Top 5 Things *Switching*

1. Cheap HDMI™ Switchers are not IC driven

There are many sub $200 HDMI™ switches that are not IC driven. These work almost like a mechanical switch, routing the signals on bare PCB patterns. In some mechanical switches, a delay logic and a single IC are used for IR remote controlling. These mechanical switches without ICs are not suitable for high speed and high bandwidth HDMI™ signals. Digital pixilation, blackout, noise (“sparklies”) are very common with these devices.

2. Cheap HDMI™ Switchers Don’t Offer Signal Regeneration

As switches are commonly used as a peripheral between the display and video sources, the overall distance from the AV source to the display is often longer than a direct connection. Pixel re-clocking and signal regeneration is a must for HDMI™ signals that has the maximum bandwidth of 10Gbps. Without signal regeneration, there is no guarantee that all data in HDMI™ signal will reach the display.

3. Cheap HDMI™ Switchers Have Trouble With HDCP Compliance and Compatibility

There are many third-party built IC components being used in HDMI™ switches. The cost of these third party components are a fraction of the cost of genuine, approved ICs from Silicon Image. Silicon Image is the only member of HDMI™ organization that manufactures switching/routing IC components for HDCP & HDMI™ compliance. Using a third party component may save big on cost but, the HDCP handshakes are not reliable and often result in snow or no picture. More importantly, as the third-party IC components are not tested nor approved for HDMI™ and HDCP compatibility with all HDMI™ devices manufactured by HDMI™/HDCP licensees (99% of all TV and AV component manufacturers), there is no guarantee that it will work with the AV equipment you already have.

According to our tests, we found quite a few switches that will not work with many well-known brands of AV components. PureLink uses only Silicon Image IC components for these reasons.They make our switchers more expensive but they work reliably and meet their specs.

4. Cheap HDMI™ Switchers Are Slow

Switching time should be fast. You don’t want to wait 10 seconds for the DVD player to make the handshake with the display. When you switch the input, there are several two-way communications such as the HDCP handshake and EDID communication taking place. If the switching logic is not efficient, the switching delay can be as long as 30 seconds. PureLink switches buffer (save) as much information as possible in the switch itself and have a very efficient switching logic that make a very fast switching time possible, about 1.5 seconds.

5. Only HDMI™ Version 1.3 Compliance Will Work Reliably And Meet Spec

HDMI™ version 1.3 compliance is also a must. HDMI™ v1.3 enables Deep Color and higher bandwidth signals that will appear in the near future as well as Dolby TruHD and DTS MasterHD Audio playback. Without HDMI™ v1.3 compliance, you won’t be prepared for the future, when all video content and AV devices are HDMI v1.3. This is another big cost factor to consider when you are shopping for an HDMI™ switch. You may be purchasing a low cost HDMI™ 1.2 switch and later realize that it is not delivering the full HD content to your HDTV. We have found numerous examples of cheap switchers claiming v1.3 performance that really don’t have it. Since nobody is checking to be sure it’s the truth, you should choose a brand with a good reputation, such as PureLink.

All PureLink switches are HDMI™ 1.3 compliant

PureLinks new 2nd Generation model HS-510 HDMI switcher offers 5 inputs, including the world’s first mini-HDMI™ input for HD camcorders and full v1.3a compliance for pass through of the most advanced audio codecs. Click here to learn more about the first HDMI™ switcher you would be proud to own……..