Big Picture Big Sound

A Switch in Time

When you live your life as an early adopter (of technology that is), you learn to accept complexity. At any one time, we have at least eight or nine audio and video source components in "the system" each of which is expected to make an appearance on our HDTV and/or through our surround sound system, at one time or another. HD-DVD? Blu-ray Disc? High Def DVR? Up-converting DVD recorder? Satellite receiver? Yeah, we've got that. All of that. And more.

And no matter how many inputs our current HDTV or home theater receiver has, it's always one too few. Until now. With Impact Acoustics' Five-Port HDMI Selector Switch, we can have our HD and watch it too, and all with the relative simplicity of HDMI digital audio/video connections.


The 5-port HDMI selector switch accepts up to five HDMI inputs, from source devices such as those mentioned above, and sends one HDMI output to your display or home theater receiver. This allows even a gear-happy techno-freak such as myself to never run out of inputs, and that is a very good thing.

HDMI: The Simpler Solution (Well, Mostly...)

Although analog component video connections can carry full bandwidth high definition video signals, most electronics manufacturers limit component video outputs to 1080i (1920x1080 pixels interlaced), or even less in the case of upconverting DVD players (480p). And component video cables do not carry audio signals, so you'll need a separate set of audio cables (either analog or digital), in order to complete the connection. Not so with HDMI.


HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) is an all-digital connection format that sends both the video and multi-channel audio signals over a single thin cable at resolutions up to 1080p (1920x1080 pixels progressive scan). Major advantages of HDMI over other video connections include its high bandwidth, the ability to deliver the entire signal in the digital domain and the simplicity of being able to use a single cable for both audio and video. HDMI is where it's at. And the more HDMI inputs you have the better.

Impact Acoustics' 5-port switcher allows you to remotely switch up to five different HDMI sources, sending the chosen device's audio/video signal to a surround sound receiver and/or display device. It works much like the 2-port HDMI switch we reviewed earlier this year, but with 3 additional inputs.

I plugged in a variety of HDMI-enabled devices to the switch, including a Panasonic DMR-EZ27 upconverting DVD recorder, Sony PS3 (PlayStation 3) Blu-ray Disc player, Toshiba HD-XA1 HD-DVD player, a DISH Network ViP622 HD satellite receiver/DVR and a Sony DHG-HDD500 High Definition DVR.

The HDMI signal went from the switch to an Integra DTR-7.8 home theater receiver (for audio decoding and surround sound processing), and from there into a Panasonic TH-50PX60U plasma HDTV. We briefly used the switch with an Onkyo TX-SR674 home theater receiver (now discontinued), and this is where we ran into one minor compatibility issue.

With the 5-port HDMI switch in the signal path, and a Sony PS3 as the source (with Sony firmware 1.8 applied), I was not able to get a video signal from the PS3 to appear on our display. If I took the receiver out of the loop and hooked the switch directly to the HDTV then it worked fine. Also, if I plugged the PS3 directly into the receiver, it also worked fine. It only failed if both the switch and receiver were in the signal path. Just another example of the sometimes quirky nature of the HDMI "handshake" - the communication between HDMI devices that determines whether and how a signal should be displayed. Happily, when we upgraded to a brand new Integra receiver, the problem went away, and the PS3 was able to display Blu-ray Disc movies and upconverted DVDs without any problems with or without the Integra receiver in the chain.

To further simplify my life during the evaluation, I spent a few minutes at the computer adding the Impact Acoustics switcher's remote codes to a Harmony 1000 remote we have in for review, as well as updating the associated activities. This way the Harmony remote automatically powers up and switches the switcher to the appropriate input for each activity. Because the 5-port switch was brand new when we got it, the device was not in the Logitech database. So I had to manually program in the remote codes from the Impact Acoustics remote into the Harmony. Fortunately there are only a few buttons (discrete on and off, plus direct input buttons for each of the five inputs), so this entire process took just a few minutes. The inclusion of discrete on and off buttons makes life much simpler as you don't have to worry about the switch inadvertently being left on or off, with the resulting mayhem that this can cause for activities or universal remote macros.

Once the older Onkyo receiver was out of the picture, the 5-port HDMI switch did exactly what it was supposed to do: switch. It happily switched among the various source components, with only a slight delay (a few seconds) between each source component. Because the switch is simply a signal selector and repeater (not a processor or upconverter), it had no trouble switching between HDMI 1.3 format 1080p signals and HDMI 1.1 1080i signals from an earlier HD-DVD player we had in the system for a while. It simply passed along the signal, be it 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i or 1080p directly from the source to the receiver (and then on to the display).


I noticed no degradation of audio or video performance, no synchronization issues between audio and video, no hiccups in the HDMI "handshake" between source and display (except for the Onkyo receiver and PS3 issue previously mentioned).

The 5-port switch seems even more sensitive to IR commands than the 2-port version as the new switch never failed to switch over to the appropriate input, even if the Harmony remote was not pointed exactly at the device. The included credit card-style infrared remote worked as expected as well, with decent sensitivity, even from 12-15 feet away.

Final Thoughts

If you find the number of your HDMI-capable source components slowly creeping up, and you're running out of inputs on your HDTV, projector or home theater receiver, then the Impact Acoustics 5-Port HDMI Selector Switch will give you what you need, without a costly upgrade. With its generous number of inputs, reliable operation and fairly low price, there's not much I can find to dislike about the unit. The odd incompatibility of the switch with the Sony PlayStation 3 when used in conjunction with a specific Onkyo receiver is strange, but probably speaks more to the idiosyncrasies in different implementations of HDMI, and less to any limitations of the switch itself. And considering that most home theater receivers (and HDTVs) have at least 2 HDMI inputs, you can always use a "direct" connection for the PS3 if you run into a similar issue.

Highly recommended for early adopters, reviewers, hobbyists and gadget freaks alike.

Where to Buy:

• 5-PORT HDMI Switch with 3 HDMI Cables and remote (Amazon.com)
• 5-PORT HDMI Switch with remote on Amazon.com
  
• 5-Port HDMI Selector Switch at ImpactAcoustics.com - use coupon code "BIGPIC" at checkout to save 20%

Specifications from the Manufacturer:

• MSRP: $129.99
• Color: Black
• 5 HDMI Inputs, 1 HDMI Output
• Input Resolutions Supported: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
• Fully HDCP-compliant for use with High Definition Movies and Broadcasts
• Supports DDWG standard for HDMI-compatible monitors
• Input selection via IR Remote or Front Panel
• Discrete On/Off via IR Remote
• IR Extender jack
• Dimensions: 7" x 1" x 2.75"
• Weight: 0.6 Pounds
• Warranty: 1 Year Parts and Labor
• Package Contents:
• HDMI Selector Switch (model # 40922)
• Remote Control (battery included)
• Power Adapter
• User Manual

Manufacturer's Contact Details:

Impact Acoustics
1501 Webster St.
Dayton, OH 45404

Phone: 877-AV-EXPERT (877-283-9737)
Fax: 800-331-2841

Web Site: www.impactacoustics.com