Home > Consumer Reviews > 3 Port Smart HDMI Switch

The laughs I enjoyed were when I opened the envelop and read the packaging. Clearly the labeling (and the very brief instruction manual) were written in a foreign language and translated via some translation site someone found using Google. They are horrific, and frankly, barely understandable to a normal English speaking person.

FORTUNATELY, the device itself is easy enough to use that if you've ordered it in order to switch between HDMI devices, you'll be able to figure out how to use it.

I hooked up my current Blu-Ray player to input 1 and my old (but still useful) HD DVD player to input 2. The device defaulted to #1, but when I turned on my HD DVD player, it switched automatically to #2. When I turned the HD DVD player off, it went back to #1. The little device is fairly small, about the size of a deck of cards. It requires no power source (a big plus for me).

It comes with a tiny remote control with three buttons, but I doubt I'll use it. There's also an IR extender, but if I ain't usin' the remote, I won't use the extender. I quite simply wanted to be able to switch between these two devices without having to disconnect cable every time...and this device does it for me perfectly. I could have spent more...but I went with the cheapest I could find, and I'm happy with the results.

In short This 3-port HDMI switch is great! If you need extra HDMI ports because your TV lacks in that regard, I can heartily recommend this product. The long answer follows.

I heard a lot of bad things about HDMI switches and compatibility issues with various HDMI devices. I also saw first hand how an expensive Yamaha receiver with three HDMI inputs would cause havoc to an ATI card that was attached to it (e.g. constant hand-shaking -> reads picture on and off, no sound via HDMI). I still regard HDMI technology as somewhat flaky. Maybe it's just how manufacturers implement HDMI. I don't know why something like a simple switch (not this one!), which just routes existing signals from A to B, could somehow modify the signal. Naturally, I was hesitant to order this HDMI switch, particularly because it is so cheap and I was somewhat prejudiced about its built quality. However, I had the need to hook up three HDMI devices to my TV which only offers two HDMI ports. They are a PlayStation 3, an XBox 360 and an ATI Radeon HD4830 graphics card. So I took the plunge, and I don't regret it.

Both game consoles worked right off the bat. This should come as a relieve to PS3 owners who might worry about HDCP compatibility. This switch is HDCP 1.3 compatible and works great with the PS3. But the PC generated an unstable picture. The TV showed a red line flickering across the middle of the screen during the operating system's boot screen and eventually an "Invalid signal" from my TV when the actual desktop was booted up. Plugging the HDMI cable for the PC straight into the TV revealed that the picture was actually there at the expected quality. After all, it's digital!

I immediately blamed the switch, but that was unfounded. I tried another, shorter cable, thinking that maybe the long 12ft. HDMI cable in conjunction with the switch had caused signal degradation. The shorter cabled worked, so I tried the longer cable one more time. This time around, I had no issues, but noticed that it takes a little force to insert the HDMI connector into the switch's socket completely. Now, the PC works, too.

I can also confirm the auto-switching feature to work exactly as advertised. My test run:
1. Turn on TV and switch to HDMI1
2. Turn on PC -> Picture after a few seconds (LED of HDMI port 3 lights up)
3. Turn on PS3 -> Picture goes blank for a few seconds and then picture of the PS3 appears (LED of HDMI port 1 lights up)
4. Use remote and IR receiver to switch to port 3 -> Picture goes back to PC
5. Use remote and IR receiver to switch to port 1 -> Picture goes back to PS3
6. Turn off PS3 -> Picture switches back to PC after a few seconds

I also tried turning the XBox on first and then the PS3 and then turning it off again. The switch automatically goes to the nearest signal source. 99% of the time, though, only one out of the three devices will be on at any given time.

Kudos to whoever built this little switch. The price is right and the value is great. The size of this device is also noteworthy. It's so small, I tucked it right behind my TV, tying it together with the other cables. So the setup is very seamless and doesn't look "ugly" from the back.

Finally, it would be great if the switch came with a short HDMI cable to connect its out to the TV's in so that you don't have to buy one.

I wanted this to use with my LCD HD TV w/ 1 HDMI input to switch between my directv box and my ps3 which we use as a dvd/bluray player. Some reviewers had said it needed a power source for the automatic functionality but this was not the case for me. All i did was take the box out of its packaging, attach the 2 input cables and the output cable and viola! it works perfectly! Since the directv box is always on, i plugged the ps3 into port 1 and the tv box into port 2. Now when i turn the ps3 on it switches the tv automatically and instantly (YAY!) with no power source and no need for any remote (which it comes with) or any other action on my part. When i want to watch TV again, all i do is turn the ps3 off(better for it anyway). If your setup is similar to mine, buy with confidence, this thing rocks!!!

Like other reviewers, I was looking for a simple automated HDMI switch. I have a PS3 and an HD cable box, but only one HD input on my TV. I put the PS3 on switch 1 and the cable box on switch 2. When the PS3 is on, the switch automatically routes that signal to the TV, but as soon as the PS3 gets turned off, it routes the cable signal to the TV. The switch also lets you manually override the automatic if you need to do that for some reason. (Like when you want to watch TV while downloading on the PS3.) On the output side, I am using an HDMI-to-DVI cable with no problems. Terrific, simple, inexpensive solution.

Hi

For those of you for whom the auto-switching wont work (my blue-ray wont fully shut down) there is the obvious choice of universal remote. I use a Logitech 520. What you need to make this work is the following manufacturers name that is in the Logitech database.

Make: Apogee
Model: HDMISWM

With this you are good to go...... a great bargain !

Thanks for reading