av switches

[77FordTruckMan]

Does anybody know where I can buy an av switch with more than 8 ports? 8 is the most I have been able to find but I was hoping for about 12 or more. I guess I could get 2 of the 8's... anyway, I'm talking about one of these, just with more ports http://www.ebay.com/itm/EC-New-8X1-Port-3RCA-AV-HDTV-DVD-splitter-Switch-Box-8-input-1-output-switch-/120803403859?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c2071a853

[SignOfZeta]

Twelve? Damn.

[Samurai Ghost]

Probably not the answer you are looking for, but if you couldn't find one couldn't you just get two of the 8 switchers and plug one of them into the other to have 15 inputs?

[Arkhan Asylum]

 I bought like 15 of those 3 way ones for 1.20$ each from some dude in china.

Daisy Chains WHUT.

[Bernie]

What do you think the quality of those would be?  I use em, but this one looks elcheapo..

[Arkhan Asylum]

The el cheapo 1.50$ ones?

They're pieces of crap.  That's why I bought 15 of them!

but they all still work!  so, maybe they're just fine.

[Bernie]

Im talking about the one he posted a link to.    Im thinking of getting one, or two...

[Samurai Ghost]

Im talking about the one he posted a link to.    Im thinking of getting one, or two...

Well someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but an RCA cable is an RCA cable. It's just a wire going from one connection to another, so unless the switches themselves are so cheap that they break with a little use then they should be fine.

[77FordTruckMan]

I just counted and I will need 13, but I would like to have more because I'm sure I will pick up another system or 2 at some point. I was figuring on buying 2 of the 8's if you guys didn't know of any bigger ones, so I guess that's what I will do, I'll let you know how they work out and post pictures of the new setup I am building once it's done. I'm having trouble finding the cd rack I want.

[77FordTruckMan]

I bought like 15 of those 3 way ones for 1.20$ each from some dude in china.

Daisy Chains WHUT.

Wow, that sounds confusing...

[xcrement5x]

Yeah, I can't imagine how you keep that straight Arkham.  Do you do it like by manufacturer so it filters down?
For example:
1-NEC
2-Ninteno
3-Sega

and then off the NEC one it's like
1-Core Grafx
2-Duo
3-PC-FX
so you'd need to set the switches at 1, 2 to some to play Gotzendiener?

[majors]

I had some issues getting my gear all hooked up also. After I saw the prices for 8+ switch boxes, with remotes and fancy crap for power gemlins I decided to daisy chain two 4-way boxes I already had for my composite consoles and I also have one 4-way for the systems that can out s-vid. My TV can handle the HDMI/Component for right now. I've seen shitty switch boxes, but it's more for the mechanics rather than the wires (poor connections) but I'm with Samurai Ghost on "quality" switchboxes debate.

Of course I never need to switch anything because there is only Turbo!

[Arkhan Asylum]

Yeah, I can't imagine how you keep that straight Arkham.  Do you do it like by manufacturer so it filters down?
For example:
1-NEC
2-Ninteno
3-Sega

and then off the NEC one it's like
1-Core Grafx
2-Duo
3-PC-FX
so you'd need to set the switches at 1, 2 to some to play Gotzendiener?

no.  i put tape with console name on all the things. so then you just find the one you want and set the switches.

It's not really that bad, lol.

its all dismantled right now though since I'm gittin me some XRGBthing

[SignOfZeta]

Im talking about the one he posted a link to.    Im thinking of getting one, or two...

Well someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but an RCA cable is an RCA cable. It's just a wire going from one connection to another, so unless the switches themselves are so cheap that they break with a little use then they should be fine.

By no means. The more low end the signal the more sensitive it is to bullshit. A bad switch box can MURDER a composite signal. By daisy chaining two of these things some unlucky systems might end up sending their poor composite signal through the OEM cables, then through a shitty switch, then through a standard interlink cable, then through another box, then another cable, then the TV. It might work fine, but I wouldn't count on it. There will be signal degradation for sure.

