49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent performance!
I bought a passive component switch (no power supply) and returned it because I was losing HD signals when viewing HD channels. I then got this unit and it works as advertised. No HD signal lost at all, excellent build (does not weight or look cheap), easy switching between devices with the remote.
I have a SONY BRAVIA LCD HDTV and only have one component...
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
Problems using this with Wii and Xbox 360...
I bought this switcher because of the high review scores but I've had two of them not work for me and ultimately had to send them both back and get a refund. When running the Nintendo Wii through it I would often get sync loss and flickering anytime a bright white screen came on (which happened a lot in Super Mario Galaxy).
This review is from: 40324 - 3-Play Component Video Digital Audio Selector (Electronics)
I bought a passive component switch (no power supply) and returned it because I was losing HD signals when viewing HD channels. I then got this unit and it works as advertised. No HD signal lost at all, excellent build (does not weight or look cheap), easy switching between devices with the remote.
I have a SONY BRAVIA LCD HDTV and only have one component input so I needed this unit to switch between my HD Cable box and a progressive scan DVD. When watching HD cable channels, my Bravia tells me the signal input is 1080i. When watching a DVD progressive scan, it tells me I'm getting a 480P signal. So the unit works perfectly!!! Great buy!
This is the most reasonably priced unit compared to other "powered" component switches I have looked at. You can't go wrong with this one.
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This review is from: 40324 - 3-Play Component Video Digital Audio Selector (Electronics)
Having an older Harmon-Kardon AVR with only 2 component inputs I needed a way to expand the inputs to allow component input from the Xbox and PS2. I was using a manual A/v selector but the lack of digital audio in/out was annoying. Replacing the manual box with the Impact Acoustics 3-Play was a great solution. Using affordable TOSALINK digital audio cables allowed me to spend more on quality component cables. The Impact Acoustics A/v selector itself was less of an expense than a premium set of component cables.
I am impressed with the ease of setup and use. I do not have the equipment to test the functioning of the unit but regarding visual and audio capability I find no discernable difference from a direct hook up to the AVR. Obviously any interconnect will have some effect, but I can't tell the difference. It leaves me wondering how they did it, with comparable units costing twice or even four times as much.
The caveats are the lack of coaxial digital audio in/out, and the tiny credit card sized remote. I have no issue with the function of the remote; it works well from across the room. I'm just afraid of losing the darn thing!
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This review is from: 40324 - 3-Play Component Video Digital Audio Selector (Electronics)
I bought this switcher because of the high review scores but I've had two of them not work for me and ultimately had to send them both back and get a refund. When running the Nintendo Wii through it I would often get sync loss and flickering anytime a bright white screen came on (which happened a lot in Super Mario Galaxy).
Additionally, while running my XBOX 360 though it, the screen would often scramble and freeze up (confirmed this was not the 360 itself). FYI, my Wii is set to 480p and the 360 at 720p which this switcher could supposedly handle. Unfortunately that was not the case for me. Was it just bad luck? Who knows, but I'll have to look for another brand now.
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This review is from: 40324 - 3-Play Component Video Digital Audio Selector (Electronics)
If you're adding high definition sources to your system and are running out of component video inputs, the Impact Acoustics (Cables To Go) Component Video Switcher may be just what the home theater doctor ordered. Its 50 MHz rated video bandwidth supports the full resolution of HD video sources as well as standard video devices such as game systems and DVD players.
Its credit card remote is perfectly functional and the fact that it offers direct input access via the remote for each of its three component video inputs means that it's easy to integrate with a universal remote control.
Don't let the low price fool you. This little switcher is a great way to add high definition and standard definition component video sources to your system without having to upgrade your TV or home theater receiver.
Check out the complete review on Big Picture Big Sound.
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This review is from: 40324 - 3-Play Component Video Digital Audio Selector (Electronics)
I've used this for switching between component cables running HDTV at 1080i and it's worked flawlessly with no visible degradation to the image. Recently I moved up to an LCD with a ton of inputs and am using HDMI so I'm no longer using it for video but am now using it to switch between two 5.1 Surround Sound sources (XBOX 360 and PS3) being my system only has one optical input. It's working flawlessly for this as well. Originally when looking for a switchbox with these capabilities most boxes were at least over $100 with some being closer to $300. I was a little sceptical but ordered on the many reviews here. So now it's my turn to attest how well this switchbox works.
