An HDMI video switch (a.k.a. HDMI video switcher, HDMI switch box) takes HDMI signal from a number of HDMI sources and sends the signals from one of these to your HDTV. In such a manner, it serves as an agent to accept several HDMI signal for your own HDTV, even though the HDTV has just a couple of HDMI port(s).
You could connect different HD devices to the HDTV, including your:
* BluRay player, HDDVD player, DVD player with HDMI output;
* PS3, Xbox360, Wii with HDMI output;
* HTPC, or computers with HDMI ports;
* HDTV box, satellite dish network, HD PVR;
* HD camera, or HD cam recorder;
* All the other devices that are capable of outputting HDMI data.
For the comfort of connecting many HDMI electronics, how much should you really spend on an HDMI switch?
The Proper Price for An HDMI Video Switch
You may find branded HDMI switches at just about $250 in a neighboring BestBuy store, or maybe $150 if you check around a little. Your gut instinct almost definitely instantly tells you this doesn’t sound right: HDMI switching is such a straightforward functionality, why does it need to cost that much? And don’t forget, with a large number of 42-46 inch HDTVs priced about $600-700 at the moment, $150 - $250 unquestionably does sound to be ridiculous, we might as well add a couple of hundred bucks to bring home a different HDTV.
How About Just $20?
Absolutely yes, a person only really need to spend $20 on a 3-port HDMI video switch, which will have the job done literally beautifully just as those $250 ones: they’ve got similar offerings which include support for 1080P FullHD, DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD, Linear PCM (LPCM), automated and manual HDMI switching, HDMI v1.3b and HDCP pass-through.
Number of Ports Matter. More ports have to have more materials used and cost slightly more. A 2×1 HDMI switch, with 2 HDMI inputs and 1 output, will most likely cost around $10-15; whereas a 5×1 HDMI video switch could set you back for perhaps $30-40, but not $400.
Do They Seriously Perform The Same?
Part of you inside quite possibly keeps telling you that those pricy ones must have superior audio/video quality, simply because they charge a lot more, right?
However, in the digital environment, it’s either 1 or 0: signals either get transmitted and transmitted in its 100% full quality, or it will get lost with absolutely nothing transmitted whatsoever —- nothing at all is in the middle.
The HDMI video switch isn’t going to change the signals at all, HDMI signals are passed over from the input port to the output port untouched, this would make sure that everything in the HDMI source will be sent to your HDTV as if the HDMI source attaches to the HDTV directly.
This is exactly the reason why a $20 HDMI video switch will have its HDMI switching job done just as well as $250 ones.