What System Selector do you recommend

[dsullo]

I need to buy a new good quality system selector , what do you guys recommend?

[Nez]

Pelican industies. They have two models the standard 5 switch and the other that has component digital and other ports, the latter costs like 100$ while the standard 5 switch costs 20$. I have 4 of the standard switch boxes and they have nexer let me down.

[Darth Sensei]

Pelican System Selector Pro. I can't live without it.

D

[Querjek]

Get the $20 Pelican one. It's totally worth it. The only problem is that (At least for me), it's sitting in a funny position and if it gets touched I have to realign it, but otherwise it works perfectly.

[Scoots]

Has anyone ever made their own system selector? I'm thinking it wouldn't be too tough....

[goatdan]

Personally, I use one that GE made. I broke four of them by doing stuff that shouldn't have broke them (falls of less than two feet usually) and this one has been just fine. We actually stock them now at the GOAT Store for $15.00, and I would definitely say they are worth the price. This one that I have has lasted ten times longer than the other ones :) Link here:

http://www.goatstore.com/info.php?id=151975

If you're looking for one that does more than just composite though, you will need to look elsewhere.

[chadtower]

Has anyone ever made their own system selector? I'm thinking it wouldn't be too tough....

I've looked into it and I think it's tougher than most would think. The mechanics of it would be pretty simple, though a lot of soldering. The issues were more the cost of individual ports of various types when not buying in extreme bulk (the way a manufacturer does), along with signal purity. Your biggest issue, by far, would be signal degradation with the quality of work a person would likely put in by hand.

In other words, between cost and the likely quality of even a well done unit by hand... you're better off dropping $80 on the Pelican.

[QBert]

I WAS going to buy one of the 8 selector ones from Best Buy for like $130, but I tried a cheap $15 one from Walmart. 4 Select options and it works fine for me.

Saved over $100 and thats all I need right now.


Qbert

[Ed Oscuro]

Hmm. I recently came across an S-Video cable thing with plugs for PlayStation games, the XBox, and Nintendo consoles (won't work with my Model 2 SNES, of course). All I have to do is plug in the ends to whatever consoles I have lying around in the area. Yeah, it's not a real system selector, but it works alright. If you need to keep consoles far away from each other it won't work, though.

[dan2357]

I use the Pelican one, works great for me. My buddy picked up one that has your tv cable(signal) and had to be pluged in. It was total crap, I thinking not enough RF shielding, so stick with the basic one.

[Jasoco]

Pelican (GameStop branded) is what I have. I got three of them. If I add one more console, I'll need a fourth.

[Spartacus]

I have two of the 4 port Pelicans. I can definately attest to their reliability. But I'm now noticing that one has only RCA jacks going to each game system and one has only S-video jacks going to each system. Both use
S-Video to get to the TV. Seems I recall I had some difficulty if I mixed systems that used RCA jacks with sytems that used S-Video on the same Pelican. So I must have put all RCA on one and all S-Video on the other. Can anyone else here confirm that experience?

[FABombjoy]

I mix-and-match on some selectors and they're fine. If you have the switchboxes running into a tuner/receiver or TV with composite & s-video on the same physical input, that could cause problems.

[brykasch]

For me its the pelican system selector pro. 8 spots 3 for internet it has everything, got it for 79 at gamestop. I had a 4 port sony and a 4 port of a no name but it was a mess, now everything is nice and tidy and no guessing which button is for which system.

[Flack]

I got a Pelican Pro this week also. 8 ports, but only 7 are in the back and the 8th is on the front (I hate that!). Anyway, I hooked up systems to the first 6 and then used my old 4 port on port 7, so now all wired up I have ...

1 - PS2
2 - XBox
3 - Gamecube
4 - Dreamcast
5 - Sega Genesis
6 - SNES
7a - N64
7b - PSX
7c - Amiga CD32
7d - RF Modulator (for Atari, Intellivision, etc)

Then I can use 8 for my laptop when I'm up there.

[-hellvin-]

It's all about the pelican! I've got three and they work like a charm. The discount I get on em ain't too shabby either ;). I noticed they put out one that supports component for 30$ but I don't know how much I trust pelican in making a component switch box. The composite one works great since I've had it, but that company puts out so much junk I'm surprised I like the composite box so much.

[captain nintendo]

Pelican pro ;)

I think you can get them at Gamestop for 79.99 now.
Component hook ups , S-video...... :D

Of course the 5 slot pelican from Gamestop also works good.

[bcorgan19]

quick question about the pelican pro.

If I have a SNES and an xbox (using HD component) plugged into slot one and two, will they both output component connected to my TV?

[Keir]

Why do some system selectors (like the Pelican Pro) need a power supply?

[FABombjoy]

Some cheapie 5-system selectors have RF modulators in them so you can use TVs without video inputs. Doesn't work with s-video, tho.

The Pelican Pro has a built in ethernet switch, so it needs power for that.

[sisko]

I have a Pelican 5 switcher and 2 4 switchers all daisy chained together, with no noticable degradation.

They work fine for me :)

[chadtower]

Why do some system selectors (like the Pelican Pro) need a power supply?

As FABombJoy said, if it has a built in ethernet switch, it would need power for that. Also, many selectors amplify a signal as it passes it and that requires power.

[The Manimal]

I NOTICED this yesterday...How good of a job does this do as far as maintaining/deterioriating the signal? I noticed all eight inputs have component video. BTW, does this convert signals or just bypass them? (meaning does it convert composite to s-video or component, or do you still have to have each output cable)

I was going to make a new thread but decided to search first :)

[Anexanhume]

Is there any signal degradation by plugging one port into another, or by plugging the systems into one port to begin with?

[morphx]

Get an auto switching component switcher for your current gen systems. $150 gets you 4 component and digital audio ports that auto switch when they sense a system has been turned on.

[The Manimal]

Get an auto switching component switcher for your current gen systems. $150 gets you 4 component and digital audio ports that auto switch when they sense a system has been turned on.

examples please :)

i want to hook up:


XBOX (don't have yet), PS2, GC, DC, PS1, Saturn, N64, Genesis, SNES, NES, SMS, 7800 (don't have yet), etc etc... I'll probably even have to daisy-chain these things LOL

[morphx]

http://www.audioauthority.com/aacconsumers/1154c.html

This is going to take my PS2, XBox, GCN and soon to be HTPC.