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This review is from: 40324 - 3-Play Component Video Digital Audio Selector (Electronics)
The device works well, just like advertised/designed. One suggestion when you hook up: better make line #1 be the one you use most since that's the default when you turn the unit on (no matter which line you used the last time before you turn it off).
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This review is from: 40324 - 3-Play Component Video Digital Audio Selector (Electronics)
I only use this for the optical audio link but having that capability helps me out of a jam - 3 digital sources, a TV with 3 HDMI ins and a receiver with 1 optical in. I thought I'd made my audio system obsolete. I rigged this up with some cheap optical cables and reprogrammed my Logitech Harmony remote - this switch does have an IR remote and it can be controlled by a universal remote - and now the system operates seamlessly, with HDMI video and digital audio from all my devices.
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This review is from: 40324 - 3-Play Component Video Digital Audio Selector (Electronics)
I was going to purchase a manual component video switch to allow convenient selection of my ATSC tuner and DVD player such as one of the JVC models. I'm very pleased that I found this remote controlled model from Impact Acoustics instead. It does just what I needed and cost less than the manual units I was considering.
If I were a picky person, I might complain that the rear panel markings could be a bit clearer and it would be nice to have the option to switch coaxial digital audio as well as TOSlink. But it's really hard to beat this unit at this price!
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This review is from: 40324 - 3-Play Component Video Digital Audio Selector (Electronics)
I have a Joytech 240c (~$100 instore) and I had a Psyclone PSC01 (ditto, ~$100)
The Joytech has ghosting at 720p/1080i but works perfectly for 480p and s-video/composite stuff. The Psyclone worked on my DLP projector but with my 37" LCD it would cause the TV to lose sync on bright white images (like the main menu screen on the Wii).
I've been using the Joytech but bypassing it for HD by using my HDMI/DVI inputs on my projector, and dealing with the degradation on my LCD. I thought it died so I hunted around for yet another switch.
This is the only switch I found to work properly with 720p/1080i on my Optoma HD72 projector and my 37" Olevia LCD. I didn't see any noticeable softness or degradation @ 115" and no video dropouts.
I found out the Joytech simply had a bad AC adapter, subbed in a spare 8-bit NES power adapter and it is running again. But I kept this switch around as a backup. I only wish they made one with 4-6 inputs, 3 just isn't enough, so I tolerate the Joytech.
If this gives you enough inputs I highly recommend it.
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This review is from: 40324 - 3-Play Component Video Digital Audio Selector (Electronics)
I bought my switch based on the price and the Amazon reviews. I used the switch to hook up my xbox, xbox 360, and my PS3 to my Onkyo NR 801 receiver. When testing the original xbox, which defaults to 480i resolution in the dashboard I noticed two large green horizontal bands that marched up the screen every 5 seconds or so.. Switching to the PS3 and setting it to 480i had the same effect. My tv does not support 1080p, so I could not test that. I tried several different cabling configurations, and the only way I could get rid of the green bands was to bypass the switch. I also tried bypassing my receiver and connecting the switch to my TV, just in case the receiver and the switch were not "playing nice together", but I still got the bands.
I looks like I'm the only one out of a ton of people who've had any problems, I guess I got a bum switch. I could not find any evidence on the web that anyone had any problems with this switch, so this issue has me baffled.
One other _minor_ gripe is that it always defaults to channel 1 when you power it on, rather than the last channel you had selected.
On the positive side, the 480p, 720p, and 1080i resolutions did look great, I didn't notice any *unusual* tearing as another review had mentioned. (As someone who has worked in 3D/games, 'tearing' will occur on many games/and systems as the developer disable 'vsync' to keep frame rates up, so it's usually not your TV/AV, it's the game/console. Many 360 games do this, and I see it on the ps3 as well. The alternative, with vsync on eliminates tearing, but causes frame rate stutter, which is much less aesthetic.)
I also used both toslink and the analog stereo audio inputs on all three channels with no problems.
I'm getting an exchange from Amazon, I'll give it another chance, since it seems like my case is a fluke. I'll update this review when the next one comes in.
[Update]
I received the new switch today and it works fine. If I'd have received a good one in the first place, I'd have given this 5 stars. Still, I will probably buy another one in the future if I run out of component connections again.
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