Customer Reviews

Universal System Seletor Pro - Silver

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

BOTTOM-LINE:
I believe all but the most serious "philes" would be completely satisfied with this unit (as I am) as long as you are using high quality cables along with it.

SIGNIFICANT NOTES:
I am not an audiophile or videophile... you won't find anything but vague technical information in this review. But, I didn't purchase the Pelican System Selector Pro just to organize my cables either.

One disadvantage of being an early adopter of HDTV is that you can never "go back." Once you've seen the advantages of HDTV and Progressive Scan components, anything else looks like you're viewing it through a plastic baggy. With the addition of Progressive Scan gaming components to my entertainment system, the 2 component video inputs on the back of my Toshiba were not enough... and moving that 150# box around to change out cables was out of the question... so were "Y" connectors if you're with me this far.

I'm connecting Progressive Scan DVD, GameCube, and Xbox, to the Pelican System Selector Pro with middle of the road cabling (Monster Component Video 3/Monster Interlink 400 MkII), and find no loss or darkening/dampening of signal. The only noticeable degradation of signal I can see is with my DVD player in full STOP mode (not PAUSE)... in which case I can see faint, cyclical, wavy lines (like ripples on a pond) moving across the screen. These are not however noticeable while in PLAY or PAUSE. Using the cables that are included with the Pelican System Selector Pro, the aforementioned wavy lines were considerably more prominent.

I thoroughly believe you "get what you pay for" when it comes to HDTV and high-end audio. I have little doubt that high-end switchers by Zektor and a few other manufacturers outperform the Pelican. But, for the price I was pleasantly surprised and will happily keep this unit. Also, for online gamers there really is not a better choice at this point in time, as others do not have the Ethernet connectivity that the Pelican includes.

As a side note... I also purchased and tested a $30 unit made by Mad Catz. I returned it to the store for a full refund and I suspect it will find its right home in a landfill somewhere soon.

I could not have been more impressed with this product. Having far too many devices for my receiver, it was just what I needed, not to mention it had ethernet connectivity to. By far the most impressive features of this device are the facts that it not only has HDTV inputs, but normal analog ones - allowing me to upgrade to an HDTV at a later point and not have a large paperweight. The optical audio output is also a must.
The only thing I wished they'd included to really make this product better would be a remote to switch devices.

I bought this device approximately a year ago, and it operated fine, until the other day. At first it would not switch device, however the input it was stuck on (the first) worked fine. Within a few hours though it had completely died, and was no longer outputting a signal.

However, the device comes with a standard manufacturer warranty of FIVE years. During this time, it can be repaired or replaced for $4 of return shipping. So even if you end up like me with a faulty product, you can still get it replaced, so long as you keep your receipt.

Wow! Stumbled across this Pelican product at a local computer store. I had looked around recently for component video switchers, but had no idea this Pro System Selector existed. For $79 I had no hesitation buying immediately and bringing home knowing the store had a good return policy. Hooked it up in 20 minutes to a Pioneer 50" plasma screen with the following video inputs: 1) HD DirecTV 2) Progressive scan universal DVD player 3) REPLAY DVR with progressive component out 4) X-Box HD 5) Playstation 2 6)Nintendo 64 7) S-video Camcorder.

I couldn't be more pleased with the quick switch ability. I have tested with several Superbit DVDs before and after installation and see no visable loss in quality. Will be recommending to my friends.

I had my reservations at first about entrusting my optical and component video signals to a switchbox from one of the companies generally known for cheap (and not necessarily high quality) 3rd party gaming hardware.

I had first looked to buy a receiver but most didn't have nearly as many component video and optical inputs as this switchbox. As such, I ended up opting for the switchbox and sending the optical out to my audigy 2 patch bay for dolby 5.1 decoding. This switchbox turned out to be exactly what i needed and i've been extremely pleased with its performance and the value i got for the price.

