Suggestions for Purchasing a High Quality RCA A/V Switch Box

[alpenanews0506 | 13]

Looking for any guidance or suggestions related to RCA (Red, Yellow, White) A/V Switch Boxes. I am starting to have trouble with my no name brand 6 port switch box where the sound periodically cuts in and out. I have tried different cords and different systems, but it seems to always point to the switch box. Looking to purchase a high quality 6 port or more box. Before I do I just wanted to poll the members here and see what boxes they like, use or have had great success with. Looking for something with good quality and is reliable. Any help here is greatly appreciated! Look forward to what you guys have to say. Thanks! 

[drxandy | 3,225]

Extron crosspoint

Edit/repost: 

I use https://www.crutchfield.com/S-A76tvTrEDmn/p_158SBV55A/Sony-SB-V55A.html it's only 3 output, but works for me perfect and it auto switches. I have a separate component switcher to handle that generation of consoles.

This sony switcher looks nice and solid but 4input 2 output: www.ebay.com/c/1900247295

A matrix switcher like the extron crosspoint might be up your alley if you're willing to put in the work, lots of inputs and outputs.

Edited January 13, 2021 by drxandy

[alpenanews0506 | 13]

@drxandy Thanks for the information! I like the build quality on the Sony options you linked to but the only 3 & 4 output options make it tough to justify. Those matrix switchers look like top quality though. I might be missing something, but many of them look like they are discontinued and unavailable.

I didn't realize the options related to this technology were dwindling so quickly. I know demand is dropping immensely for things like this. It is getting harder and harder to find anything other than the generic no name brand cheap junk on Amazon with mediocre reviews. 

If anyone else has preferred solutions please share. Thanks.

[RH | 4,895]

I think you might want to search eBay for Atlona gear. They make some super expensive, pro-grade stuff but since composite hardware is old, you can find it for "cheap".

And what I mean by cheap is far cheaper than a $2,000-4,000 new unit for HDMI switches and such. Here's a 4x4 matrix for $100.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Atlona-AT-AV0404-4x4-Composite-Super-Matrix-SKU-1090650-/254379097010?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

[alpenanews0506 | 13]

@RH - Wow! Thanks for that information. Never heard of Atlona before. They definitely have some high quality gear out there. It looks like there are a few options currently listed on eBay. I will take a deeper look at them and see if anything meets my needs. Do you currently use and AV switch boxes? If so what do you use?

[Code Monkey | 2,005]

I went to a thrift store and bought an audio receiver with video passthrough. That way I use the dial on the receiver to switch both audio and video to the console I want and it upscales the output.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

The one I used for years is the Joytech AV Control Center 2 (or JS965C) and is viewable here.  It's not automatic, but it does have 7 separate inputs and comes with a remote control to one-button switch between them all, as well as buttons on the unit itself to control power and input select.  On the rear, it's got 3 inputs which feature component, composite, s-video, optical audio & ethernet, 3 more which are the same but drop optical audio & ethernet, then the appropriate outputs for all of those plus an RF output.  Hidden under a panel on the front, below the display, is one final input featuring composite and s-video as well as the controls to set up the names for each input (should you so desire).

I've experienced no issues whatsoever with my unit in all the time it's seen use.  However, using it, I did discover that later Nintendo consoles (Wii & Wii U) refused to play nice with it, or any other switcher I laid my hands on, giving out static filled audio & video, usually in black & white, video flickering in and out, when they would output at all.  I thought the Wii had somehow broken when this started, but plugging it into its own, separate input on my TV stopped that immediately.  Sadly, the Wii U behaved the same way when using AV/component; I haven't had it hooked up in forever, so I honestly don't know if it exhibits the same behavior via HDMI.  With everything else I threw at the switcher, however (NES, SNES, N64, Genesis, 3DO, PS2, XBOX, Game Cube, etc.), it's behaved exactly as advertised.

I believe these went out of production a while back, so if this solution interests you, you'll have to pick it up second hand, and most likely used.  So long as it's been well taken care of, though, I'd say it's well worth it if you're wanting to hook a lot of older consoles up to the same TV without having to worry about connecting them each go around.

[drxandy | 3,225]

It's not impossible to find new products that fit the need, but they are quite expensive in comparison to used older technology.

I wanna throw audio authority in the mix, I really like their products even though these first two aren't 6 or more.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/203235738386

^model 515 pushbutton switch for 5 inputs

 

https://www.cs1.net/products/audio_authority/1154A.htm

^1154a signal sensing (auto switching) component (use this with my crt and it's great) I don't see a good choice on ebay right now because it uses a specific power supply and none currently listed include that. You could daisy chain a couple of them, hide em behind the tv and never have to switch again.

I hear good things about kramer.

I was looking for a specific extron product but it was mainly for svideo (if you wanna look it was the MAV series) my bad, but there are a lot of extron models that would fit the bill but would require work.

