Is the component input on a tv strong enough to handle manual switching daily? (1 Viewer)

[Todd smith]

I doubt I will be unpluging and repluging things in and out of the component input on a daily basis, but I will be doing quite a bit of manual switching of component devices.

I might use a switchbox instead, but I am very picky about loosing any pq so I would rather manually switch devices and go directly into the tv.

q1 Can the component input on a tv handle this kind of use (pluging and unpluging) on a constant basis?

q2 Will doing this amount of manual switching over time wear down the input and degrade the picture quality?

I dont mind manually doing this, but I dont want to hurt the tv. What do you guys think?

 

[Jeff Kleist]

You may eventually break the inputs, yes

Buy a powered remote switch. Then the picture loss will be virtually nil and you'lll save VERY expensive repairs

 

[Todd smith]

Hi Jeff!

Can you give me some ideas on a powered remote switch? I have no idea where to even look for such a device. You are saying that there will be NO picture loss for 480p-1080i signals with such a device? I have seen the jvc component switcher (dont know if this is what you are refering to) but it only has a 30mhz bandwidth that will degrade a 720p or 1080i signal from my understanding. Are you thinking of something else?

 

[Allan Jayne]

You won't notice any 1080i quality loss with a 30 MHz switcher, even for 720p loss will be very small.
720p needs 37 MHz, but a few more MHz of bandwidth is better since two pieces of equipment or cables with exactly 37MHz each have a combined bandwidth of a little less when connected together. 1080i also needs 37 MHz but today's TV sets probably won't show any degradation if you have 24 MHz.
Constant unplugging and replugging will wear out the jacks. You could get an additional 3 foot component cable and three female to female connectors and do the manual switching three feet away from the back of the TV. Then if these jacks and plugs wear out, you only have to replace the cables.
Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Neil Joseph]

I agree with not manually switching on a daily basis. The connectors on the back of the TV are not durable enough to endure it and eventually problems will arise, I have seen it and it is worse with cables that "grip" strongly.

 

[RANDY FISHER]

Get a cheap $20 stereo audio/video manual switchbox from Radio Shack or EB. Use the three input RCA's for your 3 component cables instead of the intended A/V. You can have 4 component video sources hooked up to your TV and use the push buttons on your switch box to switch between them. With a manual passive device like that you don't have to worry about bandwidth limitations and your TV jack won't snap off from the board they are soldered to from all that plugging and un-plugging of the cables. I did this and it works great.
Randy

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Well, he wants virtually 0 signal loss, and that requires a powered switcher

 

[RANDY FISHER]

It does not require a powered switcher. With a passive device you need not worry about bandwith limitations only the possibility of some reflections back thru the cable because of the extra conection points. You would need to worry about that with a powered switcher anyway. With a powered switcher you need to spend much more in order to make sure the switch is rated for the bandwidth required to pass a progressive 480p/720p or 1080i signal without loss like the ones we use here at work all the time from Extron, Altinex, In-Line and others.

Randy

 

[Todd smith]

Thanks for all the replies everyone! If a passive $15.00 switcher will pass a 480p-1080i signal without any loss, what would be the point in spending hundreds more on a powered switcher?
If I did the 3 foot component cable with 3 female to female conectors would this cause any picture loss either?
Which of these two would result in least amount of picture loss or are they equal?
Which ever one of these is best, how would it compare to using the component switching on my h/k 520?
Thanks for being patient with my picky questions, I want to have the best possible picture even if it involves a little labor. What can I say, I am anal!