CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

tri_joel · Joined: 03 Jul 2007 Posts: 646 Location: Northern Virginia

I just bought this, did I waste my money?

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011002&p_id=5704&seq=1&format=2

I need to switch two sources between the PJ, a tv, and two monitors. I bought this because of the rs232 capabilities makes my Crestron program much easier.

ecrabb · Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 9:12 pm Post subject:

Looks pretty slick and like exactly what you need, with room for two more sources, and with serial input for easy control... How would you have wasted your money?

SC

tri_joel · Joined: 03 Jul 2007 Posts: 646 Location: Northern Virginia

I don't know. I am constantly buying stuff from monoprice because I like their prices. But the prices are so low, I'm always afraid I'm buying junk. So far it has always worked out but it still makes me nervous. I was about to buy overclicker's switcher with the moome card. I also have two HD Fury's. It may have been a better product and not much more money. I'm not sure what my displays will be in the future, so I decided to go with the HDMI.

Just second guessing my decision out loud.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 9:48 pm Post subject:

Sounds like you have a bad case of buyers remorse?

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

Just let us know how it turns out. BTW, do you have four HDMI sources for playing encrypted content to four HDMI displays to test this product with? Is it truly matrix switching?

tri_joel · Joined: 03 Jul 2007 Posts: 646 Location: Northern Virginia

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

While I do not doubt it can handle four sources and displays being physically connected, I am curious if it can actually handle more than one HD stream.

tri_joel · Joined: 03 Jul 2007 Posts: 646 Location: Northern Virginia

It shipped yesterday, I think I can set up four HD streams in and three out to test. I have a PS3, FiOs box, Toshiba HDDVD, and a Blu-Ray I can hook up as sources. The displays will need to a computer monitor with DVI in (or HDFury ganer edition in), a BG1208 on HDFury 1, a Philips LCD TV with HDMI in, and I'll need to find another display for a fourth.

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

Cool!

jkruger · Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 2435 Location: Carlsbad, CA

I have the 4 x 2 version of this and it works perfectly. I can run any of four sources to either or both displays simultaneously. Mine does not have the rs-232 capability but it work fine with the little remote that came with it.

ChrisWiggles · Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 3:06 am Post subject:

I have had nothing but horrible experiences with HDMI switching, especially matrix switching. I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole in an install.

So if I wanted to play around with it in my system, I would probably start with a throwaway device so cheap that I don't care if it doesn't work, and monoprice fits the bill. If it works, AWESOME! If it doesn't, then you can go down the slippery slope of trying a bevy of expensive switchers until you find one that gets alone with everything, which may not even exist...

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

Joel, how has the product performed?

tri_joel · Joined: 03 Jul 2007 Posts: 646 Location: Northern Virginia

I'm still getting it all hooked up. I had to buy a few more HDMI cables for the run to the laundry/workout room. Over the weekend I had my son playing PS3 on the living room TV (on a 25' HDMI cable), I had a monitor connected with the HDFury gamer with an HD FiOs channel in 1080i, and my PJ with HDFury 1 and the Toshiba HDDVD with an HDDVD playing in 1080i. It all worked well. The 4 x 4 replaced a Monoprice 4 x 1 switch, there is a noticeable color difference, much deeper and life-like. I had to adjust the brightness and contrast down slightly.

Axatax is helping me with the RS232 and Crestron, but the only real complaint I have about the switch at this point is having to look at the back to see which source and which display is connected to which input/output so I know which button to push on the remote. The Crestron will fix that issue. There is a way to select input/output on front of the switch but the translated Chinese instructions are pretty much useless. I tried to figure it out, but didn't put much effort into it.