As for modern choices:

http://www.gretrostuff.com/store/gcompsw/

^Gcomp 8port auto switching, nice but $200

Shinybow also makes nice expensive stuffff

 

Edited January 14, 2021 by drxandy

[alpenanews0506 | 13]

@darkchylde28 That Joytech AV Control Center 2 looks perfect. Preliminary searching sadly didn't turn up any availability though. I will keep my eye out though. Thanks for the heads up though.

@drxandy  The Gcomp 8port auto switching device would be perfect. The price tag is high, but it may be worth it for me. Same as the above though. It does not look to be currently available.  Thanks for pointing me in this direction. Hopefully it will be in stock again soon. 

 

Anyone else out there have any suggestions? Even the cheap ones they have had good luck with? Let me know.

[Pikkon | 19]

I use two Philips PH61150 daisy chained for my consoles,I only use component for it but it also has composite and s-video.

The swicher has never given me problems and you can find them used at a decent price.

[drxandy | 3,225]

This looks like a really great deal, https://www.ebay.com/itm/154216033539 8x8 matrix with extra gear to set up a whole house for 80$ shipped

[alpenanews0506 | 13]

@drxandy That listing for the 8x8 matrix looks amazing, especially for the price, but that unit is huge! I would pull the trigger on that unit immediately if it were not so big. I have some space, but that thing is huge.

@Pikkon These look interesting and seem to be widely available for a reasonable price on eBay. This may be a serious option. If your endorsement rings true. 

 

[CMR | 518]

I built this, but I've never actually tried it out.  The switches are kind of flaky and it's hard to tell when they're on or off.  I've got a better idea for one using a micro controller and some analogue switches, but I've kind of been sidetracked off it for a while.

 

 

[alpenanews0506 | 13]

 

About ready to pull the trigger on this switch dilemma. First I wanted to thank everyone for all the information provided. All this was very helpful.

One last quick question about the GComp 8 Port if anyone has it. Ow do you like it? Also how does it react if you have two systems hooked up to it turned on simultaneously? Which system does it default to projecting and how can you switch input between multiple systems that are on at the same time if it has automatic detection? Any clarification is greatly appreciated!

 

[RH | 4,895]

43 minutes ago, alpenanews0506 said:

 

About ready to pull the trigger on this switch dilemma. First I wanted to thank everyone for all the information provided. All this was very helpful.

One last quick question about the GComp 8 Port if anyone has it. Ow do you like it? Also how does it react if you have two systems hooked up to it turned on simultaneously? Which system does it default to projecting and how can you switch input between multiple systems that are on at the same time if it has automatic detection? Any clarification is greatly appreciated!

 

I have this.  Here are some quick thoughts.

• First, this is a boutique, niche device. It is well built, but since it's a basically a "hobby" electronic, it's expensive but it does do it's jobs well.
• Regarding auto switching, I tend to only have one system on at a time. If you cut one off and another one on in less than a second, it detects the signal change.  If you cut on another device, "nothing happens" regarding auto switching.
• I'm not in front of my unit now, but I am 99% certain that if you have two systems on at the same time and you cut one off, it does not auto-switch to the other.  But, I don't really see a use for this feature.
• If you plan on mix-matching component and composite, just note that the composite input will only pass through the composite outs and the component inputs will only pass through the composite outs.  There is no component <-> composite conversions in any directions.  From the consoles, to the gcomp for output to the TV. I guess that's the real reason why they went with two outputs.  You can run component and composite cables out to a TV and just switch the video input selection on your TV.  I wish they had some form of conversion.  At least, component to composite, because I have two TVs and one only has composite inputs and the other has component inputs.  I wanted to be able to use both TVs at once, and I can't unless I use composite for all consoles and outputs.  I am doing that now, but I'm saving up to get a composite-to-component converter for the older TV and I plan on upgrading all of my cables to component in time.  Those cables aren't two expensive but I have 9 systems (and counting) hooked up to this thing and that's a lot of money on quality cables and adapters.

TL;DR/Final Review: It is a good device and if you don't want to take the time to hunt down legacy, quality equipment, this could be for you if you want more than the cheap junk that's so prevalent on eBay and Amazon.  However, it's not perfect and at a $200 price point, I just wish it had an extra QOA feature or two.  I'm not entirely dissatisfied with my purchase and I'll keep mine and make it work, however, if I had it all to do over again, I probably would have used that money and just looked for the right piece of legacy equipment.

Edited February 4, 2021 by RH

[DefaultGen | 5,397]

I have a SCART Gscartsw and it's great. If you turn on more than one console, there is some kind of priority for the ports for which one shows up. You're only supposed to turn on one at a time, not switch between multiple active sources.

I like the old professional media/presentation switchers, cause I used to use some of it at work! This thing is just the first thing that popped up on Ebay with composite/S-video support but there are million of them and they're all outrageously obsolete so they're pretty cheap. You would just need to get cheap RCA > BNC converters for the video.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Extron-MPS-112CS-Media-Presentation-Switcher-350-MHz-RGB-S-Video-Composite-VGA/143934547949?epid=663291095&hash=item21832ae7ed:g:V3gAAOSw71NgBG1i

Edited February 4, 2021 by DefaultGen