Neither worked (the sony manual says it doesn't play well with hdmi-dvi cables, so I was going out on a limb there).

Now this little baby on the other hand, comes with extremely poor written instructions (think google translation of a foreign language manual), so I connected it not even expecting it to work. But wonders! Not only does it switch flawlessly between the ps3 and the dish receiver (producing a perfect output), it even has a "priority" function which works perfectly.

Basically, the dish hdmi port always outputs a signal, even on standby, so I keep it on a lower priority input (port 2). I've connected the ps3 to port 1, so if I turn on the ps3 this switches automatically to the ps3. When the ps3 is powered off, it automatically switches back to the dish receiver.

It's great to find a product which actually performs as advertised. Kudos to the manufacturer and CE compass (the amazon seller I bought this product from). 100% worth the money.

Length:: 1:59 Mins

If you are reading this review you have probably shopped around and studied the various types of HDMI switches. I am happy to report (and show) that this could be the switch for you. Installing is easy (as you would expect) taking less than 5 minutes. Video quality appears to be great (I can't tell a difference between using the switch and directly wiring the HDMI and bypassing the switch).

The best feature is the price! This unit is about 50% less than any other HDMI switch on the market.

- The automatic switching does not work for me - mainly because one of my devices is an Apple TV which tricks the HDMI Switch into thinking that it is always on.

- The automatic switching is not a problem since the HDMI Switch comes with an IR remote - while the remote is flimsy it can be easily programmed into a smart remote.

Final Verdict - I am very happy both in the products functionality and in the price.

5 Stars

This is a very small plastic box that has an ominous connector for power. No power supply is provided. No matter. It works without it.

It comes with a small remote control and receiver. I'm not sure why you would need it. The priority scheme lets you power up a device to switch to it. This is what you want and need.

It takes a few seconds to stabilize but then works fine.

This doesn't look like much but it works great!!!

I have a DVD player and a Tivo HD, both with HDMI outputs. My 1080i TV has only one HDMI input. By connecting the two with the Tivo having priority, I'm able to turn on the DVD player and it will switch to it. When I'm done, I turn off the power and I'm back to Tivo. What could be more elegant!

Update: I wanted to change to 5 stars but the software won't let me.

I received this HDMI switch a few days ago and it works great. When researching it, I tried to find experiences of others with the Roku Netflix player, and I could not find any. So if anybody else wants to know my Roku experience, here it is:

My configuration is as follows: I have a DVD player, a cablebox/DVR, and the Roku player. If you've read the reviews you know that if multiple inputs are always "on", the switch cannot "guess" which one to switch to. In my configuration, the cable box and the Roku are always on.

What I have done is attached the devices in the order shown above - the DVD is "1", the cable box is "2" and the Roku is "3". So when I turn the DVD player on, the switch detects that and switches to DVD mode.

When I turn the DVD off, the switch automatically goes to the second device, which is always the cable box (even if I had been watching the Roku earlier).

The only ways to get to the Roku are to tap the button on the switch, or to use the remote. And that's fine, since I use the Roku much less frequently than the cable box or the DVD player. If it was other way around (use the Roku more than cable), I would just reverse the two devices, and plug the Roku into "2" and the cable into "3".

Speaking of the remote, I had no problem programming my universal remote to simulate the provided HDMI switch remote, so I have filed the provided remote away.

Finally, there is a feature that I don't believe I have seen mentioned in other reviews: the switch itself, and all its ungainly wires (3 input, one output) can be stowed discreetly BEHIND the DVD player or cable box or whatever. In effect it can be invisible. Infrared remotes cannot access hidden components, so they have provided a little mouse-shaped IR receiver, which I have placed on top of my DVD player. It is attached to the hidden switch via a provided cable, and it responds very well to my remote control

One thing I didn't notice was that this purchase included a single 3-foot HDMI cable. Since I didn't notice that I bought one extra cable (from the same Amazon supplier (CE Compass). So if you need cables to go with this switch, remember one comes with it. The extra cables that I got were dirt-cheap and they all seem to work great.

So we're very happy with this little purchase and fully recommend it.

