HDMI?

I have no receiver (I have no sound system, just a really nice TV), but I am also running into a problem where I lack component inputs. My TV has two component inputs, but it shares one with the HDMI input, which I intend to hook up to my computer video card at some point. So I will have my PS2, my Gamecube, Angel's XBox (semi-permanently here), and Austin's Wii (here fairly often) vying for a single component input.

The answer seems to be a component switch box, but they're, like, all expensive. I dunno. If you end up looking at component switch boxes and decide on one, let me know!

Holy Jesus! Monoprice now sells a component switch box!

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10112&cs_id=1011201&p_id=3027

No reviews, but everything monoprice sells (short of some obviously-cheap adapters) is really good. I must consider this!

Also, when I said "they're all expensive," what I meant was that either they're expensive or they look crappy.

No. It is evil, and doesn't apply to video game consoles. Nor does it apply to Panasonic tvs made 3 years ago. Same for dvd players from the same era. And eeeewwwww.

We were considering finding a similar solution, but found the same definition of "they're all expensive." Considering how much Matt spent on home theater equipment three years ago, the idea of buying another something else is less than appealing. However, $33.50 is not less than appealing. I'll let you know what the ultimate decision is, though you might have just suggested it.

why are these devices stil called receivers? People don't buy these things for the radios inside them.

a) Wii only goes up to 480p. Is it worth the component cable?
b) GameStop sells component switchers for $20. Works pretty well, even though it feels like cheap plastic. You gotta walk up to it to hit the switches, though. If you think about it, really, there's not more than $5 of crap in those. You can build your own pretty easy with a project box and 20 DPST switches.

Just my 53 kopecks.

--Leo

They still receive, just not primarily radio waves.

It is worth it, since Matt already ordered the component cable. He has a high-end system, so it makes sense to get the best possible picture out of the Wii. Along the same lines, it seems a bit silly to plug $75 cables into a $20 switch, which is why he didn't get the switch suggested above. Ultimately, a trip to Magnolia yesterday afternoon resulted in a Pro-ject auto-detecting 4 port switch (with digital and optical sound inputs/outputs).

Can I have your 53 kopecks?

I guess the name is okay, for historical reasons. Captain crackerjack's idea seems okay in principle, but you'd have to be very careful, or buy something of reasonably high quality. Video signals operate at a few MHz of bandwidth, and I'd be worried about interrupting the ground shielding to wire the switches, resulting in crosstalk and interference. Distributed effects could also be a problem.

That's why Matt ultimately ended up buying the one he did. Basically, after spending the day searching, it came down to cheap ones that probably would degrade the signal for less than $50, or high end ones that were awesome for significantly more. Despite a not wanting to spend the extra money, it seemed silly not to in the end.

By the way, have you heard of Pro-ject before? It's the brand for the switch he bought, and apparently it's a quality high-end brand, but I've never heard of it.

DPST? I would use a ganged rotary switch.

Naw, haven't heard of it. Sounds good though if it's meant for high end use. You don't want to cripple a monster system with a cheap-o input selector box.

actually, I take that back. I would use electronic switching with FETs on a microchip.