Switch Box / Player for as many sources as possible

Hi guys

I have a home theater setup with 3 component, 1 HDMI, 1 DVI and one vga source

I wish to plug these into my projector, but alas my projector only has one input :/ (DVI-I)

Am looking for either a input selector or a player (DVD, Blueray) or recorder (HDD/DVD) that has as many Video inputs as possible and can output full HD signals (component, DVI or HDMI, doesn't really matter). Doesn't need to upscale, just pass through the signal

Don't actually need a player/recorder, but if it has the right number of inputs then that is going to do what I want it to do.

Realise a player is unlikely to have inputs, but hey, maybe some dud in china had 5 billion RCA sockets and didn't know what to do with them.

Audio is sorted via my Panasonic HT15. Just need video

google is not being my friend

Any ideas oh wise forumites?

EDIT: Best idea I've had so far is:

6 port DVI switcher -
so can relatively painlessly get a dvi-d signal from HDMI, the DVI sources are automatically covered, and can convert Component Video to DVI-A relatively painlessly

Regards

Roger

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Devices

DVD HDD Recorder (component)

Playstation 2 (component)

Playstation 2 (HDMI) (ok, I admit, I don't have one, but give me a couple of months)

Wii (component)

XBOX 360 (vga)

I'd recommend one of the following devices (in order of preference):

• Impact Acoustics - 6x2 Component Video Matrix
• Pelican - Pro System Selector Silver 2.0
• Joytech - AV Control Center 245C
• JoyTech - Control Center 540C

The "Impact Acoustics - 6x2 Component Video Matrix" is a great option as it has 6 inputs and 2 independent outputs so you can watch one source in the lounge and another in the bedroom all controllable via the matrix's remote. The one caveat of this device is it only has connectors for component video, stereo + optical audio so there are no connectors for composite or s-video devices. If you are prepared to sacrifice either the component or audio connectors, you should be able to input a composite feed.

The "Pelican - Pro System Selector Silver 2.0" is a great choice if you plan on viewing 1080p content, the Joytech switches tend to have a bit of ghosting at that resolution.

The "Joytech - AV Control Center 245C" is a top quality switch. The 245C is sometimes listed as the JS965C, the model number is important as they have a lot of models that look the same but have minor differences (e.g. some feature scart connectors instead of component).

The "JoyTech - Control Center 540C" is a good quality albeit somewhat gimmicky looking switch.

Most of the above devices are available from Amazon so you can source them directly or via WantItAll. All the above devices are generally available for around R2000 but if do some searching you can usually find them for around R1000 or less (WantItAll is currently selling the "JoyTech - CC 540C" for R1211).

Note that the above is just a small list of the many devices available. I'd suggest scouring some AV forums on your preferred choice as although many devices may purport to offer the required functionality, the quality offered might not be acceptable for your viewing environment.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

• Not all switches have remotes (all the items listed above do).
• Many switches don't cope well with 1080p content (the video bandwidth requirements are quite high) and although you may get a decent picture there can be visible ghosting.
• The cables included with the devices are usually poor quality. If you plan on viewing HD content, you need to invest in some decent cables to prevent ghosting.
• Switches only pass the input connectors to their matching output connector (i.e. the component and s-video connectors won't display any picture when a composite connector is used as input).

One last note is that on HDMI switches, unless specifically stated it's unlikely a device will support HDCP. Depending on the originating device, HDTV content transmitted over HDMI to a non compliant device will either have the output blocked or alternatively downscaled to SD quality. (Bear in mind that the DSTV HD PVR will only output HD content via the HDMI connector, the component output will only display 576p).

If you need something that supports both HDMI and component input you best bet would be to look at an AV Receiver although most only support 3 inputs. Video Storm have 6x2, 8x4 and 8x4 matrixes but for those you best have deep pockets

Hi

Thanks for the feedback

Have decided to just go the component only video route and get a 6 port switch box

everything I own can produce component video, so not too much gained using a dvi switch box (especially seeing as the DVI-A portion would be component video (as apposed to RGB) most of the time.

Thanks for the help

Roger

PS. my projector can take component over DVI, so that isn't a problem