I ordered this HDMI switch from CE*Compass. It came by mail in less than a week with the Super Saver shipping. But the switch, IR remote sensor dongle, and remote control were stuffed into a padded envelope without any instructions. I emailed the seller who replied within 2 hours with basic information but without sufficient instructions to take full advantage of the features of this device. So this morning I began the Google search for information. In case you are in a similar situation or you are considering buying this HDMI switch, here's how it works:

There are 3 switching method choices:

Manual: press button on unit to step through the inputs as indicated by the LEDs.

Remote: attach the external IR receiver and select the input via the remote control.

Automatic: the switch will automatically select the "live" HDMI input; if more than one HDMI input is "live" the input with the smaller number will be selected; if you have a device that is always live, put it on HDMI input #3.

* Most HDMI output devices only power the HDMI output or are "live" when the device is turned on. A few devices output power through their HDMI port if they appear to be turned off. These devices' HDMI output is always "live". If you have more than one input that is always "live" you must use Manual or Remote switching to select between the two always "live" devices.

* You can determine if a device outputs a "live" HDMI even when the device appears to be turned off by observing the switches response to your connecting the device. If you plug in a device that is turned off and the switch selects it and illuminates it's LED, then this device's HDMI output is always "live".

This is a great HDMI Switch at a fraction of the cost of similar switches. It's a generic no-name device so it took a little guess work to find it in the logitech harmony setup. Here's what you need to set it up as a new device in the harmony software:

Device
------
Amplifier->Audio/Video Switch

Manufacturer
------------
Game Infinity

Model
-----
HDMI-3X1Switch

Works perfectly.

At first, I opened the HDMI switcher. It didn't have a power adapter. So, I read the directions. "Works when connected to power source". But no adapter was provided. I went to Best Buy, got one of those generic plugs. Hooked it all up, nothing worked. Needed a 5V adapter and all they had was one that would switch from 4.5 to 6 V. Needless to say, i was pretty upset. Then, i signed on to Amazon here, and read everyone else's reviews.

They said it doesn't need the power adapter. So skeptically, I disconnected the adapter, hooked everything else back up. And sure enough, works like a charm. The remote doesn't work, but like everyone else says, you don't need it as long as you power down all of the other devices that are connected to the HDMI Switcher. Then you just power up what you want, and it automatically goes to that device.

Works like a champ once you try it without a power adapter.

I have a two year old LCD projection HDTV that only has one HDMI port. I needed/wanted to run the video from my new Panasonic BD-35 Blu-ray player and the Dish Network HD box to the TV. With only the one HDMI port the solution (since I love my HDTV) was a HDMI switch box. This little gem works just as advertised without a power supply. It senses the the video component power on and automatically switches to the correct source. I was not sure if it would work since there is a constant feed (input) from the satellite box even in standby mode but when you turn off the programming and turn on the Blu-ray player it switches perfectly on it's own! There is a remote backup and you can switch the inputs manually but it's working great on it's own, switching back and forth automatically. This is a great product especially for the price!!!!

The laughs I enjoyed were when I opened the envelop and read the packaging. Clearly the labeling (and the very brief instruction manual) were written in a foreign language and translated via some translation site someone found using Google. They are horrific, and frankly, barely understandable to a normal English speaking person.

FORTUNATELY, the device itself is easy enough to use that if you've ordered it in order to switch between HDMI devices, you'll be able to figure out how to use it.

I hooked up my current Blu-Ray player to input 1 and my old (but still useful) HD DVD player to input 2. The device defaulted to #1, but when I turned on my HD DVD player, it switched automatically to #2. When I turned the HD DVD player off, it went back to #1. The little device is fairly small, about the size of a deck of cards. It requires no power source (a big plus for me).

It comes with a tiny remote control with three buttons, but I doubt I'll use it. There's also an IR extender, but if I ain't usin' the remote, I won't use the extender. I quite simply wanted to be able to switch between these two devices without having to disconnect cable every time...and this device does it for me perfectly. I could have spent more...but I went with the cheapest I could find, and I'm happy with the results.

Works as advertised. Comes with a small remote that isn't really necessary since it automatically switches to whatever port has a signal. In the case of more than one port being active, it switches to the lowest port number. This means that if you have a device that is always outputting video, like my satellite DVR, then you put that on port 3 and if you turn any other device on, like the xbox, then it switches away from satellite to xbox automatically. Very nice. Shipping was a little slow though.