I’m looking for a “splitter” type thing that will allow me to connect multiple devices to the 3 RCA plugs on my TV. The TV only has one set of inputs and the TiVo & DVD player are competing for them. I’d like to have some kind of “A-B” switch that allows me to switch between the DVD player and TiVo as inputs. (By RCA inputs, I mean the red/white/yellow sockets). I’ve tried piggy-backing one device on the other but they don’t have the “through” connectors necessary.
Does such a device exist? I was hoping to find some really cheap ($10) gadget to do this. I found loads of Y cables and audio splitter type things, but not this.
Switches designed for Home theater are pretty common, but I’d like to direct you to an alternative: I got an X-box switch on eBay ($13 + sh) for 5 devices. Each button is linked to a separate component video, s-video and dual-RCA stereo sound input. Since I’m not a gamer, I’d never have looked into that, if I weren’t looking for a cheap switch to do a hardware experiment. I’d never have expected the quality I got, but the output is about as clean as my more expensive but less versatile 4-input switch, marketed for Home Theater.
I don’t know why they made such an overdesigned switch, but based on similar auctions at the time, they’re not uncommon Oddly, the one thing it lacked was SVGA (15-pin DIN) ins/outs–which I’d expect from a gamng switch. Though I wasn’t looking foe SVGA I/O, it would have been very useful in hindsight since my output device is an LCD projector, and my only ATSC tuner is an HTPC (Home theater PC) with a MyHD HDTV tuner card .
Time to hit eBay again. I bet there’s one out there with the SVGA, too. Though I’ll be damned if I know how they would fit more connectors in back!
For the record, the “real” way that home theater types do this is with their receivers. Just run all the inputs in, and run one video line out and a bunch of amplified speakers lines. It switches the inputs for you.
Joe Random: Yup, that’s the one. It comes with a bunch of stickers and cable wraps to identify the devices, including blank ones so you can make your own labels.
I use a receiver, but it doesn’t have enough inputs. I’ve got a DVD player, TiVo, VCR, and satellite radio hooked up to the receiver, and my living room PC, PS2, and GameCube go into the VCR through the A/V switch.