I have a lot of systems, and I do play them, all of them, but it doesn't make much sense for me to have them all hooked up at once. I can only actually PLAY one at a time, the others will just get dusty waiting to be turned on. The there is the huge amount of space this would take up. Never mind the systems, just the CABLES for 12 systems takes up a lot of space. Composite is fairly compact too. My CMVS and GC have a lot more shit coming out the back.

Also, the only composite signals I use are, I think, my PCEs (working on upgrades, I promise you), my HandiFami8 and my LD player. Everything else is s-video or better so F this composite shit.

[Samurai Ghost]

Thanks for the info! I'm like you, as I have a ton of systems, but I usually just have the ones I'm currently playing out, so I used direct connections rather than switch boxes. I use at least s-video whenever possible, but my briefcase PCE, AV Famicom, and Master System all use standard component cables. Looking to upgrade the ones I can to RGB or s-video at some point, and am thinking of building a custom shelf to hold my most-played systems, hooked up all the time. And in that case I'd need some kind of switcher for S-Video at least, as a lot of TVs only have one S-video input. Are there any decent s-video switchers out there?

[Chuplayer]

Are there any decent s-video switchers out there?

I'd be more concerned about decent TVs with S-Video these days.

[SignOfZeta]

I'm using the same switcher that was sold at EB Games, GameStop, Funco, and a bunch of other places in the early 2000s for all my s-video sources. It's worked perfectly so far.

For component I use a fully electronic switcher from Monoprice. It was mad cheap, and even came with a remote. Astoundingly, it works perfectly. I assume this is because it's IC-based.

A medium end late 90s AV receiver will have as many as six s-video jacks or more. They usually do a great job, plus the have remotes. Check Craigslist.

[SignOfZeta]

Are there any decent s-video switchers out there?

I'd be more concerned about decent TVs with S-Video these days.

There aren't any CRTs being made anymore so whether something new has s-video on it or not is irrelevant. It's going to look like shit anyway.

[roflmao]

Are there any decent s-video switchers out there?

I use one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Recoton-SVS1000-S-Video-Switch/dp/B000031WCH

Pictured here (the top one):



I've had it since the late 90's and it's always been good to me.  Right now I'm using only the RCA ports since my current tube tv accepts only composite OR s-video and if I have both plugged in the universe explodes.  But in the past I've had multiple s-video consoles plugged into it and it worked like a charm.  Some of my previous switchers have acted funny (particularly once from Radio Shack purchased ages ago), but this one has always been reliable.

[SignOfZeta]

I've known people who had both of those boxes and neither was an issue.

[Samurai Ghost]

OK cool, I'll keep an eye out for those.

Planning on picking up a used CRT for my gaming needs when I get back in to the states. Probably this particular Toshiba model.

[77FordTruckMan]

Ok, I ordered 2 of the 8's and a 4 port component switch for my xbox 360 and ps3. I will let you know how it works out.

[VestCunt]

It this your setup?  Funny because I have the same Madcatz selector sitting on top of a speaker next to the same DVD remote:


The Madcatz selector is OK.  The thing on top of it is a recent ebay purchase.  It's cheap and has a couple s-video inputs, but the selector dial has been finicky since day one -- you get what you pay for.

Here's my cheatsheet:

With three inputs on my stereo receiver, the two on the TV, and two switchers, I have almost all of my systems hooked up simultaneously.  My Duo gets priority, going straight to the receiver and on to the TV. 

By no means. The more low end the signal the more sensitive it is to bullshit. A bad switch box can MURDER a composite signal. By daisy chaining two of these things some unlucky systems might end up sending their poor composite signal through the OEM cables, then through a shitty switch, then through a standard interlink cable, then through another box, then another cable, then the TV. It might work fine, but I wouldn't count on it. There will be signal degradation for sure.

+1.  RCA phono cables are bad enough and AV selectors are even worse.  Unbalanced signals are especially vulnerable to interference from spdif and digital cables that cross their path.  Keep your analog cables short, discreet, and avoid the running them through extra slave-labor soldering.

[roflmao]

It this your setup?  Funny because I have the same Madcatz selector sitting on top of a speaker next to the same DVD remote:

That's funny!  Great minds think alike.

