12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Works great with my devices and TV
First, the picture shown (as of today) is not what you are getting. The current picture I see looks like an HDMI switch.
The box I received has 5 component inputs on the back and one input on the front. It has two component outputs on the back. Each input and output on the back has your 3 YPbPr component jacks, left/right analog RCA audio jacks, and a...
It would've been awesome if it worked with my TVs
This had all the features I was looking for and functioned just as described.
The problem was when there was too much movement/quick transitions on the screen the picture would go blank and the sound cut out from half a second up to five seconds. At first I thought it was only during fast paced action shots, but then later, watching CNN HD, when they'd transition...
This review is from: Cables To Go 40697 6x2 Component Video Matrix Selector Switch (Electronics)
First, the picture shown (as of today) is not what you are getting. The current picture I see looks like an HDMI switch.
The box I received has 5 component inputs on the back and one input on the front. It has two component outputs on the back. Each input and output on the back has your 3 YPbPr component jacks, left/right analog RCA audio jacks, and a digital TOSLINK optical audio jack. The front input is slightly different - it has the same YPbPr component jacks and TOSLINK optical audio jack, but it uses a single 3.5mm headphone jack for analog audio instead of the 2 left/right RCA jacks. If you want to plug in RCA style audio to the front, you'll need a cheap 3.5mm to RCA "Y" cable.
The two outputs on the back can be separately controlled. So, you can have input #3 going to output #1 and input #5 to output #2 at the same time. You can also have a single input go to both outputs.
The remote has discreet IR codes for power on, power off, all 6 inputs to output 1, and all 6 inputs to output 2 (14 total buttons). So, you people with Harmony remotes and the like are going to love this thing. I use a Harmony remote, and the switch was already in the database and works flawlessly.
My biggest concern was how the picture was going to look. After reading a lot of reviews of other switches, I realized these things can be pretty finicky. My inputs are a Comcast HiDef DVR (1080i), Memorex Blu-ray (1080i), Wii (480p), original Xbox (480p and 1080i), and a HiDef Sony Camcorder on the front (1080i). My TV is an older 73" Mitsubishi that supports 480p and 1080i. I use analog audio for the Wii and my camcorder. All the other devices output digital audio, but I route those directly through my receiver instead of this switch. I'm thinking of throwing a HiDef Slingbox on output 2 of the switch, so I might end up routing all audio through the switch.
I haven't noticed any issues at all with the picture - no flickers, no sync/lock problems, and no lags in switching inputs. The thing I'm most happy about is that I'm not noticing any degradation of picture quality. It might be there (sort of the nature of the beast with component video), but for me it is minor enough that I'm not seeing it.
Anyway, your mileage may vary. I have another TV in the house that has really touchy component inputs. Even stuff directly connected to it with good cables sometimes freaks it out. I could see adding a switch to that thing would just cause it more grief.
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This review is from: Cables To Go 40697 6x2 Component Video Matrix Selector Switch (Electronics)
I bought this as an upgrade from the smaller 3x1 version. The immediate need was to split or switch the optical audio signal to have it go to my receiver and the base station for my IR surround sound headphones.
It actually simplified my AV set-up a little. I use it to switch between a Tivo HD, Motorola set-top box, Sony DVD player, a PS3, and an Apple TV. It's been hassle-free since the day I set it up.
It is completely compatible with my Logitech Harmony remote. The remote codes are already in the Harmony system (although Harmony for some reason refers to blue and red buttons instead of the green and red buttons on the IA remote).
I use the IA remote only when I need to switch the second output for my headphones.
This will do quite nicely until AV receiver manufacturers catch up with market and start making reasonably-priced receivers that can switch five or six (or more) HD component video or HDMI inputs and have one or two optical audio outputs.
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This review is from: Cables To Go 40697 6x2 Component Video Matrix Selector Switch (Electronics)
I purchased this product because it was the only A/V switch box that had six inputs and TWO outputs, and more importantly, digital optical connections. It replaced an old three input/ one output dial type optical cable switcher that I have worn out. I have my HDTV (for OTA HD), DVD player, HD-DVR DirectTv box, and an X-Box 360 all connected to my surround sound system, and also to a set of wireless 5.1 surround sound headphones so I can enjoy gaming or TV watching at any volume after my wife goes to bed! This switch has performed flawlessly since it was installed, and I still have two open inputs for future use. The remote is just icing on the cake! No need to get up and manually switch the box from one input to another!
All in all, an excellent product for the price! If I needed another, I would not hesitate to purchase this unit again!
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This review is from: Cables To Go 40697 6x2 Component Video Matrix Selector Switch (Electronics)
This had all the features I was looking for and functioned just as described.
The problem was when there was too much movement/quick transitions on the screen the picture would go blank and the sound cut out from half a second up to five seconds. At first I thought it was only during fast paced action shots, but then later, watching CNN HD, when they'd transition between stories and bring up graphics quickly it would also cut out. I called their tech support and they asked me if I had certain Sony TVs since they'd heard of this before with them. My TVs are all Samsung. The DLP it worked perfect on, the two LCDs I tried gave varying degrees of the issue. They said to return it since there was nothing they could do. I was just unlucky enough to have a TV that lost sync with it.
See this link for technical details about what was happening (the part about "DC restoration"): [...]
