Any problems with HDMI switches?

[Maynard]

My new Mitsubishi DLP 52" TV only has one HDMI input so I am thinking about buying one of the HDMI A-B switch boxes out there. But before I sink $230+ in to one, I am wondering if anyone has run in to any problems with them? I have read that most of them are HDCP compliant, which is good. But I wondered if anyone has experienced any loss of quality on their HDMI by first running a connection through one of those switches? For example, is there any bandwidth or frequency losses going through one of those HDMI switches?

 

[Jazzwyld]

Why a switcher?

Rather than putting $230 in a switcher, why not place the money into a reciever that has HDMI Switching, because ultimately the chain is supposed to end at a television. I know right now the amount of recievers that contain HDMI switching is limited. But next year should be a great year for that functionality. As far as signal loss I highly doubt it. As the technology gets better with more accurate A/D converters etc it will be more reliable, but the bandwidtch on a HDMI cable is ridiculous around 3Gb/sec I believe. I say its probably not the best implemented technology right now, but it will soon so be patient if at all possible.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Maynard... This is one that people should realize, but often don't.

HDMI - like DVI is digital. Ones and zeroes. The possiblity exists that if your run is long or a cable is bad you won't get a signal to the display. But, odds are really low on that with decent cables and a fairly short run.

Then it's all ones and zeroes. They aren't going to degrade or look worse. Cross talk is basically a non-issue. There is nothing to worry about the way you would with component, composite, s-video, or RGB. It's digital, so a digital switch will handle it perfectly - unless it sucks. If it sucks, it shouldn't work at all.

On the other hand, I wouldn't spend one penny to hook up a DVD player with HDMI output to my TV - it has component out which likely looks just as good, if not better than the digital connection. The first thing I would do is find out if I even needed any of the HDMI connections, especially from the DVD player.

 

[Maynard]

The debate over whether to use DVD upconversion with HDMI output is an interesting one... Most of the people at the stores, and some online blogs, say it is best to use the HDMI off the DVD player so that it comes out 720p or 1080i. If I use component out of the DVD upconversion player, it does not upconvert to either of those (just 480p).

As far as quality...? I really do notice a difference in clarity when I upconvert to the HDMI with 720p (or 1080i) off of my Toshiba DVD upconversion player. When I instead hook-up with component, the picture quality is poorer. Same if I hook-up a non-upconversion DVD player with component.

The other opinion I have gotten is that hooking up my DirecTV HD receiver via component is fine because it still upconverts to 720p or 1080i. Of course the unanswered question is whether there is a loss in picture quality since the HD receiver is converting from digital to analog (component) to get the HD 720p or 1080i. I have not tried it with HDMI to see whether I can tell a difference coming from the HD receiver.

One thing I will say is that I was PO'd when I found out that my "green shadows" on my new Mitsu DLP were due to the LG upconversion DVD player I had. Once I replaced that with a cheaper Toshiba DVD upconversion player. I am glad it was not my TV, but ticked that the most expensive upconversion DVD player (LG) was causing this problem.