Component video switch? (1 Viewer)

[Shane Archer]

I just picked up a new Panasonic 53WX42 (hooray!) and now I'm thinking about what it's going to take to get all my goodies plugged up the way I want them.
Specifically, I'm going to have 3 component video sources (DVD, PS2, X-Box) with only 2 CV inputs on the TV. My receiver, an older Pioneer 608, doesn't have any CV hookups on it, so I'm out of luck there.
Does anybody know if somebody makes a "switchbox" type of thing for component video? I use an el-cheapo A/V switch right now for the gaming stuff but I'm looking forward to eliminating that.
I checked with Best Buy earlier today and they barely knew what I was talking about, much less have something like it in stock.

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

There are plenty of options. You can go with a component switch with remote for about $180, a high quality component switch for $80 or so, or a cheap A/V switch for $30.

What kind of budget do you have?

 

[Patrick R.E.]

where can i get one of those switch box ?? the good one not the el cheapo stuff
i have the same problem like Shane Archer :frowning:

 

[Gregg Loewen]

Try here:
http://www.inday.com/
KeohiTV just reviewed it and give it a strong recommendation.
Regards
Gregg

 

[Patrick R.E.]

thx Gregg Loewen
this will help me

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

Heh, that's the one I was thinking of. Nice choice.

 

[Jerry Plunkett]

Gabriel, you wrote "a high quality component switch for $80 or so, or a cheap A/V switch for $30". Since I am somewhat money challenged at the moment, meaning about broke, could you give some specific examples of those choices? I don't care about a remote, but have read I should care about the bandwidth. Thanks for any info.

Jerry

 

[Dave E H]

JVC makes one - I own it and it's pretty nice - for about $75. I use it for my PS2 & Xbox, and switch the rest through my receiver (VSX-49TX.)
Here's the unit at etronics: http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=jvcjxs111
BTW - does anyone (other than the more expensive JVC models) make a unit that:
* switches 3 or more component video sourcs
* also does toslink?
* under $300?
I figure it's just a matter of time, but noone seems to make this kind of unit yet. If I found that, I'd hop on that in a second.

 

[Shane Archer]

Gabriel_Lam (and others): Budget is not a big deal for me (well, within reason; around or under $200 is fine, a bit more I might think about it). I have dealt with shadowing and whatnot from a low-quality A/V switch for a while now, and I never bothered with a new one because I knew that sooner or later I would be looking at a Component Video solution.

Thanks for the information!

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

If you have upwards of just under $200, the Inday one is probably the best choice.
At around $80, there were a few choices. The JVC JX-s111 was one of them, and there was another too which I need to look up. The issue with the JVC for most people is the bandwidth, which is 30mhz.
Let's talk turkey for a minute here. Yes, bandwidth does matter. In theory, you need 37mhz to FULLY pass 720p and about there as well for 1080i. You need at least 13.5Mhz for 480p, about 5.3mhz for your typical laser disk, and 4.2Mhz for NTSC broadcast. However, often, high quality components plays a bigger part in the picture quality than just the bandwidth. For instance, the respected Denon AVR-3802 has a component switching bandwidth of 27mhz. How's the picture quality? Still excellent. What happens when you don't have enough bandwidth to fully pass the desired resolution given your display can output it? The picture looks slightly softer, more "filmlike", to you hardcore CRT people :wink: .
For $30, you can find a bunch of different AV switches, which you can use for component. The Sima SVS-14 is a popular one:
http://www.simacorp.com/svs14.html

 

[Tim Hess]

Is there a difference with this one being active as opposed to one that is passive? Is there a preference?

I'm in the market for this very thing and have been bouncing back and forth between the JVC and the Inday.

 

[Matt Wallace]

Just a quick idea here, but if you've got about $200 bucks to spend, why not put it into a reciever? I almost got a 608, so I'm pretty familiar with it. It's got DD and DTS and had a great feature set for the price back when it came out. Why don't you sell it, take that money plus the $200 or so and get a reciever that has 2 component inputs (most that switch component have at least 2)? This will allow hook up of 2 through the reciever, one into the second input on the tv - which totals 3, AND will allow you the opportunity to get a reciever with DPLII (being found on more and more games, like SOCOM, Rogue Leader, etc) and maybe 6.1 processing. Sounds like a winner all the way! As far as the bandwidth, quite a few manufacturers are pretty good. I'm surprised to hear about the Denon, because all current Onkyo's pass 50Mhz as do many others. Kenwood's new line of recievers are getting good press and should be in that price range, as are some of Pioneer and Yamaha's. Maybe even Sony.

Good luck in whatever you do!

Matt

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I wish I only had 3 component sources!

Try this:

DVD Player
DVD Recorder
HD settop box
XBox
Gamecube
Dreamcast (via transcoder)

I agree, go the receiver route unless you know you will outgrow it soon.

 

[Shane Archer]

Thanks for the input guys, you've all given me plenty to think about it. I would like to get a newer/better receiver, although I haven't done any receiver shopping lately so I might have a look at a few of those to see what my options are. I kind of promised myself at last year's CES that the next time I get a receiver I would get a nice one and probably spend a bit -- then again, I promised myself a lot of things at that show... haha
If not a receiver, then a high-bandwidth switch like the Inday will probably do just fine for me until I can settle on a receiver I like. The one thing I like about going with the switch is that, even with a 2-switch on the receiver, that gives me a total of 3 inputs, and I already have 3 devices to use (DVD, X-Box, PS2). I wasn't even thinking about the Gamecube or Dreamcast (both of which we have) although I wasn't necessarily going to plug those up with CV just yet (not many 16:9 games on the GC, don't use DC much any more).
Anyway, the point being that if I do go with a switch, I have a feeling I'll be using it down the road even when I do get a new receiver (and who knows, maybe more CV devices).