So, if your TV(s) work with it it's a really nice unit, but if they don't, you'll probably want to return it. Amazon was great about the return, sent UPS to my door the next morning to pick it up and put the prepaid shipping label on the box. Other than this issue, the picture and sound was very close to, if not the same, quality as the original. The price was good, too.
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This review is from: Cables To Go 40697 6x2 Component Video Matrix Selector Switch (Electronics)
This replaces my crappy Psyclone PSC01. The old switch mangled the component signal on bright scenes and my projector lost sync and went into no-signal-detected mode. Sucky way to watch TV... Wish I hadn't lost the receipt or that would go back to Best Buy, now its going to the trash. This Cables To Go matrix switch works wonderfully. My projector stays on, and I can watch TV or play videogames without problems of the video going away. Wish I'd have seen this to begin with, it only costs a couple dollars more than the BestBuy crap. (Interesting that many of the Psyclones on the store shelf have restock price tags on them...) This switch doesn't have composite or Svideo, but all my stuff is on component right now so that's fine. Plus I get two additional inputs for future use, and a second output for maybe a small screen in the dining room on Superbowl day.
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This review is from: Cables To Go 40697 6x2 Component Video Matrix Selector Switch (Electronics)
I was sitting in my living room on a Friday afternoon contemplating which of two different types of gaming chairs I was going to purchase, a pedestal or a rocker. Because I have an XBox 360, a PS2, a PS3, a WII, a DVD/VCR combo, and a digital cable box, along with 2 very large LCD monitors, I was thinking how many times I would have to get up to switch cables around. This was a factor in which kind of gaming chair I was going to buy. I decided I wanted the rocker chairs. Wouldn't it be easy, I thought, if I could purchase a switching device so I wouldn't have to move wires around, only hit a button. So I searched for a "video switch" on Amazon.com. I waded through the usual suspects when I came across this product. "Really?", I thought. "Is this exactly what I was looking for? Oh and it has a remote control?". I read a few reviews, searched the manufacturer's website, and decided to go ahead and order this item. 18 hours later, on a Saturday morning (Amazon Prime !!! A good deal), the FedEx guy shows up with my order. I wired everything up, flicked on the switch, and have been happy ever since. This is a quality product, cool looking, functional, and flexible. Of all the electronics I have sitting in one area of my gaming room, to a person, this is the item asked about first and commented on the most. I am a techie geek and have techie geeks as friends. We know what things are, what they do, and how they do it. This product gets a thumbs up from all of us. I can recommend you order this product free from reservation. If you are looking at this product, you already know what you want to do and how to do it. This product will facilitate exactly what you are looking for.
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This review is from: Cables To Go 40697 6x2 Component Video Matrix Selector Switch (Electronics)
I purchased this switch with a high level of optimism based on the reviews; once installed it seemed to work just fine until I tried some Blu-ray action movies such as Star Trek. On big action scenes the picture would disappear or flash off and on; it appears really high data rates would just shut it down.
The DVD's worked just fine, it seemed to be the mass of data in the Blu-ray was just too much for it.
Amazon was excellent, as usual, about the return; I had decided not to simply replace the switch and hope for the best but buy a more expensive switch.
I have installed an Audio Authority model 1154B component video switch and it is working perfectly. All of the heavy action scenes which caused the Cables to Go switch to malfunction worked flawlessly.
As I mentioned before, it is possible that my problem was with only one faulty unit; I did not want to take the time to check out a replacement and just hope for the best. The two stars may be a little harsh, especially if the problem I experienced was unique to this particular unit. It would be well, if you get this switch to play some Blu-ray movies similar to Star Trek and see what results you get.
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This review is from: Cables To Go 40697 6x2 Component Video Matrix Selector Switch (Electronics)
It's a pretty straightforward product. I should note I only used toslink inputs and outputs. So either it's going to get it right or wrong. And it gets it right. It's a little pricey for a selector switch but it does have 2 outputs which most selectors dont. I tried going the cheap route and purchased the $10 non-powered manual switch and the $10 repeater. Those work fine if you a)dont mind having to manually turn the selector and b)only have 1 output. I however needed 2 inputs and 2 outputs. Of which the cheaper alternatives were very finicky and therefore did not always work. If you have more than 3 inputs and more than 1 output or vice versa (1 input and 3 outputs) buy this product. Unless you dont mind spending 5+ minutes getting the toslink cables to line up just right, this is a must buy. A third alternative would be a high end receiver, but now you are talking big bucks and I wasnt in the market for a new receiver.
To summarize my general opinion, it's a bit pricey ($60-70 range would have been perfect) and it's physically a little large. It's almost as big as my DirecTV box. It on the other hand works GREAT and I can use my logitech remote to control it.
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This review is from: Cables To Go 40697 6x2 Component Video Matrix Selector Switch (Electronics)
There is not much to say, except, that this has been one of the best birthday present I have ever gotten, I got this as a present from my in-laws, pretty cool, and they just saved me a lot of money. I got this beauty conected to my PS2, PS3 and DVD, and now I can watch my movies and play videogames in true DTS sound, the way God wanted it to, the sound quality is perfect. On the video side I hve nothing to say, since I am not using that feature. But if you need some extre optic inputs this is the product for you, easy to set up and easy to use. Hope this helps.
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