I have a dvd player, gamecube, and x-box hooked up via component video (progressive scan), optical out of the x-box and dvd, rca out of the cube. Also have an n64, sfc, and a vcr hooked up via s-video and rca. I am using mid-range monster cables and I saw no degradation of quality while using this switchbox. I am also using the unit as an ethernet cable switch between the gamecube and the x-box (coming from my router).

All in all the unit looks very sleek, it comes with many inserts for labeling your channels and they glow green when selected, and it has an input in the front as well for quick hookup of a friend's game system or a camcorder, etc..

If a switchbox is what you need don't be afraid to buy this unit, it comes with quality cables and is well worth the money for its performance. Very handy for gamers with a lot of systems but a tv without a billion inputs.

I just recently received my Pelican system selector pro in the mail. It came with 8 component inputs, a remote control and the other stuff like composite, s-video and ethernet jacks. I was surprised that it came with 8 component inputs and a remote because I haven't heard of anyone else getting that with their pro. I got my PL-960 pro from a different website called x10 brand new for a total of 81.99 plus the shipping and handling. I was originally expecting only three component inputs but, it came with 8. Before I got it, I had to decide which console I was not going to use to often for regular composite. You know how it goes when you are use to hd and then go back to composite. The remote that it comes with can turn it on and also change the console you want to use instead of having to get up and press the button. I'm glad I waited before buying one of these. It looks exactly the same as the other PL-960, its just that it has more functions.

I got this thing at Fry's (sorry Amazon, I couldn't wait for the shipping time).

Very impressive, there is nothing even close to the functionality of this device that I have seen, let alone for under $100!

The version I bought came with a very small remote control, and it works great. The changeable faceplates are a very nice addition.

Works as advertised (very well) and it is well built. As a nice extra it comes with very high quality cables which could costo you another $30 or so if bought separately.

It has 3 optical digital audio inputs, not many devices with so many exist. The signal integrity appears to be exceptional and it has ethernet switch as well, which seems a little odd to me (whi not just make it a hub?) but is also a nice addition.

I highly recommend it and I will be looking closely at Pelican's other products from now on.

Only one ethernet port is active at a time.

I read that the ethernet ports were "switched" thinking it had a built-in switching-hub. Wrong. It doesn't even have a hub. When you switch from one device to another, the internet follows, just like everything else.

This is dissapointing. If you planned on having an Ethernet-enabled Tivo and another device that needs constant ethernet access (like a Nintendo Wii in sleepmode with "WiiConnect24") then this simply won't cut it. You'll need to get a seperate hub. Just think how easy it would have been to incorporate and how much simpler it would have made things. Oh well.

Still, it's a great switch for a GREAT price, especially considering the advanced ports it's able to switch (Component, Optical, etc.)

If you can handle buying (or don't need) a separate Ethernet hub, this is teh switch for you!

8 inputs, all component or composite plus audio. One output with dual audio, component and composite video. Buttons on the front, easily labelled. Works well and quite cheap. Remote too. Very impressed.

I recently purchased the Pelican pro system selector with mini remote and am very pleased with the way it operates everything. The main reason I made the purchase (while more expensive than other switch boxes it's very much worth the extra cost) as it adds an extra 8 inputs component composite and S-video and optical inputs (3) and broadband connetors (3).. I decided to get this as I wanted more component inputs as my HDTV only has 2 as I have heard most do only come with 2 depending on the model of the tv. Installion was VERY easy no hassle I hooked up my dvd player(s) laser disc player and Xbox so far no problem with anything thats been hooked up to it. The remote comes in very handy when you want to switch machines. It does come with additional name plates (which are easy to change) but there are not enough labels for dvd or a label for misc. When the system is turned on after switching the power on the indivdual name plate will light up green. A great purchase if you want to add inputs and want to lessen the clutter than normally comes with a tv when the back inputs are filled to capacity. I think this product by pelican is worth every penny that you pay.