[77FordTruckMan]

Finally got around to posting pics of this setup.
It works great, all I have to do is push a few buttons to switch between systems. I mounted power strips to the shelves too.

[SignOfZeta]

Holy shit what a rat's nest. If someone accidentally yanks on a cord too hard you're going to have a plastic avalanche!

Seriously, there is no way you can use that many systems more than once a month. The SNES, assuming you have enough controller cord extensions to actually reach you, is going to have both of its controller cords hanging down in front of the display. The IFU is scuffing the top of the TG-16. Also, you have way too many Halo games.

Seriously, less is more. Bring out the Selectavision when you actually want to watch things on it. Otherwise its just collecting mountains of dust %99.9 of the time is out.

[soop]

Well it's too late now, but I was in a similar situation...

Personally I think the composite on the PC Engine is just fine, but I was getting annoyed with swapping the composite around - especially as my PC Engine ones are flakey (need some new ones I think).

Anyway, after a cable blowout, and replacing my old 360 with an HDMI model, I'm closer to getting a port for everything on the back of my TV;

360 - HDMI
Wii - Component
Core Grafx/Super CD - Phono
SuperGrafx ^ uses same Cable
SNES - RGB scart (when it's working properly)
N64 - ^ same cable
Megadrive - Scart RGB (so need a scart splitter)
PS2 - non RGB scart (only gets used for singstar!)
Dreamcast - VGA, when I get the cable.

The Famicom, if I ever get the AV mod working, will use the phono port too, but I might just stick it on another TV anyway.  But that sets me up so that pretty much everything but the PS2 is running at its optimal quality video, should be fairly tidy, and everything just needs to be turned on and switched to the right channel.

I think I might go for one of the crappy RGB switches that route the signal without a switch, just so I don't have to press another button.

[SignOfZeta]

I doubt your TV has phono inputs on it, but even if it did the sound would be so overdriven it would sound like a Squarepusher track or something.

[soop]

I doubt your TV has phono inputs on it, but even if it did the sound would be so overdriven it would sound like a Squarepusher track or something.

Me?  I'm interchanging "AV" "RCA" and "phono" to mean the same thing, even if it's a little erronius.  Obviously AV is just Audio/Visual, which could actually be SCART too for example.  RCA and phono are just different names for the same jack.

*edit* in fact, component uses RCA too, so I should probably stick with composite as the most descriptive term.

*edit 2* regarding the number of systems... I reckon I probably use close to that many formats in a month.  This month alone, I've used:

Wii
Core Grafx/SCD
SNES
PS2
I'm sure I would have used the 360 and the Famicom if they'd been working
GBA
DS
PSP (but only for watching TV shows)

Not bad, and there's still a whole week and a half left!

[SignOfZeta]

Phono level is different than line level. Thu both use RCA jacks. Phonographs have no amplification so there is a bias signal coming out of any phono level input. Line level (everything except for an actual phonograph) inputs are expecting an already amplified signal.

[soop]

Phono level is different than line level. Thu both use RCA jacks. Phonographs have no amplification so there is a bias signal coming out of any phono level input. Line level (everything except for an actual phonograph) inputs are expecting an already amplified signal.

Ah, my mistake!  God, I know I'm gonna make that mistake again.  I've been making it for many years!

[VestCunt]

"Phono" is still used interchangeably with "RCA" by many engineers to identify cables and adapters (XLR, instrument, TRS, etc).  If you start talking about jacks/inputs or anything other than line level signals, it's best to avoid the word "phono" unless you're talking about an actual turntable input.

[GohanX]

Ah, the memories. I used to daisy chain two of those Retocon switchboxes together back in the day. It was a very good unit, available pretty cheap as I recall. I used to use one of those Madcatz ones too, it wasn't quite as good as the Retocon IIRC, but still fine for composite.

These days, I use a combination of my Onkyo receiver (it has 3 component inputs) with one of these switchboxes:




The reciever's signals are perfect, I just wish it had more ports. The Pelican works better than just about any switchbox I've seen, but there is still a slight bit of interference if you are looking very closely.